Random help with a condo/ac problem.

[Airenn]

This is stupid so I'm sorry in advance, but...

I live in a condominium complex. I'm renting through a realtor. (No idea if this affects anything, just giving the backstory on the situation.)


Up until recently all has been fine. Hell, shit's still fine within my own condo. The problem is that outside my bedroom window is two rows of 3 AC units each. (We are first floor.)

They kick on and off intermittently for whichever condo they go to. It's usually not too loud and not bothersome at all. Nice machines, relatively quiet.

About two weeks ago, the first one on the left (I stood outside in Florida heat for about 15 minutes staring at these 6 damned machines to figure out WHICH one it is...)
makes a terrible noise whenever it kicks on. Like metal grating. It's not to my condo as my air doesn't kick on or is already on when that one starts up. (Pretty positive about that, but I'm not an electrician, so idfk for sure.)

Equivalent to nails on chalkboard. Baby crying. Etc. The noise bothers the ever living fuck out of me, scares me sometimes, and also interrupts my sleep. It happens to be one of the two closet to the bedroom window.

Anyway. I've never even had my own place before this. For any of MY problems, I call my realtor and she fixes it. Pest control, lock fixing, general maintenance. I'm not sure I can go to her with this and I don't want to unless I have to -- I feel it's not her problem.

I think all the condos are sold so no one stays at the front office. It's locked and pretty empty/spider webs abound.

I went to our website and got a number for the people who hold the website. I bothered them a couple times about it until they gave me a number for some management for the actual place I am in.

I called her up and told her. She said she'd send someone out Monday.

Now, I have a few questions:

Out of personal experience, do you think someone is actually going to check it out?

If they do, since it's a condominium -- will they fix it or will it be on the people's who own that particular condo?

And lastly, I am fairly certain that the thing WORKS, just the noise is terrible. I assume they have AC and what not anyway. So, if they say fuck it, it works, we aren't paying to have a noise removed, what actions can I take? (That don't involve me paying for it-- that's a last resort.)

If whoever doesn't own the condo doesn't fix it, I'll call my realtor to see if she can do anything, but seriously, I am about two minutes away from cutting cords out there or taking a bat to it.


Thanks for any help, BG.

[Apelila]

If its making a terribad noise then while it may work it could be a bit away from total failure. If the maintenence has any sort of brains it will get fixed.

[Dalek]

Tell them to fix it. That's why you pay maintenance fees every month(I'm assuming you do). Not sure about your local/state laws but quiet enjoyment of your property is usually a basic right of home ownership.

Edit: missed the part about renting vs owning. All the same, they should fix it.

[Talus]

Even if you're renting, someone is paying the condo fees, which usually go to trash/snow removal(not in Florida.. haha), basic maintenance, landscaping, etc. Call the realtor or see if you can get in touch with the owner and point out one of the AC units is potentially in need of maintenance. If no one mentions it, the property owner could be unaware, and usually things making a grating sound aren't a good thing. It could save them money by catching it sooner.

[Airenn]

Thanks for the replies. If no one comes to inspect it Monday, then I'll call my Realtor. I didn't even think about the condo fees -- my boyfriend pays them for his condo and I knew of them, but I just pay a lump sum to the Realtor.

As for the property owner not aware: If their condo is the one behind mine, walls touching, then there is no way they don't hear it. However if it runs to an upstairs one, or one towards the front, then yea, I can see it. I just wish I knew which condo it led to.

[Serra]

From my experience, AC units are usually not covered by the home owners association. That said, I agree with Talus that your realtor or whoever owns the property should be able to get in touch with the management to let whoever owns the unit know that there is potentially something wrong with their AC.

[miokomioko]

I misread this and was going to suggest practicing putting one on a banana...

Anyhow, check out your rental agreement and check any clause about their accountability or obligation to repair malfunctioning appliances and the like. I wouldn't worry about it too much. For every terrible rental management/landlord story, there's a few smooth and professional interactions.

[Kohan]

From my experience, AC units are usually not covered by the home owners association.

In the case of rentals, A/C is covered, normally. However, I'd suppose this is a sub-letting case. It's going to depend more on the rules and regulations of the condominium association than what their Realtor says, as their contract is probably unique and inapplicable to the other occupants in the community.