Nutty Neighbors: Saying Goodbye to the Bros

It started innocently enough. I came home from work one afternoon last month and found posted on the neighbors' door a notice that they had not yet paid that month's rent. My complex, as you may remember, does not believe in delicacy. The amount of rent due and the names of the tenants are prominently displayed for everyone on this floor to see. Perhaps the owners are trying to use shame as a means of getting their money.

Apparently, one of the Bros Next Door came home and removed that notice. It was certainly gone the next morning when I left for work. I'll be honest. I hadn't realized that they had already started moving out. I didn't notice that the noise level had subsided a great deal. It had been quieter, but it took additional events to clue me in.

A couple of weeks ago, September 8, to be specific, I came home to find a "Notice of Failure to Return Possession of Apartment" taped to the apartment door. The Bros seem to have left without returning the keys to the apartment. It must have been a very abrupt move since I don't recall hearing any noise (as I usually do when people move out from next door). The Bros were supposed to have returned the keys on September 2, and the notice was there to warn them to "surrender" the keys or face criminal prosecution.

Guess what? Nothing happened.

Last week, a new notice appeared. This one came not from the apartment complex but from the Sheriff's Department instead. I told you they don't mess around here. This one was labeled "Notice to Vacate," and it gave the Bros a week to get their stuff and move out and return the keys or else. This is, of course, all visible to everyone in the hallway, so now I'm probably known as the guy with the bad neighbors. Frankly, given the craziness that has gone on next door, I'd be surprised if I haven't been known that way for years.

Guess what? The Bros did nothing again.

Just this week, on the door knob next door, hung the "Notice of Eviction." Given that the Bros haven't taken any action in a month, that gives ownership of the contents of the apartment to the owners of the complex. To be honest, I think there's still some stuff in there. You can see objects in the window of the apartment, but I have no way of knowing what all the apartment owners are going to take into their possession. What happens to that stuff, anyway? Is there a big yard sale?

I realize that the apartment owners are going through with all of the legal steps necessary to evict the Bros. I just don't think they realize that the Bros are apparently long gone. I hope this takes months to resolve and involves the court system and testimony and people hauling out possessions in black plastic bags. The longer it takes, the quieter this floor will be.