Apartments /Condos by the elevator dwellers

LTV

LTV

Member
O.G.
Aug 16, 2006
959
13
#1
For those of you who live in an apartment or condo complex right next to the elevators...how is the noise level, that is if you hear anything at all?

I am in the process of buying a unit but it is right next to the elevator. The developer told me they are using a cable type of elevator where the noise level will not be as bad. From your experience, is this true? Is it tolerable? I look forward to your input, thanks.
 
#2
LTV said:
For those of you who live in an apartment or condo complex right next to the elevators...how is the noise level, that is if you hear anything at all?

I am in the process of buying a unit but it is right next to the elevator. The developer told me they are using a cable type of elevator where the noise level will not be as bad. From your experience, is this true? Is it tolerable? I look forward to your input, thanks.
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I don't live near an elevator- but it may not be the cables that bother you. I would be more concerned about foot traffic and noise from delivery people and people talking loudly at all hours going by your door.
 
#4
One of my good friends had a condo one door away from the elevators. It was horrible, people talking all hours which she can hear each time they waited for the elevator or got off it.
Not to mention the alarm going off each time the elevator got stuck which was quite often. From a safety point of view, it seemed like you can have some creep get off the elevator and be right there behind you at your door.
My condo was 4 units away and very quiet.
 
#5
^^^Yea. The elevator isn't the problem. It's more the people getting off the elevator and the beeping the elevator may make when someone gets off. You should go there and listen inside to see if you can hear the beeping. If it's not that loud, I'm sure once your things are in and you have a TV on, it won't be a big deal.

I don't live next to the elevator, but you can barely feel my elevator change floors.
 
#6
i agree! believe me, it can get quite noisy. my bf had a flat right in front of the lift and it was BAD. there were a bunch of teenagers living next to us and you could hear them at all hours of the night.

i should mention that it's also bad feng shui to have the lift door face any part of your main entrance and to have your flat behind the lift..hehe
 
#7
i live right next to the elevator now and did two years ago (in a college dorm of a thousand people, no less) and have never had a problem with noise. if the building is well built and the walls are thick, i don't think it should be a problem. i don't think i've heard people getting on and off the elevator in my current apartment once.
 
#8
When I lived on campus, my dorm was right next to the elevator and it wasn't bad at all. We never heard the elevator or the people...But maybe our walls were really thick?
 
#9
I agree that it's the people noise, not the elevator itself that is the problem. If it's a small enough building, it may not be a problem. Check how many units are on the floor that use that elevator, and how long the average wait time is for the elevator. Some of the huge NY apartment buildings on the 23rd floor will be more of a problem than a smaller residence, for example.
 
#10
Hey, thanks everyone for your much needed input. It is really great to hear different perspective and you all brought in good points... even with the feng shui stuff...hahaha. The condo complex is not going to be build until summer 2008, and I only have the floorplan to go by right now. The bedroom and the bathroom is adjacent to the elevators (is this bad feng shui, lol?). The only thing I noticed is that this unit is $3K cheaper than the one not by the elevator, but 15 Sq ft, slightly bigger. Again, thank you.
 
#11
Roo said:
I don't live near an elevator- but it may not be the cables that bother you. I would be more concerned about foot traffic and noise from delivery people and people talking loudly at all hours going by your door.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I was too concerned about the elevator noise, but totally disregard the fact that people do talk, walk. The one thing I forgot to mention is that this is a 7 floor building, and the unit I am buying is on the 2nd floor...I am assuming people would use the staircase more often than not unless they can't. I hope so. My door is actually around the corner of the elevators. It is just the bedroom and bathroom that are directly adjacent to the elevators.
 
#12
amanda said:
i live right next to the elevator now and did two years ago (in a college dorm of a thousand people, no less) and have never had a problem with noise. if the building is well built and the walls are thick, i don't think it should be a problem. i don't think i've heard people getting on and off the elevator in my current apartment once.
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You're absolutely right. I will ask the builders today what kind of insulation they will have for this. Thanks.
 
#13
You must also think about resale value. I personally would never buy a unit that had a bedroom that is adjacent to the elevators. I am the president of my condo association and let me tell you that NOISE from people is the hardest thing to manage. You will gain back the extra money you have to pay for a unit not near the elevator in resale value later, trust me.

I will also caution you about new construction in the state of Washington. A law was passed a couple years ago that only allows you to litigate within the first three years for construction defects. The statute used to be much longer than that and often times, problems don't start showing up until about the five year mark.

I am very familiar with this because I live in King County also and we sued our condo developer for construction defects back in 1999 and won a 3 million dollar settlement. If this new law had been on the books then, we would not have been able to sue. We had rotting wood everywhere and other dryrot and structural problems after six years. Be very, very careful about this. The attorney who won our lawsuit is the top construction defect attorney in the State. He told us that nearly 3/4 of the new condos built in Washington end up involved in some kind of construction defect litigation within the first five years.
 
#14
Roo said:
You must also think about resale value. I personally would never buy a unit that had a bedroom that is adjacent to the elevators. I am the president of my condo association and let me tell you that NOISE from people is the hardest thing to manage. You will gain back the extra money you have to pay for a unit not near the elevator in resale value later, trust me.

I will also caution you about new construction in the state of Washington. A law was passed a couple years ago that only allows you to litigate within the first three years for construction defects. The statute used to be much longer than that and often times, problems don't start showing up until about the five year mark.

I am very familiar with this because I live in King County also and we sued our condo developer for construction defects back in 1999 and won a 3 million dollar settlement. If this new law had been on the books then, we would not have been able to sue. We had rotting wood everywhere and other dryrot and structural problems after six years. Be very, very careful about this. The attorney who won our lawsuit is the top construction defect attorney in the State. He told us that nearly 3/4 of the new condos built in Washington end up involved in some kind of construction defect litigation within the first five years.
Click to expand...

Wow.....thanks Roo... Im glad you were able to find this thread and provided me with these information. I am familiar with a lot of the condo siding issues and lawsuits. The condo I am living in right now sued the builder and changed all the sidings...I believe this happened about three years ago. This condo I am buying now is in downtown Belltown, I dont know if that makes any difference in terms of resale value. I dont plan to live there forever, and my intention is to get the equity and resell it within 2- 3 years.
 
#15
Lots of good advice here already, but S.O. lives next to the elevator in a high-rise apartment. Not so many people come and go chit-chatting as in a hotel, so he doesn't hear a thing from people or the elevator itself.
 
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