“Nightmare Neighbor” Lands in Jail

We tell you about the how one condo owner tormented her neighbors, the condo association board, and the association’s management company — and how they finally found relief.

Dealing with disruptive residents ranks high on the list of thorny problems community associations — and their management companies — can run into. You’ve probably had your fair share of complaints about people violating parking rules or failing to clean up after their pets, but you’ve probably never faced anything close to the multi-year reign of terror conducted by a condo owner in Orlando, Fla.

Marianna Seachrist was a member of the Phillips Bay Condominium Association. In June 2016, the association filed a petition against her with a state arbitrator, alleging that she violated the association’s governing documents in numerous ways and was a nuisance in her condo.

Several witnesses testified on behalf of the association, sharing their alarming stories.

For example, after a new neighbor moved in below her unit, Seachrist began loudly playing the movie “The Nightmare Before Christmas” on a continuous loop over the bedroom of the neighbor’s daughter (something the arbitrator, a self-described fan of the movie, labeled “the epitome of a nuisance and malicious behavior”). She also played language lessons very loudly over the neighbor’s bedroom. Seachrist would turn these on and then leave.

The community association manager testified that she constantly sent him and his company emails accusing them of extorting money from her, engaging in fraudulent activity, and harassing her. Her emails often addressed bushes on common elements that she believed needed to be trimmed. Eventually, she cut these bushes cut all the way to the ground, requiring removal by the association at its expense.

But wait — that’s not all. Read on to hear about even more extreme behavior and get advice on how to handle troublesome owners in our article “Nightmare” Neighbor’s Conviction Gives Condo Owners Relief

Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President