New residents in my apartment complex keep stealing my parking spot because they're lazy & rude and don't want to find empty spots. What should I do?

[MCheetah]

So, I recently moved into a brand new apartment complex in March of 2022. I was one of the first people there, even before the elevators were properly finished. In this motorcycle and biking parking lot, I and others here, have our own spots. I've had my own spot since I've been here. It is very clearly an occupied spot, as I have my bike mat there, and my chain. And my bike is always there when I'm not at work.

But ever since May and ever the rising gas prices, more and more people have been using this parking area, for motorcycles, scooters, and bicycles. A couple of times, I had people steal my parking spot while I'm at work.

I abided by the Hanlon's Razor: "Never attribute to malice what stupidity can explain," and assumed they didn't know any better. And the three or so times it's happened, I pushed or moved their vehicles out of my spot.

But now, due to said gas prices and more people moving into the apartment complex, the parking area is starting to become full. It's not full yet; there's still PLENTY of spots in the back. But the problem with these f*cking assholes is, they don't feel like going to the back.

This Monday, some little pencil-dick left a note on my bike. It was in Korean, but it said something along the lines of "You are rude and I don't like you. Is a bike that precious to you? Why don't you go to sleep with your bike if you love it that much?"

So now, there is malice involved and not just stupidity. I know who wrote the note too; the first guy who parked in my spot, because I had to move his scooter out of my spot twice.

The recap is, I have had my own parking spot since March, and now new residents have come into the apartment complex, and are bitching because they're too lazy to use the back spots and want to steal my own parking spot. I'm about to throw their sh*t into the river the next time they try to steal my spot.

What should I do about this situation?

Updates

1 y

I would've also said this, but ran out of typing space:

My spot is in the very front, so it's probably one of the best spots, if not THE best spot there. Other spots are in the back, but these assholes just don't feel like going back there, if they can steal mine with convenience.

And the building managers wouldn't care about any of this stuff going on, and likely don't speak English anyway.

Updates

1 y

In Korea, people would rather abandon old bikes and furniture rather than pay $30 to dispose of them. I found an old bike and will use that as my placeholder while at work. Nobody can say sh*t and they won't even know it's "my second bike" in the spot now.

https://i.ibb.co/jRccg6V/Bike-Lot-01.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/jRccg6V/Bike-Lot-02.jpg

As you can see, plenty of spots in the back that these assholes won't take. https://i.ibb.co/bXhVM3f/Bike-Lot-09.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/27VQBLj/Bike-Lot-05.jpg

[Fuentes]

When I lived in cheaper apartments I dealt with this actually at one point in my life. Somehow I attracted loser narcissist neighbors who were jealous of me because i WORKED and theybdid not, very weird to be a hater of someone about and where i lived was not section 8 so i have no idea how they got in and when I got off work would have their visiting friends park it happen a few times only in my spot. But I actually had to say nothing because management randomly decided to hire a security company and they started towing cars so their friends never ever parked in my spot again lol but it was very annoying and made my blood boil.

Also today I live in something very expensive in Southern Cali and pay 2600$ in rent but with a water back charge and garbage I pay 2700$ and it's very good place and they are white on rice about towing people, so I have never had anyone park in my spot since I moved in, but if I did I'm not gonna hesitate and be a Karen bro, I'm calling the tow truck. I'm in a higher level in life and I'm not gonna fight or reason with grown adult idiots anymore. I hate low life weirdos and the best way to deal with a narcissist is ignoring but if you could get them tow'd or booted I would do it. It's gonna teach them not to park in your spot.

[DJB72]

Lock their bikes in place and charge a fee to unlock it. If you own the spot it's private property.

Report their bikes as abandoned and get them towed/impounded.

[Aerissa_Jade]

Had this happen at one of the places I lived in a big city, the on street parking was metered so when I'd go to work... and come back someone was in my spot, usually not a tenant but a visitor to someone.

We PAID to have assigned parking spots as there was not enough for the whole building. It meant I had to park on the street and feed the meter.

The landlord didn't care... that is until someone started dropping nails in my spot when I'd leave for work. Good thing I invested in a magnetic cleanup tool, just to avoid accidently getting a flat tire when I got home.

I did get a little pissed when I came home one day and the usual suspect had 3 flat tires... like I don't care, drive your car on flat tires out of here, and deal with it on the street, not my problem, so I told them I'd block then in until the next day or they could leave... cause the landlord wasn't going to 'tow' me if I blocked them in and parked behind them... cause he wouldn't tow anyone.

Suddenly he started caring though after that and got on top of towing cars, by having a company come patrol it every so often.

[MCheetah]

It's messed up the landlord didn't care, but you were paying for the spot anyway. That'd be grounds to sue him, since money was involved and he was letting other people steal your spot anyway. If this was me and I owned a car, I would've towed it out of there myself like in the video, and left in the middle of the street. Let the city tow that asshole.

[Aerissa_Jade]

Landlord even said, go ahead and call to have them towed, you have my permission but I am not going to do it.

I did try calling but ofc they all wanted the landlord to authorize it not a tenant, so no luck.

I think this guy had the hots for me and since I wasn't interested he got spurned and ignored me... until the other car had three flats.

[Moose304]

I can't advise because there are so many different situations about apartment parking. I have 2 places assigned and these are clearly marked reserved for my apartment. I have it as terms on my lease to have a vehicle towed ON THE SPOT at their expense. There is 24/7 electronic surveillance as well. I try to not call for a tow if I can avoid it. I did have one smartass 30-something male to tell me to mind my own business. It took me about 30 minutes to get him towed as well as later that next day banned/trespassed from the property.

[Starlight007]

If someone takes your parking spot and you were not there then move to the back parking spots or another empty parking spot that's what I would do. You will never be able to control other peoples actions, the only actions that you can control are your own actions, therefore don't let them upset you, what others do does not have to upset you if you don't want it to. your the one who either allows other peoples actions to upset you or not. It seems like at your apartment complex has no parking rules and anyone can park in any empty available space, so if that's the case then you park in an empty parking space as well.

[Starlight007]

i read in someone else's comment you said they toss your stuff in the dumpster... wow mean!, that's overboard, If i were you I would not bother confronting them, try moving your stuff to an empty parking spot and avoid those people they sound toxic and they aren't worth your time at all so give them none of it.

[MCheetah]

I'm not doing that. That's weakness and allowing randos to walk all over you.
There are unwritten rules of etiquette, which is how much of Korea goes (because they generally aren't as rude as North Americans), but of course, rude people still exist everywhere.

And yeah, I had a wooden box and a bike mat in my spot, and they threw away. The dumpsters are cleared daily like at 2pm, so I had to buy a brand new bike mat and the box wasn't worth much anyway.

It's a huge apartment complex with 26 floors and 26 units per floor, and three other buildings just like that, meaning potentially 2,700 or more people could live here. Although each building has its own parking lots, the buildings aren't that close and I'm not going to park my bike in another building's lot just because of a few assholes who don't' get it.'

Maybe this is a thing only guys can understand, but it's analogous to bullying. I either stand up to these pricks and dominate them, showing them who's boss, or I become a victim, essentially. The second one isn't an option.

[Starlight007]

@mcheetah, Here's my perspective, Yes they are bullying you and being mean to you but if you engage and fight back it may back fire or it may not do you any good at all, those people are doing these things to you because they want to elicit a reaction from you and if you do react then they win. This is why I say the best option would be to move your stuff to an empty spot.

It's a double edged sword if you don't move your stuff your gonna play move my stuff I move yours and your going to react and they'll love it because that's what they want, and if you do move your stuff you'll look weak but why care about looking weak to those people who are literally weak because they mistreat you...

I think it's not worth it to care how you look to them. By the way the best way to defeat a bully especially if they are not beating you up or causing you physical harm is not not react to any of their tactics, the more you stop reacting, they get bored of you and leave you alone because to them you're like a rock none of their tactics affect you and that's boring to them that you're not reacting so then they'll leave you alone.

[Starlight007]

not not, i meant just one not*

[ShadezMcgee]

So does your unit have that spot of yours truly designated to you specifically per your lease? I know apartments do that for certain units, but I am not sure how Korea rolls with that.

Depends how bad people want to take your spot, I guess. I say write a note back to the guy who was bent out of shape about it. Then find more obstructive obstacles that are harder to move or are a hazard to incoming parkers. Hell, I would put one of those big ass construction cones from the highway in front of it just to really screw with the guy.

[MCheetah]

I had stuff there. They just move it or toss it in the dumpster.

Tonight, someone else took my spot. A female's bike. I literally just got home 10 minutes ago. I bought a stepstool before I got home and as soon as this one bitch gets out of my spot tomorrow, I'm going to put the stepstool there and use the bike chain to lock it to the metal piece on the wall. At least that might be harder to move, but if they're vindictive enough assholes, they can break the stepstool apart and just park there anyway.

[ShadezMcgee]

Looking at @Sirenboobzilla for comments here, her idea is pretty effective. Tow the truck's bike or smash whatever placeholder they got.

So then your apartment doesn't have that space solely designated to you then?

[MCheetah]

It's a long explanation, but the short answer is, in Korea, people claim their spots and then stay there. Most people own a car and a bicycle/motorcycle/scooter and the car lot has parking passes and assigned spots, but the bike lot doesn't have passes, but the rule still applies unofficially. Most people use their cars on the weekday and bikes/motorcycles/scooters/ on the weekend, so most bicycles in those spots don't move for five or six days at a time. Everyone knows this, so to steal someone's spot in this lot is just blatant disrespect.

[exitseven]

Where I live there is an unwritten rule during snowstorms. If you shovel out the parking space it is yours for the next 2 days. People violate this rule a their own peril. There are always stories about what happens to violators. Getting keyed or finding 4 flat tires is a common occurrence. Last winter somebody got the interior of their car decorated with human excrement.
I think this guy has escalated the situation and his bike needs to be hoisted up a nearby telephone pole.

[MCheetah]

There's lots of things I *COULD* do, but Koreans are a lot more timid and cowardly. And it's not like I could take a day off work and camp there for six hours, waiting for another asshole to show up and confront them, face to face.

I want to just throw their sh*t into the river down the street, and initiate all-out war if these residents keep doing this, but the apartment contract is set up by my job, which means I could risk getting kicked out of the apartment complex, or at worse, even fired or deported for "criminal activity" if they feel like I'm threatening their life or going to hurt them.

If this was the US where you could get away with that kind of thing though, I'd totally do all that and more. I thought about just permanently chaining up their bike in my spot with my bike chain, so that they would be stuck there. For at least a week or two. I also thought about just getting an old used bike and using it as a placeholder in my spot when I'm at work. I had a large box and other things placed there a few days ago, but they just move them out the way.

[sage2021]

I think what you're saying is it's the principal of the matter. Right is right, and wrong is wrong.
We've been taught - first come first served.
In our apartment complex, they just implemented a parking space of $75/mo. It used to be free. They repaved the parking lot and making the residents pay for it. This is not fair either. And I am sure some people won't care if they park in your personal parking spot that you pay dearly for. It will throw the whole thing off is people start doing that - because where is the paying person supposed to park when assholes park in his space?
I really don't think you can claim the spot as YOURS unless you are paying to rent it.
I know what you would like to do to them, but they will just continue to hassle you. Maybe you can paint some lines in the spot and mark one of them yours!

[SkyCastle90]

I would say assigned parking is the bee's knees, but even that doesn't work. I have a bitch of a neighbor who tried to predict my schedule when I use to work at the Post Office. I came home numerous times with her family parked in my space, sometimes in front of my car. She had to nerve to complain to the landlord about how I park in my own space, so I sent pictures of her whole family in my spot and haven't heard shit from her.

People suck.

[Sour-rose]

Throw it in the river. Dude be gettin' on my nerves, I wouldn't give a shi. I'm going to shank his tires or break his windows at this point. You really gonna drop a note because I got something better than you? How about being a little more nicer to me and we could share it every other week. OR PAY ME IF YOU WANNA USE IT SO BAD. $280 for a month!

[Mia-Wallace]

Shit on their bikes. Maintain eye contact while you're doing it to establish dominance.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/vEVCGruTB3A

[Mia-Wallace]

The girl of your dream will bite her lips and nod in excitement when she sees you doing it, like that guy with glasses. After you're done pooping, you will marry her, and you'll poop happily ever after.

[AviatorTom]

The guy in the video went to a lot of trouble to move the red car, including the risk of damaging it. I would have just parked directly behind it, blocking him in.

As for your dilemma, unless the parking spots are assigned by management, it's first come first served. The real question is, is it worth getting all upset about this... maybe it's worth figuring out what battles to fight, and not fight... and park somewhere else when your spot is taken.

[MCheetah]

1. That would've gotten him towed.
2. It's the principle that matters.

Personally if it was me, I would've towed his car six blocks up the road. Let him spend two hours looking for it. Or, if this was in Philly, just beat the sh*t out of the guy

And no, I'm not going to let some asshole steal my sh*t and look like a bitch. Anyone who'd say that would be the type to do that, themselves.

[Sirenboobzilla]

I leave a note the first time. Next time I call a tow truck. I pay $2,800 a month for my apartment and it has 2 assigned parking spots directly in front of it. Get the hell out of my spot!

[LovingLoverReturned]

I like your idea of using the bike lock on the stool... or any obtrusive object that is bigger and will make make give up.

[KelleyNice]

Assuming you have legal ownership to the space in writing from the apartment owner, put up a sign, "Reserved--Tow away zone." Then when some parks, have it towed. If you don't have ownership in writing, it is not your spot.

[lottiebannotie]

Rent a forklift truck and remove the offending vehicles

[lottiebannotie]

Regarding the update throw there shit in the river 😘

[MCheetah]

It's tempting, but I'll show restraint this time, LOL!

[Likes2drive]

I love what that guy did in the video but I wouldn’t have parked back in there, maybe you need to put up a sign in Korean saying that it’s a reserved spot and anyone parking there will be removed, plenty of parking in the back

[Iron_Man]

That’s a big no-no find out where they live and bring a friend and have a super serious conversation with them that can take place anymore even if you have to throw down it’s worth it you can have somebody disrespecting you

[Iron_Man]

Isn’t that assigned to your apartment that certain parking lot with a number and you pay for all that stuff you can’t have somebody doing that there’s a price to pay for disrespect. Remember three strikes and there out rule

[Drumlin2001]

Do you mean you have allocated parking and one is allocated to your property, or just a generic parking lot and you like one particular parking space?

[Jamesshinobi]

ain't you from Philly? they dont shoot you for that anymore? i only been gone 8 years

[MCheetah]

I'm not in Philly right now. I'm in South Korea at the moment.

[Jamesshinobi]

ahhhh. yeah. can't just go around shooting people in South Korea. still over retaliation is the Pennsylvanian way. they hit you with a 3 you hit them at a 6. maybe the ol sugar in the gas tank trick? throw bologna all over their car. the oil in the meat will eat the paint and make their car a polkadotted clown car.

[Jamesshinobi]

write asshole parking in chalk on ground

[Gent207]

Call a tow truck and have them towed

[KrakenAttackin]

Have their asses towed.