[pixelatedindex]

> I'm in an older building (built in the early 1900s). I can hear the people upstairs talking at a normal level.

> This is definitely a HCOL area, and my rent, which I think is substantially under market value

But that’s exactly it, right? Because it’s under market value they don’t get enough revenue to do things like proper sound isolation. I live in a modern apartment where there is no rent control, and I have none of these problems.

And I think the rent you pay will pay for mortgage somewhere else because the relative income is low in that area. How much more do you have to pay to get a mortgage in a similar area?