Even if you're planning to do 100% of the work yourself (And I hope you're not), materials alone will blow your budget by a lot.Just looking at the pictures you've put up, I'm willing to bet there's some DIY electrical.

From an ownership perspective, I suspect that also makes them a safer bet.

at any rate, yes, owning a rental for only 2 years, your expenses will probably be lower than 50%..then again, i'm betting you weren't trying to live off of that cashflow...my post was directed at the people who come on BP and say they want to buy and hold rental property and make that their full time job..if that's the case, they should not be buying for apprecation, at least for their first few dozen units--they should be buying for cashflow...once they have that base income, they can look to other avenues of income in real estate, such as long term appreciation

Sounds like you are living in a condo that is really old in age or was poorly and incorrectly renovated.It's common in older buildings to have thin sheet rock and also the insulation used in the walls had a lower value back then.Over time the insulation breaks down.If you can hear each other between the walls it is definitely not a person issue it is a building issue.Good luck on getting them to redo the walls and insulate to fix the problem.Your best bet is to move to a newer facility with proper sound deadening.If you moved to a town house on the end unit then you would only share one common wall.In an apartment you can have people below you,above you,beside you, and with poor sound control can be a nightmare for a tenant.No legal advice.

Hopefully, we'll see continued thoughtfulness by the city regarding appropriate--and necessary--ways of increasing urban density.I also agree with @Lynn Currie about some of the speculation we're seeing from investors; namely, folks betting on appreciation rather than the fundamentals of income producing properties and/or historical sales prices.

Though you should never bet on appreciation, from the sound of it, it is highly likely that this property will appreciate nicely. 

I'll bet we have a couple members with silent keyboards (past away) that may have their membership still active.

At a purchase price of $203k, I'd bet not because they're likely renting for around $1,200 to $1,300 a month. 

(largest artillery base in the US) Those who have bet on it's closure since it's inception in the late 1800's have lost.

See how much brick you have in there - I bet you see quite a bit of broken pieces of brick and mortar.