What's That Noise Coming from the Back Garden?

Aug. 18, 2015 — The apartment I want to buy is on the ground floor facing a lovely back garden. I noticed a humming noise, though. Should I be concerned?

I think this is an issue that needs to be looked into and raises a number of questions that need to be answered. What is the noise and has it ever been brought to the attention of anyone from management or the building staff so they can come and hear it? If they have, do they have any idea of what has been causing it and how to fix it? If they do not, then when was the last time the boiler was serviced? Has the boiler service been called to come out and hear the noise? Do they know what is causing it? Is there something wrong with the boiler that can be fixed or adjusted to either make the noise go away or lessen it? Or is this the normal operation sound that the boiler makes when it is on? If this is normal, is there another way to reduce the sound traveling, such as insulating the boiler room or the apartment in question? Is this sound even coming from the boiler? Might there be another source? Has either an engineer or acoustical engineer been consulted on this? If there is a solution, does the building have the funds to address this problem?

Beth Markowitz is president of Merlot Management.