Michael Ackerman, a Seattle real estate broker with Coldwell Banker Bain, blogs about performing some proactive noise testing when you are considering a condo or townhome purchase. If you are going to be in a living situation that involves sharing walls, you may want to work with your agent to figure out how the noise levels are going to be in the home. Playing a loud boom-box in a vacant neighboring unit or talking directly to neighbors are both great ideas to help in your evaluation. If you have any questions or comments, please send an email to michaelackerman@cbbain.com or visit www.mackerman.com.