Buying a home in Toronto, Canada’s second most expensive housing market, is tough. Buying a home on your own is even tougher. Although I started  looking for a home in 2010, it wasn’t until August 2012 when I found my dream home, a beautifully-renovated three bedroom bungalow, which I purchased for $425,000.

My journey towards homeownership wasn’t easy. When I first started house hunting I was  faced with a difficult decision – should I buy a condo or a house? While a lot first-time homebuyers go for condos, I decided to skip straight to a house. Even with a sizable down payment of $175,000, I was left with a mortgage of $255,000.

According to a recent poll by CIBC, the average homeowner won’t pay off their mortgage until right before retirement – age 58. When I bought my house I made the ambitious goal of reaching mortgage freedom a lot sooner – by age 31. Paying off my mortgage at such a young age isn’t easy and requires sacrifices.

 My Decision to Live in the Basement

When I first started looking for houses, I only looked at homes with basement apartments. An apartment was a must, as I needed the income to help subsidize my mortgage. While watching HGTV’s Income Property one night I got a crazy idea. Instead of living on the main floor, I would live in the basement and rent out the upstairs. I was inspired by the show’s host, Scott McGillivray, who lived in the basement of his first house for nine years.

Living in the basement has taken some getting used to. My first tenants were fantastic tenants. They paid their rent on time, took good care of my house, and were quiet and considerate. Unfortunately, all good things come to an end. After my first tenants moved out, my second tenants were far from model tenants. While my first tenants were dream tenants, my second tenants have been less than desirable.

Soundproofing My Basement on a Budget

As a freelance writer, it’s important to have peace and quiet. My second tenants are very loud and inconsiderate. I found myself staying at work late to avoid coming home, since I couldn’t get any work done. When the noise became unbearable , I started looking at soundproofing my house.

I went on HomeStars and phoned contractors for estimates. While I knew soundproofing would be expensive, I had no idea how costly it could be. Scott McGillivray is a big fan of soundproofing your basement with resilient channels and Roxul insulation. This seemed like a good solution until I received an estimate – it was going to cost me nearly $10,000 to soundproof my entire basement! While I enjoy tranquility, that’s a lot of dough to spend!

That’s when I started looking at less costly ways to cut back on noise. Foam ear plugs are an inexpensive way to enjoy silence. You can pick up a pack of ear plugs for less than $10. Another great way to cut down on noise is door sweeps and  foam tape. For less than $20, I was able to dull the noise from upstairs. Before I could hear my tenants’ conversations word-for-word – after I could barely hear anything.

While I may considering getting my apartment soundproofed one day, I’m finally able to enjoy peace and quiet once again.

Have you ever had noisy tenants? Do you have any advice for cutting down on sound?

Sean Cooper is the bestselling author of the book, Burn Your Mortgage: The Simple, Powerful Path to Financial Freedom for Canadians, available now on Amazon and at Chapters, Indigo and major bookstores, and as an Audiobook on Amazon, Audible and iTunes.