A. Ready

Could you and your possessions happily exist amidst the sleek, modernist style so prevalent today? One UrbanBaby.com apartment dweller is becoming self-conscious about her cluttered ways. Although her "lived-in" apartment suits her lifestyle, she feels that 99.9% of her acquaintances live in show homes (like the one pictured here).

Where can you find a large three-bedroom, two-bath rental for a reasonable price in a convenient Manhattan location? Try this $3,300/month floor-through duplex at 1557 Lexington Avenue and East 99th Street. While technically this unit is in East Harlem, it is not far north of the 96th Street dividing line, and is very close to Mount Sinai Medical Center.

At $385,000 for approximately 750-square feet ($513 per square foot), this one-bedroom co-op at 345 East 93rd Street between First and Second Avenues is very competitively priced for the neighborhood. According to StreetEasy.com, only three other one-bedroom apartments on the Upper East Side are listed for less per square foot, and two of those are located in a land-lease bu

First-time buyer seminars are pretty common; far less so are seller seminars like the one being hosted by the broker-bloggers behind The Apple,Peeled.    Pitfalls, pricing strategies and buyer bait are on the menu Tuesday, January 18th, at 6:00 p.m. at The Real Estate Board of New York (580 Lexington Avenue at 51st Street). Seating is limited, so RSVP on-line or at 212 350-2258.

Manhattan is a nice option if you can afford it. But sacrificing space and quality and/or paying what's necessary to score a decent apartment in the borough doesn't appeal to all. This week we feature an interesting option in Midwood, Brooklyn: A newly constructed "green" building, The Madison at 3692 Bedford Avenue, where apartments rent for less than half of comparable units in Manhattan.