A. Ready

Sellers love bidding wars; buyers--not so much. On StreetEasy a prospective buyer has been told that there is a higher bid on a Greenwich Village studio with "basic" renovations, but the apartment is still being actively shown. Should the buyer up the bid, or walk away?

Most weigh in on the side of walking, with one commenter noting that a buyer should never fall in love with an apartment prior to having the keys in hand.

Looking for an apartment for less than $2,000? This midrise elevator building on East 77th Street and First Avenue has apartments with exposed brick, fireplaces and dishwashers. According to no-fee search site UrbanEdgeNY, there are currently three studios available for $1,750-1,800, comparable to the $1,800 median price of studios currently for rent on the Upper East Side.

Over on StreetEasy a poster complains that compared to his kid's private school crowd, he is feeling house poor on a million dollar "middle class" salary. Keeping up with the Joneses is never easy, but if you are a valued professor at Columbia U., the administration may make it a bit easier for you.

The Upper West Side Recycling Center has compiled a highly detailed list of who to go to when you need to get rid of your hard-to-recycle recyclables. From batteries to textiles to hazardous household waste, they have prepared a memo (attached below as a PDF) providing information on over fifty companies, charities and governmental organizations you can call to assist you in your disposal efforts. Kudos to them for making being green easier.

Some co-op boards have been known try to prop up property values by rejecting buyers when the price is deemed too low. And some boards permit buyers and sellers to artificially inflate the recorded sales price via givebacks, credits, concessions or allowances.