A. Ready

A  buyer looking for an investment property in Manhattan is particularly unimpressed with the brokers encountered thus far, and offers some feedback on StreetEasy.com. Others chime in, producing a pocket guide to good/bad broker behavior, including but not limited to:

The Fairfax, located at 201 East 69th Street at Third Avenue, is the former New York City headquarters of the FBI. As a result, apartments have unusual layouts and relatively high 9-foot beamed ceilings. The kitchens and baths are modern. The building has a 24-hour concierge, a gym, and a landscaped roof deck.

Recently The New York Times City Room Blog asked readers, "What is the state of your block? Turns out it's not just street noise and adjacent neighbors that affect New Yorkers' quality of life. It's also grocery stores.

At $5,800/month, this two-bedroom, two-bathroom rental has the dubious honor of being the most expensive East Village no-fee apartment currently listed on StreetEasy.com. But as anyone who has made an effort to find a nicely renovated, spacious and well-located two-bedroom apartment in that neighborhood can attest, the pickings tend toward the grim.

Some vertical dwellers on UrbanBaby.com have some things to say to their upstairs (and a few downstairs) neighbors. Most of the complaints are familiar, and largely involve noise.  There are requests for carpet installation, a cessation of loud spousal arguments at 4 a.m., keeping the children from jumping off the bed, and a more unusual plea to learn how to balance the laundry while in the spin cycle.