Veronica X.

• "That boy should be wearing a sweater." REPLY: "He has his father's hot Latin blood."
• "Caroline dresses very scantily for a teenager." REPLY: "Hmmm, I was noticing your husband checking out her ass in the elevator the other day. Did he say something?"
• "Margo seems to come and go at the oddest hours and she is always alone. Aren't you concerned about her safety?" REPLY: "I feel very lucky to have such a responsible and accomplished daughter.

You chose a broker, you agreed on an asking price, and the photographer is coming for the Times ad next week.  This is when your broker makes little comments that will make a BIG difference.

Your dream bathroom/kitchen/apartment is about to become a reality....Or is it?  The dream plans are in all-too-human hands now...

You have spent the better part of the last year together getting to know each other, visiting marble yards, going to furniture shows, picking out faucets and fabrics, and spending your hard-earned money... It's no surprise you and your decorator can read each other practically like spouses.

Fall in NYC is second only to spring when it comes to buying - and marketing -apartments. Listen closely to decipher the truth behind the hype:

School re-zoning is finally a reality for the 2012 kindergarden class.  Those bumped out of their preferred schools are trading conspiracy theories while scrambling for private school applications and/or considering a move to a different zone or (gasp) to suburban climes. Meanwhile, many PSs stand for something a little different than they did last year, like these on the Upper East Side: