Teri Karush Rogers

Q.  What should I keep in mind when considering a rent-to-own apartment?

A.   The first thing to consider is what the right purchase price is, according to our experts.

"The tricky thing here is that most of the time the buyer and seller want a fixed strike price or sale price of the apartment that will take place in the future," says real estate broker Max Dobens. "With all of the ups and downs since 2006, that has been hard to do."

If you're about to sign a contract for a new condo, hire an inspector to look at the unit and as much of the building as he or she can gain access to, keeping an eye out for problems like those identified in The Top 7 Construction Defects.

BrickUnderground's Renter Referral Program is one week old today, and so far dozens of renters from in and outside NYC have requested a match with a good Manhattan rental agent in what the Wall Street Journal reported last week is the tightest rental market in 5 years.

Real estate agents are legally prohibited from answering questions about whether a building is "family friendly," but there are some tried-and-true methods for finding a kid-friendly New York City apartment building yourself: Search for buildings with playrooms (the more elaborate and/or well-tended the better), and when zeroing in on a specific building, ask the doorman and residents, and park yourself outside early one weekday to count strollers and mini-people.