Apartments 2007

Like many New Yorkers, you’re probably at a tipping point when it comes to your pad—you want fewer roommates, or more space for your kid, or a cooler ’hood, or a safer block, or a gayer gay-tto, or something better. In the current market, it’s a tantalizing but paralyzing thought: A one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan rents for an average of $2,522 a month, according to Citi Habitats, while vacancy rates in the city hover at a teeny-weeny 1.09 percent, as the peak rental season approaches. (It’s even scarier if you’re buying, as risky subprime mortgages screw the poor while those who can afford them buy premade condos.) It’s no wonder you’re staying put in your current, could-be-better situation.

To help you decide if it’s time to take action, we’ve targeted your lifestyle and offer solutions for everyone—from the first-time buyer to the big-spending condo seeker—hunting for the choicest neighborhoods, the most perfectly sized pads and brokers who won’t screw you over. We’ve even landed a legitimate fee-free one-bedroom—yours to win if you’re clever (and desperate) enough. Buyers, meanwhile, can learn from three folks who want the same: In “Closing time?”, they open their books, and a financial adviser tells them—and you—how to plan. Or save some cash by considering a commune. Architect Craig Konyk designs one in “It’s not you, it’s we”, and the results are nicer—and cheaper—than most boutique hotels. Finally, if you’re tired of thinking about your own situation, gawk at those of others. Peer into first-floor windows in “Peep show”; then play “What’s their deal?”, matching renters to their apartments. Some of them have crazy-nice, make-us-jealous places. After reading this issue, maybe you will too.—Michael Freidson

Plus:

• Urban renewal: You’re ready to buy, done with roomies or having a kid: You’re at the tipping point and need help making the move. Here’s where to look.
• No-fee apartment!: Think they’re a myth? We found you one—ours.
• Closing time?: Three households are ready to buy—we opened their books to see if they’ve got what it takes.
• It’s not you, it’s we: How realistic is communal housing? We enlist an architect to render the possibility, in a true-life space.
• Peep show: What kind of exhibitionist lives in a ground-floor apartment—and leaves the shades open? We found out.
• What's their deal?: You never can tell who lives where—or can you? Match the people with their apartments and rent.
• Insider’s Look: New condos: Each day this week, the savvy writers at real estate blog Urbandigs analyze one of the city’s new condo developments