Margot Slade

If you are moving, you may be understandably concerned about picking up bed bugs in transit.

Yet whether out of cost worries, denial or ignorance, New York City moving and storage companies have been slow to adopt procedures that cut down the risk of in-truck transmission.  So we were intrigued to hear that Moishe's, the 30-year-old local moving company, recently announced a prevention program.

The allure of a first-floor/basement duplex is undeniable: You can own a brownstone-like duplex at a comparatively low per-square-foot price. But the glow will fade if your palace becomes a house of ill-repute subject to noise, pests and the aroma of nearby garbage. Basement living enthusiasts (all of whom insist they've had no problems) and disparagers on StreetEasy.com agree on one thing: Try before you buy. Here is what to investigate:

The bet between my husband and me was ongoing: Would the light at the front of our apartment be on or off when we got home, and if on, which neighbor would be sitting at our desktop computer playing Tetris?

Sartorial envy over a Bergdorf Goodman sweater may have distracted a New York Post columnist from the real reasons for hiring (or not hiring) a building's "inside" broker--a real estate agent who lives where he or she sells and maybe even sits on the board--to sell an apartment.

Common wisdom holds that apartment-dwellers who value peace and quiet should find an apartment that doesn't face the street.   But when the weather warms up and people with backyard space start using it, the rear of the building can be among the noisiest places to live.  

So what can you do, especially when the noise is being made by people who don't even live in your building? 

Has your building's super set up home in the basement, which isn't actually zoned for living? Be afraid, be very afraid of the many reasons any number of people can sue your co-op or condo and win.