Margot Slade

Moving through six apartments in two years is probably not a record--not in a city of nomads such as ours. But it is voyeurisically entertaining (and for some of us, painfully familiar) to follow along as one young but experienced-beyond-her-age renter describes her post-college 2008-2010 perambulations on Thoughtcatalog.com, including this memorable flashback:

There's the rule and then there's reality when it comes to paying for any damage your contractor does to your apartment, a neighbor's apartment or your building's common areas. 

When we first saw the loft we eventually bought, we thought living next to a church in lower Manhattan would be convenient (my husband is Roman Catholic) and, in a way, charming.

And talk about a good neighbor.  It was a church, for heaven's sake, with priests and parishioners who cared about its upkeep and, well, religiously cleaned its sidewalk frontage and grounds.  The community room was in the basement and any late night activities, we figured, would be anything but drunk and disorderly. I mean, how raucous could a midnight mass get? 

More tipping points on, well, tipping points for Fresh Direct deliveries and handymen who respond both handily and quickly. Consensus on UrbanBaby.com is that tips for Fresh Direct deliveries average $3-5, depending on the size of the delivery and whether stairs are involved.

(Noting that Fresh Direct's original no-tipping policy was part of the service's appeal, several non-tippers said they didn't realize the policy had changed.) 

Some tenant groups want to raise the $2,000 threshold for deregulating rent-stabilized and rent-controlled apartments, and now even a landlord group is said to be open to an increase, reports the Wall Street Journal. But extending protections for rent-regulated tenants spells trouble for market-rate renters, according to a landlord who posted this comment to the Journal story:

If your contractor walks out, move your project along: Get it finished and don't rely on suing to recover your cash. That's the reality-check advice on Brownstoner.com.

"You are wasting your time thinking that you can get $100,000 in damages..it will be reduced to $3500 by a decent lawyer," says one commenter. Moreover, adds another, "The GC may not have any assets to compensate you with even if you won."