Did you know it's actually illegal for a broker to call a building "family friendly"? True. The NY Times has an article with very useful tips for figuring out if you could actually put a kid in the $2.5 million, 3BR co-op you're looking at, or if it's really, secretly for sourfaced, old, noise-hating couples with no kids but lots of hobbies.
Topping the to-look-for list: a playable layout; big closets; washer/dryer in the apartment; thick floors; and high-fiving doormen. You'd think the presence of a playroom in the building is a good sign, too, but it turns out it's not so simple. You have to poke around the residents storage spaces in the basement where "stashed strollers can also double as carbon-dating tools."
"If it's a Peg Perego Roma, then they had babies in the late '90s," Ms. Friedman said. "A Bugaboo means they currently have children. The color of the Bugaboo tells you what period -- the brighter and louder, the more current it is. A lime green or hot orange or jazzy pink means they currently have a stroller-age kid."That's right, New York City now has multiple generations of Bugaboo owners. And those 1st Gen. Frog people are wondering why you can't keep that kid quiet.
