Leah Hochbaum Rosner

So your entire (huge) family is coming for Thanksgiving and you have a 15-pound turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffing, and a pumpkin pie to prepare. You clearly don’t have any time to tidy the apartment up (and don't need any dirty looks from your neat-freak in-laws).

The good news: You do have time to hire someone to make the place look sparkling clean before the guests arrived. We tried out some of the best cleaning services around. So, they can mop your floors and make the beds while you can focus on basting the bird.

While some folks love spending Sundays visiting open house after open house in search of a new place to live, others would love nothing more than to purchase the very first condo or co-op they see and avoid a lot of the (literal) footwork.

But if you do decide to go the "one and done" way, know that it’s not without its risks. Here are some ways to minimize them:

Know your stuff:

Many New Yorkers have learned the hard way what it's like to live in such close quarters with all sorts of people—and businesses. Will the Indian restaurant downstairs leave your apartment smelling like curry? Will the noise from the Irish pub next door keep you up all night? 

Believe it or not, a funeral home is one of the best businesses to have as a neighbor, at least according to our sources.

If you're a selling or buying a place in New York City, you've probably heard the expression "co-broke" thrown around a bit. But what does it mean? And how can it help you/save you money? Here's what you need to know:

What it is: Co-broking is a practice in which a seller’s broker works together with a buyer’s broker to complete a sale, rather than handling the entire thing—and bringing in an unrepresented buyer—themselves.

Love the quaint cobblestones and row houses of Washington Heights’ Sylvan Terrace—and want something just like it elsewhere in NYC? Compass agent Chad Maltby tells you where to look in this week’s Buy Curious.

THE WISH LIST: