Virginia K. Smith

As with death, taxes, and rent hikes, if you live in New York, you can always, always count on the fact that out-of-town friends and family will want to crash with you, especially during the holidays. And on the off-chance you don't just happen to have a spacious guest room going unused, Luxury Listings NYC has some tips on making visitors feel pampered, and keeping the peace with guests in close quarters. 

Below, a few key strategies to keep in mind: 

The pitfalls of your parents footing the bill for your Brooklyn apartment (hint: you may not agree on the charms of Crown Heights) (NYO)

Just because your living room is fun-sized doesn't mean you can't decorate it well (NYT)

Looking to rent a place in New York for a little under $2,000 a month? In the name of making the search easy, we've rounded up options in your price range in all five boroughs, from Manhattan studios to roommate-friendly outer-borough and uptown shares.

New York renters live in fear of landing on the infamous tenant blacklist, a document that's sold to real estate companies with information about court disputes between landlords and tenants. It's not a huge surprise, then, that a lot of brokers seem to conveniently "forget" to mention to prospective renters that the landlord will be checking into their background, including whether or not they've earned a spot on the list.