Virginia K. Smith

We often receive emails from readers asking for help in navigating their own real estate crises. In Realty Bites, we try to get them answers.

The Problem:

A reader prepping to move to New York with her family recently wrote to us asking about this sprawling three-bedroom duplex Tribeca penthouse, on the market for $25,000 a month, and asked the following:

We'd have thought this would be common sense, but in case there was any lingering confusion, a new lawsuit from a co-op shareholder at the Carlyle on the Upper East Side has made it crystal clear: just because you're sleeping with someone doesn't mean you should expect them to take care of your apartment.

There are plenty of ways for a roommate relationship to go off the rails, and last week, Gothamist explored one of the very worst: a roommate renting out their room on Airbnb while they take a vacation, leaving you in charge of their guests (and without a cut of the profits). Rough stuff.