Virginia K. Smith

Looking to buy on a budget of half a million dollars? Even in today's crazy market, it can still be done, and we've combed the listings for options in all five boroughs, from a Battery Park City studio to an old-school uptown co-op to a waterfront getaway right on Rockaway beach.

We'd all like a piece of New York's sky-rocketing real estate market—it's the least we could get in exchange for paying such exorbitant rents, after all—and a new site, Sharestates, aims to lets residents do just that, by investing in new properties for as little as $100 per share.

If a listing looks to good to be true, check the fine print; the pictures may be Photoshopped (NYDN)

Don't give up part of your security deposit for breaking a rule that's not in your lease (NYT)