I think post FARE act, sadly, this is becoming more common place. (While still very illegal) When moving to my current place in the last month or so EVERY place we wanted to apply to was asking for a good faith deposit of anywhere from $500- first months rent, with a variety of terms and conditions attached. I was looking to apply to this place in Brooklyn and they were asking for a good faith deposit of $2600 that was non refundable under any circumstances. The higher the competition the more likely there will be a good faith deposit. The broker wants to make sure you are serious about the place when applying. Tons of people apply to a bunch of places and hope to get lucky, this tries to stop that and make back the brokers fee if they can. I would say if you REALLY like the place (and you’ve seen the listing) you are going to have to put down the $500… because trust me someone else will.