<prompt> Human: He says hes been burnt before and is therefore requested the first months rent fine, a security deposit naturally and rent for the two last months on whatever lease we end up signing hmm.... On top of that, despite the fact that he owns the apartment and I called the realty via an advertisement I found in a newsletter, the broker fee of one months rent applies and his partner, who would be considered the broker in this case, would need to be paid.Ill acknowledge my lack of experience with renting, but this strikes me as odd. The apartment is newly renovated and in amazing shape but the amount of money down is very, very significant. I am looking for advice and perhaps a way to negotiate because I would hate to lose this opportunity.Assistant: You might need to be a bit more specific on location for this. Accepted practices vary. Ive always paid first month and security deposit, but Ive heard many add on last months rent. Ive also heard the brokers fee isnt unheard of in some cities but my area doesnt even have brokers to the best of my knowledge.Human: New York City is the place.Assistant: The brokers fee is unfortunately a fact of life for many NYC apartments. Do you make 40x the rent or have a guarantor? If not, that may be why the money down is so high.Human: He cited a prior tenant who burned to justify the money down and was pretty upfront about it, but Im still getting a bad feeling...  <response>: In situations like this, then I say trust your gut. Youre likely uneasy for a reason. 