Application fee paid to broker?

I am on owner and I chage $40 application fees. But these are for rentals in buildigns I own. The only reason I could see an app fee over $100 is if you are applying for a rental in a co-op...

doesn't make sense of why it would go to listing broker, actually to the name of the brokerage, unless they are also the managing agent

Same as Mav for us. In buildings we own, we charge a nominal (human) app fee. For some condos/coops we own, $300 for app fee is not out of the question. As ab_11218 said, unless the brokerage firm is also the managing agent/prop mgnt company, app fees go direct to the LL.

My condo charges the owners a $400 application fee (payable to the management company) to lease out their unit. It is up to the owner if he/she wants to push this expense to the tenant similar to broker fees.

Don't make waves, don't try to negotiate. The broker is in charge. Listen to the broker. Pay the broker: "In the market we're in, with very low inventory, it's more about just getting that great apartment vs. not getting it instead of trying to hammer out an amazing deal. That was 2008-2010, and it's long gone, i'm afraid. :-/"
http://streeteasy.com/nyc/talk/discussion/34793-negotiating-broker-fee-if-i-have-no-broker

Agreed that its not worth losing an apartment for $300.

Natertots, can you clarify? Is the listing broker asking for the app fee check to be made out to his name, (ie: John Smith) or his brokerage? (ie: XYZ Brokerage). There's a world of difference between the two, and I couldn't tell from your original post which you meant.

I would think it incredibly shady that the app fee would be made out to him directly, I've never heard of that. But as others said above, the listing you want to apply for might coincidentally be managed by the same firm that is his brokerage. There are a few real estate brokerages that also have property management wings (Douglas Elliman, Brown Harris Stevens, etc).

This seems very excessive if it's a rental. Also, making out to an individual is shady.

Thanks for all the responses. Here is what he said in the email listing what I needed to apply:

"-checks as discussed - deposit check of $3000 to "[MANAGEMENT COMPANY]" ; processing screening ck of $300 to "[BROKERS NAME]". "

I am redacting his name, but yeah, made out directly to him. Shady right? Is that something I should tell streeteasy? I was under the impression they try to crack down on shady brokers.

Deposit checks go to LL unless the mgmnt company is also acting as property mgmt and collecting rents on behalf of LL. The processing/screening fees go to prop mgnmt or brokerage company. Not to broker or agent's personal names.

What kind of property is this? Condo/coop/etc...

It's just listed on Streeteasy as a "Rental". 1 bedroom apartment in the West Village.

His explanation for the $300 is that it's $150 per person, and we have two people on the lease. While that seemed a bit high, it was more the making the check out directly to him part that set off my alarms.

It's unusual but not necessarily dirty. $150 per man is a bit much but now that the law has passed that makes it harder to tell if someone has been in housing court I think $150 per is reasonable.

We sometimes have brokers pay the app fee for the applicants (you can fax in an application but can't fax in an app fee, so brokers sometimes run the fee down to get their clients app in quickly) - accordingly the broker would need to get reimbursed directly from the tenants.

If you're trying to gouge your clients for $300 (or $150) and are risking your license you shouldn't 1. put the fee request in an email. 2. get the fee paid via check.

Since the broker is asking for a check and not cash my guess is that the broker is above board here (or just really stupid).

Also, if you aren't asked to also pay a fee to the LL then that's more evidence in the broker's favor (certainly the LL has some kind of app fee....) - perhaps the LL charges $75/man and the broker is charging the $150/man but ........

I've never heard of any fee being payable to a broker/agent's personal name. But as Jazzman said, no agent in their right mind would risk their license over $300 bucks, so maybe it's not illegal. Interesting.

The amount of the fee isn't the issue here but the payee. One condo we own charges $75 just for the damn credit check. The app fee? Don't ask.