Any realtors here who can give me advice.........

    I am looking to rent in Brooklyn, NY and today found a lovely apartment for Maia and I, but have some worries about the Realtor/ situation.....She was as nice as could be, made me feel really comfortable, had keys, and spoke to the landlord via phone while I was there. Before I looked at the apartment, she explained to me that there is a one month rental fee, but the landlord only wants first month rent, no deposit, so the deposit would go to the Realtor so they can insure quiet, trustworthy, clean tenants move in. Understandable although it is the first time I have ever heard of this. 

    So after seeing apartment, I wanted it but we couldn't do application and meet landlord till Monday.  She told me that if I gave them a deposit they wouldn't show it to anyone else, which would have been one months rent. I didn't do this, felt there were to many questions..... she gave me applications to fill out and bring back Monday morning and told me to make sure I bring money as well, fee and first months rent, and then we would meet up again to sign lease and get keys........That doesn't sound right to me either? I honestly don't even know what Realtor she works for, it was a listing in a paper, and is it normal to hand over all that money without lease and keys?

  Help me....

That doesn't sound right to me at all... Did you get her name or anything that you can google?

There are tons of scams around here with rent to own houses, what happens is that someone rents a house and then puts it up as a rent to own when they don't actually own the property. They accept a HUGE downpayment and then collect rent each month, at some point the actual landlord comes around because the rent isn't being paid. S/he doesn't know the people living in the home, the people living there don't know the landlord and no one knows where the person that was collecting the rent is. 

Oh man! Sounds like a scam to me!!

Did she give you her business card? If she was legit, she would have. Also the information should be on the paperwork.

We're landlords, and our usual procedure is to sign the lease, then hand over the keys after the new tenant has paid the security fee and first month's rent by credit transfer.

That's raising a red flag with me too.
Our procedure is to give out an application form to prospective tenants, with no guarantees. Then if we & they do want the apartment (after credit checks etc) they sign a tenancy agreement and THEN we get the first & last month's rent from them.
I would not be comfortable with giving a fee or deposit without paperwork in hand. And I'd want to know who the landlord is.

You did the right thing to trust your instincts! Even if the realtor is genuine, surely she doesn't expect someone to hand over one month's rent to a stranger in return for a promise? I'm also suspicious about the extra month's rent that is supposed to go to her. That might not have been the owner on her phone, could have been anybody.

I know a little about this sort of thing, and did a quick check for Brooklyn, and I found nothing saying it's legal what the realtor asked you to do. If she wanted you to give a first month's rent to hold the property for you, that should have been in a contract IMO, and I'd still be suspicious even then.

You really need to arm yourself with the law, it will protect you, so here it is: http://www.housingnyc.com/html/resources/attygenguide.html

I found that in your area, you can also call a 311 hotline to get info about this. I hope the apartment is legit and that you get it on Monday, sounds really good for you and Maia.

I just found this law from New York Penal Code - Article 180 - Rent Gouging in the Third Degree (I'm assuming it's okay to post laws here):
http://law.onecle.com/new-york/penal/PEN0180.55_180.55.html

I think you were right not to hand anything over - that sounds REALLY suspicious to me. I rented for years and never heard of a fee. pushylady's procedure is pretty much what I've done every time I rented. This doesn't sound normal.

Well, it may not be as shady as you think. A guy that DH works with had a deal with a company that sounds similar. He was renting his basement apartment and hired a company to be a go between with the tenets and him, since he worked 2 jobs and wasn't home very much. They screened the applicants, collected the rent, and evicted them if needed. They also got most of the first months rent as their fee and got 10% of each rent after that for their services. So, it's not uncommon. But, the realtor should not have explained where the first month's rent went...that is between the company and the owner.

You may want to call the company and see exactly what the agreement is and make sure it is legit, especially if you like the apartment. But, I would not hand over any money until you have the signed agreement in your hands and keys in sight.

  Just wanted to let everyone know that everything worked out great! I met Realtor and landlord today, who is the sweetest woman, signed lease, received keys even though move in isn't till the 15, paid fee and first rent. The landlord said I'm welcome to come in before then to do some fixes, everything was legit! I am very excited for Maia to see our new home, I know she is going to love it......

Pictures when we are settled in ofcourse!

   Thanks everyone

Well I'm very glad to hear that. Congrats! It's stressful enough looking for a new home without the added complications of potentially shady deals. So she's just acting as property manager then? I agree with Calico222, the realtor shouldn't have told you about her fees, that's between her and the landlord and the landlord should be the only one paying her. Oh well, not that it matters now. I'm happy that you've found a good place to live!

Congratulations on your new home!