Hello! Curious whether or not this is a red flag.
I’m in contact with an independent realtor based in New York City. She’s looking for tenants to occupy a 3 bedroom apartment. I found via a craigslist post (should mention I’ve lived in a few rooms found via craigslist but with those the listings were posted by existing tenants). I’m very interested in one of the rooms available. I was able to visit the apartment in person. However, I didn’t meet her there -she just gave me the building’s access code and had unlocked the door prior. Everything seemed fine until I asked about how to apply and she sent me an email with instructions. A $400 refundable application fee is required to apply. I get that a realtor wants to make sure a tenant is serious about applying but that seems a little crazy. I’ve linked a screenshot of the email below. Is there a good way to determine if this is legit or not?
https://res.cloudinary.com/dxklaorw6/image/upload/v1634005921/hello-sign.png