A deposit on an apartment we didn't move into has gone missing. Am I screwed?

Oh, and by that least line I mean that the threat of escalation is likely to cause the broker('s boss) to cave... NOT that going to the state will get your money back, which frankly I know nothing about. But if it seems like a credible threat (which you should only make if he resists your first demand), it should get things moving.

Figured I'd just post a follow-up: We had some contentious conversations, the broker tried to low ball me at 300$. We refused and consulted with a lawyer. He said what we'd been thinking- That they had absolutely no right to keep our money. All we had to do was mention that we'd consulted with a lawyer and, ta-da!, $500 on the table. It would have been fun to learn small claims court, but I'm glad to skip the headache.

Sorry--I didn't mean to minimize your problem. I was making an oblique reference to the fact that if you don't feel like going to small claims court, shaming them in public might be the way to go. At least post reviews on Yelp, CitySearch, and a post to a relevant blog/forum (depending on the neighborhood I could suggest a few).

Sorry again. Uggh. And sorry, too, for the inspection on the new place. Step away from these people and new construction in general, is my advice. They're a gamble, particularly in this market, because financing is drying up and they're scrambling to sell, in many instances, unsold, subpar units that there's no money to fix. We walk past a brand new building frequently that was going for $1000 a square foot for a ground floor studio, was completed about a year ago, had ONE unit sold as of about six months ago, and there are bricks falling out of the facade. Already. With ZERO occupants. What a joke. Remind them you have a receipt - make sure it's signed, dated and says what the receipt is actually for. Were there witnesses? If it's just a piece of paper that says, "I got $500 bucks from GilloD" and chickenscratch, you've got a bit of a problem on your hands. For all you know, they'll say they gave you a deepfreeze for your money and what you did with it, who knows? If they don't agree politely to give you back your money, I'd be even tempered, unemotional, and stick to the facts. "I have a receipt with your signature on it. We gave you this money in good faith. If you don't return our $500 in cash today, we will sue you and make it known on [influential blog here] that this building is falling apart and that you and your firm are charlatans. We will call the Secretary of State's office and report your shady business practices. We will call the Department of Building Development and report that your construction is unsafe, subpar and falling apart. We are not going to be stolen from and do nothing." I hear you. $500 bucks from who knows how many eager tenants like yourselves adds up over time. I wouldn't let them get away with this either, particularly given the economy right now. And if you accidentally threw $500 bucks in the trash, you'd go through however many dumpsters you had to to get it back, right? Best of luck. Oh, and MeMail me - as luck would have it, our place is for rent in the near future. If it's in your price range, we can put you in touch with our landlord.

In case you have to take it to small claims court, don't worry, they know how people in the housing market can be. My old roommates and I won a $1600 security-deposit-keeping case against a brooklyn landlord last month and we didn't even have a copy of the lease. Record all phone conversations with them if you're feely antsy (God bless New York being a one-party-consent call-recording state).

Tilapia- You got the nail right on the head. That is EXACTLY our situation. I called the boss before, we had a somewhat contentious chat. I guess Broker wasn't super-straight with him, acted like we had a done deal. So from his perspective we're renters trying to back out of a deal and I can understand his frustration, it's a Renter vs Broker thing, He Said/They Said. I'll definitely appeal to blogs- That's my next step. If he calls back tomorrow and offers us the cash, no harm, no foul. It's just that given all of the crap in the last few weeks, the last thing I wanna do is wage a web war against this guy. I just wanna move in someplace And as an aside: Our new new place just failed inspection. It keeps coming.

Write a detailed letter outlining the whole course of events. Send it via registered mail to Broker Boss. Threaten legal action if you don't have money in your hand within one week. If they don't pony up the cash, do it -- take 'em to small claims court.

Are you talking about a rental unit? Alot of new construction buildings, in Brooklyn, at any rate, are having to go rental because the units haven't been selling at nearly the frenzied rate the developers had hoped. In our neighborhood alone, there are at least five new developments that have sat for months, either unfinished or with a 20% or so sold rate. Many brokers have exclusive contracts with these places and are now realizing that commissions they thought they were going to enjoy on the sales of these units aren't going to materialize. So, I'm not surprised they're now playing fast and loose. And I think they know, absolutely, that alot of these units are crap construction, absolutely. You can plead with them and tell them you have a receipt and that you want your money back and appeal to their good nature. You can threaten to take them to court - I doubt they'll take you seriously over what, for them, is a small amount of money. I also don't think either of these will get you anywhere with the sort of person who accepts a $500 cash deposit on a unit without any sort of written agreement. I'd consider using the real estate blogs to my advantage in this situation, either by reporting this activity to them or telling the broker you will if you don't receive your money back - all of it - in cash. Many, many sites focus solely on Manhattan or Brooklyn or outer borough real estate. Many of them are read religiously by people interested in the market in general and those looking to buy or rent. You might let this particular broker know that many blogs keep watch on new developments and report extensively on the experience buyers or renters are having with their brokers and management companies. Telling their readership that the broker for this property is taking cash deposits on uninhabitable apartments and then refusing to return them would be of interest to many bloggers and their readership. Start with brownstoner, curbed, and streeteasy and go from there. Sorry this is happening. Keep looking - you can find a better place than some crap new building like this. And next time never give anybody any money in exchange for nothing. What, exactly, was that deposit for? Too little to be a security deposit, so, to me, it just sounds like bs.

Sondrialic- I don't want to release any personal info yet. We'll see how it plays out in the next day or two. And yeah, 500$ isn't a fortune. But I'll be damned if I let every dishonest schmuck pocket money from me just because. I'm not an idealist, I don't believe everyone is trying to do good, but this is flat wrong and I don't feel like being taken.