Rental Price Negotiation

[bzkod]

In Massachusettes, I have found an apartment I like, but not at the price I like. The realtor wants me to put down 1st months to take the apartment off the market, THEN sit down for negotiating the price with the owner. The question is: should I take the apartment off the market then negotiate price, or demand to negotiate without putting any money down? Also, how hard is it (my legal rights and time frame) to get my downpayment back? Thanx--

 

[LL]

Is it really your policy to put down money without knowing what will be the price of what you are putting the money down for?

It's not quite clear to me how you could put down a first month's rent without knowing how much the first month's rent is. How much do you put down?

Obviously you will be at a great disadvantage, because you will probably not get your deposit back after the landlord has taken the property off the market for you.

There certainly seems to be something wrong here, wouldn't you agree?