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August 24, 2009
Reporting a Realty Company
I don't know if this is best place to do this, but my Girlfriend and I responded to this CL posting last Friday:
http://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/abo/1333597140.html
We did not get a email response. Then Saturday night a rapid realty broker called both my GF and myself. We had only responded to this one posting all week. So he tried to tell my girlfriend what APT's he had and she politely let him go.
He called me about a hour later (this sat night at 8pm) and I started pressing him on how he got my number, he said I had called him and left him a message. I told him he was incorrect, I told him I had responded to one CL posting last week, he asked if he had the right number, changing the last digit on my number and saying he must have the wrong number. Then I brought up that he called my girlfriend a hour early and I told he was posting fake listing on CL under "listing by owner". He hung up on me, I tried to call him back twice and he would not answer.
How do you report that Rapid Realty is doing things like this? I have his number but I don't know how to proceed with reporting him.
Comments
I would not wind up that much about an idiot who made one extra call.
Posted by: bobjohn at August 24, 2009 1:50 PM
RAPID REALTY ARE THE WORST!!!!!!!
STAY AWAY.
I would report this if you can, because they are known to be EXTREMELY shady. I've had friends get completely taken for a ride by these guys.
Posted by: 11217 at August 24, 2009 2:01 PM
Yeah I have heard horror stories about these guys and there so called "colleagues" and I have general avoid them. I did see one APT they were renting, they showed up 15 minutes late with 4 dudes in backwards baseball hats. Not that I was intimidated but it was very unprofessional they let us into an APT the tenants were not there and after we looked and left they all remained in the APT! It was just weird!
Regardless the fact that they posted a fake listing contacted both me and GF (who had responded to listing separately) and then tried to lie to me about how they got my number and hung up and would not answer when I tried to call back! Very shaded and unprofessionally stuff and it is just surprising how they have been able to go on dealing this way.
Posted by: Pragonetti at August 24, 2009 2:15 PM
You can file a formal complaint with the Department of State
Posted by: PHfamily at August 24, 2009 2:41 PM
I would be very careful about making what may appear to be libelous claims about a company on the internet. It can be extremely difficult to prove that the person who you would be bringing charges against is the one who posted the ad.
Craigslist allows for anyone to post an ad and use someone else's name. Often competitors will post ads in sections of craigslist that they are not authorized to post in and they will include their competitor's contact info purposely, only to make it appear to have come from the person in the ad, when in fact they only did this to try and get them in trouble.
It's just not an easy case to win. I would write to the owner's of the company and put the pressure on them to act and discipline the salesperson if necessary.
Posted by: Aaron Morris at August 24, 2009 2:56 PM
honestly i would let it go and chalk it up to experience. it would be like fighting a snowstorm with a match. there's so many shady brokers out there flooding things like craigslist, it's not worth the effort. they are like roaches and bedbugs for the most part. i think their business model/practise will eventually phase out anyway in the next 5-10 years.
*rob*
Posted by: PitbullNYC at August 24, 2009 3:03 PM
thanks all!
Posted by: Pragonetti at August 24, 2009 3:06 PM
Forward that listing to abuse@craigslist.org, with the name and number of the person who called you back. He can check the IP address and ban them from posting ads, temporarily anyway
Posted by: Maly at August 24, 2009 3:10 PM
Rob probably has a point, but of course that's how these kinds of outfits manage to keep operating: because nobody wants to go to the trouble of doing anything about it. I think what they're doing is outrageous, and I would report it to everyone you can: the NYC Consumer Affairs office, the NY State Attorney General's office, the Better Business Bureau, the local network news stations, not to mention Craigslist itself. We the public have to make it too hard for these criminals to keep preying on people.
Posted by: Park Sloper at August 24, 2009 3:12 PM
The problem is like Aaron Morris said, it so hard to prove because of the nature of CL. The minute I started pressing him he started making up stories till he just hung up. I knew that the posting was too good to be true, but I figured I would take a shot. I have found APTs like this before for friends.
I just find what rapid realty does is ridiculous and unlawful. I lived in BK long enough that I avoid them and instruct others to as well. I just worry about people that are not as aware of the situation with realty companies like this operating in Brooklyn.
Posted by: Pragonetti at August 24, 2009 3:24 PM
Not to excuse them, but Rapid Realty doesn't charge a broker fee (the landlord pays them directly) so they often do post under apts by owner. I dealt with them during my last search and thought they were a little sleazy but so was every other broker I dealt with. If they called you twice and that was their only offense, then I would let it pass. As far as brokers go, that's not really that big a deal.
Posted by: CG_ups at August 24, 2009 3:26 PM
As a LL, Rapid was the first and only broker I used. That was four years ago. They had told me it wouldn't cost me anything (otherwise I would not have used their services). But after they found a tenant, checked them out, got all papers signed including the lease, and received checks for the security, first and last months rent, they kept the last months rent. I protested but let it go. If I use a broker again it won't be Rapid.
Posted by: starfish1948 at August 24, 2009 3:51 PM
http://www.dos.state.ny.us/cnsl/complain.html
website for complaint info against re brokers.
you have two witnesses more than enough to sustain a complaint.
Posted by: smeyer418 at August 24, 2009 3:54 PM
I think it is important to report this company and/or agent. In addition I would "review" them on some website like Yelp.
Posted by: sweet1 at August 24, 2009 6:02 PM
honestly what a tempest in a teapot. You make a couple of phone calls sound like they ruined your life and destroyed your home. Trust me, by the time you find a place you'll have complained about every single real estate agent you meet because when it comes to real estate there is a lot to complain about.
Posted by: bxgrl at August 24, 2009 6:17 PM
stay away from those guys and other no fee guys bunch of lying scums.
Posted by: armchairwarrior at August 24, 2009 8:06 PM
I post my own ads on cl and they always ask if they could show them. I told them i'm not paying them a dime. they said it was fine. so they brought people over. and I told them how is it possible they won't be paid by me or the tenant? lol anyway they always show up late and sometimes not at all.
just bunch of scammers. after a few times with these guys i refuse to let any of those Realtor show it at all.
Posted by: armchairwarrior at August 24, 2009 8:09 PM
I strongly recommend against doing what armchairwarrior is doing/has done. These people will sue at a drop of a hat and will tie you up and court and possible cloud the title on your house. Yes I know its wrong but when you lie down with dogs don't be surprised by fleas....
Posted by: smeyer418 at August 24, 2009 9:10 PM
As shady and scummy as they are, you can let a realtor show your property and even sell your house without it costing you a dime in commission. It's called a buyers agent fee. We do them all the time - or did anyway when I actually practiced real estate. The buyer simply pays your fee instead of the seller. You in return help them find the house they want and do all the negotiating and such on their behalf. Not a strange occurrence in the RE marketplace.
Posted by: williamsburgguy at August 24, 2009 9:46 PM
It seems to me that any realty company that shows an apartment (we're talking rentals here, not buying)- which can be several visits, runs credit checks and background checks on prospective tenants, does all the paperwork and collects the monies ought to be paid. Its a business like any other. I know several RE brokers- they are by no means scum nor shady. Not to say all ar perfect, but the ones I know work really hard for their money- they run all over town, show lots of apartments before they sign up an appropriate tenant, do the screening, take care of the paperwork and detail- They should be paid.
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Posted by: nikegoon2 at August 25, 2009 2:56 AM
An honest day's work for an honest day's pay is one thing. However RR (and many other brokers) are past that point.
My instinct is that they arent doing anything illegal--just shady. Real estate encourages shady practices like personal injury or used car sales.
Posted by: slick at August 25, 2009 5:10 AM
Starfish, when your tenant is ready to move, he/she has already paid the last months rent and can probably prove it. So you're out a months rent thanks to Rapid. I would have demanded that they turned that over to me.
Posted by: cggirl at August 25, 2009 10:55 AM
These guys are both stupid and shady at the same time, which is quite an achievment.
A few years ao, they showed us an partment we liked, kept our documents, checks etc as an application, called us to say the apartment was not available but they had other apartments, we were not interested and they refused to give our stuff back till we threatened to call a lawyer or the cops.
STAY AWAY FROM THEM.
Posted by: fobsdelhi at August 25, 2009 12:55 PM
Whether it's a "no fee" or not. Listing Brokers should not be posting in the "by Owner" section at all, pretending to be "property managers," it's not fair to clients or to other Brokers that actually PAY to put their ads on CL. It's not fair to landlords/tenants when they find out a year later that the last month was paid as a fee without their knowledge or approval. The more people complain to the NY dept of State, the sooner this will come to an end.
Posted by: Crownlfc at August 25, 2009 1:10 PM
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