Rapid Realty Office Opening in Red Hook
A franchise of the firm Rapid Realty is opening a storefront location on the corner of Pioneer and Van Brunt. According to Johnny Colon, a broker with the company, the Red Hook location is supposed to be open for business before the month is out, and it’s one of 14 new Rapid franchises in the…
A franchise of the firm Rapid Realty is opening a storefront location on the corner of Pioneer and Van Brunt. According to Johnny Colon, a broker with the company, the Red Hook location is supposed to be open for business before the month is out, and it’s one of 14 new Rapid franchises in the works. Another one is being built out in Clinton Hill on Myrtle Avenue between Franklin and Skillman, Colon said. The majority of the real estate firm’s storefronts are in Brooklyn. GMAP
I recently signed up to train and work for Rapid but like any prospective employee, I started looking up the company. After reading all of the reviews on them, I decided that Rapid wasnt the type of company I wanted to work for. I still went to the 2 week training/free real estate class because I still wanted to pursue a career in Real Estate and heck, why not get a free real estate class. During this training, I realized WHY they have to reputation they have. First off, they TELL the trainees to post ads of “an amazing apartment” not to rent THAT particular apartment but to generate leads. Getting leads is what’s important. Another thing is the way they go about renting the apartments. Example: 50 agents can show the same apartment: whichever agent gets a deposit first, gets credit for it. Basically they’re training their agents to get a deposit as fast as possible and at any cost. I have passed my state real estate exam and as a decent human being, I WILL NOT be working with Rapid Realty.
Rapid Realty is SHADY. Stay away.
Well said Babs, How this company stays in business is beyond me and I’m scratching my head on why someone would pay for a “Rapid Realty” franchise. Oh, it makes them money, of course.
Snacky Place notes:
The early-morning til afternoon food places seem to do quite well. Mostly stuff-on-a-roll or on a bagel in the morning and steam table rice n’ beans and other stuff for lunch.
By noon, Hope and Anchor opens to the lunch thru dinner crowd.
Dinner time, people come from ALL around to Good Fork and Fort Defiance.
On weekends H&A, Fort D are usually packed – and I like that because our (non-food) store is between those places.
An affordable Asian Snacky place could kill here in the long lunch/dinner stretch. It’s all about quality and price point.
Typical rent: $1500/month. Crack-piped asking price: $3000+/month.
Come down on a week day. Walk the street. Then check the street out on a Saturday afternoon around 2pm. Get your own impression of the nabe. Talk to locals. talk to other business owners.
If you build it they will come.
babs- he’s doing really well and actually turned down an offer from one of the biggies. He feels he can do better as a big fish in a little pond, than a little fish in a big one. he’s also very astute when it comes to money so I know he checked all of this out. Maybe at the level he works the split is better and he is one of their best agents. I think he’s also been with them for awhile.
bxgrl, if your friend is that good and works that hard he could be making a lot more money elsewhere. Seriously, he should check out one of the biggies – better market presence, support staff, and commission splits.
I might be remembering wrong, but I’m pretty sure I only paid $40 for the credit check w/Rapid. It was a while ago though. But Babs is right, everybody charges some kind of credit fee. A friend of mine got a place in the West Village and the mgmt company charged him $100 just to run his credit! That’s why I live in Brooklyn right there.
tyburg- still doesn’t prove anything. Sorry but it doesn’t. B’stoner has new people who sign up or comment for the first time, all the time.
I know someone who works for them- a friend. He puts in long hours, gives up weekends, evenings and holidays if a client calls. works very hard for them and he’s doing well. everyone has a story, I guess.
I truly do not understand how Rapid Realty stays in business – or maybe I do, and it’s not from renting apartments. I have a friend who looked into working for them (I believe all offices are franchises, so each may run a little differently). First, they were disappointed to learn that she already had her RE license, because first step is they send you to their school to get your license, which costs $250 – but they give you a “scholarship” to go there, which you pay back out of your first deal. Second, yes, they charge a $75 application fee (this is not unusual; Corcoran and Citi Habitats do the same, but it is a rip-off to the consumer and an income source for the firm). And those “no fee” apartments they’re always pushing? They’re not no fee – you pay first, last and security and they take the last month as their fee – good luck making your landlord remember that when that last month rolls around. Finally, their splits STINK. They told her she would start at 3o/70 – and that’s 70% to THEM. If she did well and got past four deals she would get to 40/60 – but it would go back to 35/65 next month! Not to mention the incoherent 9 PM text messages and pocket dials from the broker, whose own voice mail message said, “Due to the nature of my business I am not able to respond directly to telephone calls. Leave a message and I will call you back at my convenience.” – not kidding, she taped it!