How this place is still open, I have no idea. I'm not even in the mood for any Yelp theatrics, friends. This shit is serious. And by that I mean seriously terrible. I made an appointment with Edward to see an apartment. Not only was he 20 minutes late, the apartment was apparently no longer available, BUT he had "a great place" to show me! Isn't it swell how life just works out like that???? DISCLAIMER: Having had subleased places most of my adult life, this was the first apartment hunt for me, and so I was very naive. Had I not been, I would have walked away without a doubt. Anyhow, we walked over to this other place and it turned out to not be too bad. Edward assured me he would negotiate the rent down by $100. Sounds too good to be true? Bear with me, it was. My wife and I submitted all required paperwork and were told that we were approved. Fantastic! We were going away for the weekend and were looking forward to coming back and signing the lease. However, it all started going downhill once we got back to town. The landlord kept asking us for more and more information, which was infuriating because WE HAD ALREADY BEEN APPROVED. DON'T TELL PEOPLE THAT THEY'RE APPROVED ONLY TO SNATCH THE APARTMENT AWAY. You might be thinking "why is this guy yelling about the landlord?" Well, it's only because Edward ignored my phonecalls, texts, and e-mails, only to eventually E-MAIL (not even text back, knowing the urgency of the situation) me back saying the place is not available. This was later translated into the landlord demanding 3 MONTHS SECURITY DEPOSIT upon moving in if we still wanted the place. REMINDER: we had submitted all necessary paperwork and were fully qualified for this apartment. TL;DR This place is a nightmare. Avoid it if you value your time and money and don't have enough of either to spare. Go to MYSpaceNYC. They have great no fee apartments, and despite the fact that the landlord pays their brokers' fees, THEY WORK FOR YOU. After this atrocity transpired we went to MySpaceNYC, found a beautiful apartment and literally signed the lease within 48 hours. Oh yeah. IT WAS CHEAPER BECAUSE OF NO FEE! SUCK ON THAT, RAPID! read more

Long story short, Jeffrey got me an apartment and he was great. He was friendly, communicative, always on time, and showed integrity, which is saying A LOT for an NYC broker, given that in general they have as much of a reputation for integrity as week-old tofu. Jeffrey rescued me from broker hell, I was seriously about to shoot someone. Then he showed me five or six different places in the space of an hour (yay car!). Even though I really liked the first one (which was the most expensive one) and probably would have just taken it if he didn't show me anything else, he took me to all the places he knew about. He even spent a good ten minutes negotiating with a management company to get me in to see one last place (which was the cheapest one -- i.e. less commission for him), which was the one I ended up taking. So, that's pretty danged cool in my book. If I'm gonna pay someone that much money to find me an apartment, this is how I expect to be treated. Givette was also great, who was the "processor" for my application. She also answered all my questions and even helped me change my lease signing date at the last minute when something came up. I would definitely recommend these folks to friends. read more

My apartment three blocks down from Rapid Realty's office is currently on the market to be rented. Bryan contacted me on a Monday evening asking if he could show the apartment to a client "right now." I informed him of our policy requiring 24 hours notice prior to a scheduled viewing, to which he so charmingly pressed to come anyways because it was his "first time." We scheduled a viewing for 5 P.M. the following day. I arrive home around 4:40 after leaving work a few hours early to accommodate Bryan and his client. I call to confirm the appointment, at which point Bryan tells me the client has canceled because the apartment was out of his price range (why was the client not told the rent from the start?). At no point in time during the 24 hours in between our initial phone conversation, me changing my schedule, and the scheduled viewing, did Bryan feel it was necessary or important to inform me that the viewing he had felt so adamantly entitled to was canceled. Had I not called, I never would have known. Extremely unprofessional and inconsiderate; it does not take an experienced real estate agent but simply a decent human being to have the courtesy to notify a tenant of any changes or cancellations to an appointment. I will not be wasting my time with Rapid Realty again, whether to rent out the apartment or to find a new one. Sketchy sketchy sketchy. read more

(READ MY EDIT, coming soon! After 3 years at my current residence) Despite the two recent reviews, I can actually say that I have had a different experience. I recently moved from Pittsburgh, PA to to NYC, looking for a 3 bedroom apartment, with NO FEES (brokers fees, etc), and had heard about Rapid Realty through a friend beforehand. I've heard really good stories to down right terrible. However, I thought about giving them a chance after dealing with another terrible Realtor company. I contacted them via email based on the apartments that I looked at on their website. Now, mind you, make sure you separate between no fee apartments and apartments WITH fees. It can get a little confusing when you narrow your searches. Once I did that, after about 2 days, I finally got a response from a Realtor. From there, I had a Realtor named Marcus. Great guy, very helpful, and really awesome. So I would definitely recommend him if you're looking for a place! Now mind you, it was tough viewing places (mainly because, THIS IS NEW YORK AFTER ALL), so not all apartment managers can be cooperative most of the time. That's where the problems started happening. In total, we viewed about 3 out of the scheduled 6 or 7? apartments. Issues started with the apartment owners being iffy (most were foreign owners) and then some apartments weren't available to view because management wasn't around when they said they would be. So it was definitely a difficult experience when running around New York so much without a result. So, in the end, I almost got an apartment in Harlem. By then, I put a deposit hold on the apartment. Next came the closing part of the deal and that's where I got in touch with Christopher Horner. NOTE: If there's ANYONE, and I mean ANYONE you need to get in contact with, it's him. HE. GETS. THE. JOB. DONE. End of story. Basically, the Harlem apartment didn't work out, and in the last minute, there was a 3 bedroom apartment open in Sunset Park, in Brooklyn. It was available within a few days. Paperwork came and went very quickly, and before you know it, I'm signing the lease into my new apartment. It was definitely a long struggle in the beginning, but in the end, I have a new apartment in a beautiful neighborhood and couldn't be any happier. So, moral of the story: Plan ahead, ask as many questions as you need to, and have a plan. It doesn't always work out, but in the end, it definitely does. (EDIT IS COMING SOON- as of 07.29.14) read more

I got the apartment I wanted from Rapid Realty, but it definitely could have been a better experience. I used broker Mayra Segarra who was great. She was ALWAYS very fast at responding and answered all my questions quickly. This was my major concern: we saw the apartment we liked. Mayra took our info and told us the next day that we were pre-approved for the apartment. We gave a certified check which included 1st month rent, last month rent, security, and her broker fee. We signed the lease but the landlord was out of town, so she said she would fax it to him and then have him sign. We ended up waiting over a week for the landlord to get back to us. I'm pretty sure being "pre-approved" was just a way to get our money ASAP. I was constantly worried the landlord could say no, and then we'd have to fight to get our certified check back. Also, I was told that the listing for the apt we wanted would be taken off their website since our money was in, but they kept it on the website and only removed it after I called to complain. It kept coming back, day after day, and when I called and pretended to be someone else interested in the apt, they told me it was still available. I realize they were probably just trying to hook a customer in and show them a different apartment, but it was still shady. At the end, the landlord didn't want to use Rapid Realty's lease, so we had to go and sign a NEW lease and destroy the old one. We did end up getting the apartment, and everything was fine, but I will say that the limbo week was VERY stressful and I was constantly worried that I was being scammed, or that we wouldn't get the apartment. I get the feeling that we were told the landlord approved us, even though he didn't yet. Things could have gone wrong very easily. They didn't, and everything turned out fine, but it was definitely not comfortable paying before we had a lease signed... when you find an apartment in NY that you want though, its hard to not listen to the realtor since someone else could come in and get the apartment before you. This was our first time apartment hunting and we had no idea if paying up front like that was normal, but didn't want to lose the apartment. All in all, Rapid Realty got me the apartment I wanted, but also provided me with a very stressful week. read more

Aliya was so helpful. She found my dream apartment quickly and in a safe neighborhood for myself and my son. She was able to answer questions about the neighborhood, landlord and basic things first time renters need to know. I definately recommend her to anyone. Alisha read more

We went to real estate offices all over Brooklyn and NONE were as helpful as Rapid Realty at this location! The whole team was great and our realtor Givette Gonzalez was amazing. It's a difficult and stressful process to try and find a new place to live, but Givette was optimistic and very helpful! She stuck with us and we ended up with a great apartment. Thank you, thank you! read more

Steer clear if possible. Too many agents, not enough knowledge. We eventually got a lady who knew her stuff, but that was after many headaches. Something smells fishy... read more

I'm surprised to see 4 positive reviews here, because the experience we just had with the agent Amar Keiller and the RR Williamsburg office was a nightmare. Amar is unprofessional and irresponsible. This tale is long and terrible, so I'll give an abbreviated version. I responded to a 2BR $2450 ad on craigslist posted by Amar. I viewed it and asked if the landlord could do 2350. Amar called the landlord and he said yes, so i told my roommate to come after work, and if he liked the place we would take it. He came, he saw, he liked it, we took it, and the landlord came over to meet my roommate and tell us we could have the apartment for 2300, even though were didn't ask for another reduction. My roommate gave a $500 deposit to Amar and then filled out all the paperwork. He got home around 9 and by 10 we had a text from Amar saying we should call him because there were problems. First Amar had misinformed us that the heat and hot water was not included, strike 1. Then, far worse, one of Amar's colleagues and the landlord's wife had found another renter for 2500/month. Amar said if he could not get out of that situation, then he would refund our deposit. The next day Amar confirmed we would not get the deposit even though we already given the deposit. After that Amar was not forthcoming or helpful at all to help us get the deposit back. 13 days later, after one failed attempt to collect the deposit (2 hours wasted on a side trip to w/burg), Amar finally arranged for his colleague to give me the check. I went to the office and the check was for only $450! This was the final straw for me. I had tried to maintain respectful communication throughout the process, but I was really angry. I called Amar to ask why was this happening? Why were we being charged anything even though the agency had made all the mistakes? He began to say I had made mistakes too (Our only mistake was giving a deposit for an agreed rental rate to a stranger cum "real estate agent"!), and wouldn't take responsibility for this whole situation. Even though Amar's agency had made a bigger commission after another agent rented out the apartment we made a deposit on before, they even had the nerve to charge us for running our credit! We were never even getting the apartment due to their internal miscommunication, but they still charged us for it. Simply pathetic, so much time wasted and such a disappointment. You are probably thinking, "Rick, why put so much time into this review?" Considering the amount of time wasted by thinking we had the apartment, giving deposits, starting to fill out paperwork and then having to chase after Amar multiple times to find out when we would receive the deposit refund, I feel compelled to take 15 measly more minutes to review RR and Amar's appalling service. read more

Bryan and the folks a RR really helped my wife and myself to get our first home rented with amazing tenants in exactly the time we needed. They are lifesavers! Highly Recommend! read more

Horrible customer service. Adam had no clue what to do when i went their with my wife. Look elsewhere.

My apartment was significantly delayed due to certificate of occupancy issues with the DOB. Not ideal, but Bryan Soto went out of his way to help me find another place, and even worked with the owners to put me up in another one of their buildings in the meantime. Over the months he went above and beyond to keep me informed of the building's progress and was very accommodating to my schedule whenever I needed to drop by. Overall he made a stressful situation a lot less stressful. read more

My roommate and I worked with Bryan Soto to find a 2-bedroom apartment and he made the whole experience very breezy. Bryan was friendly, courteous, timely and very responsive. He helped coordinate all the details and meetings with the landlord and we had an apartment from the very first day we started looking. Highly recommended! read more

Mayra Segarra is the best broker I've dealt with and the only I've ever closed a deal with. She's found me two different apartments. This last one was a difficult one because I have a 70pound boxer dog. My options were limited. I was hunting for an apartment for about 3months with many different brokers, I was on easy street, naked apartments searching no fee/ with fee. No one help until I contacted Mayra she made the impossible possible. My landlord advertised small dogs ONLY! and Mayra worked magic and POOF! Mason "my dog" was welcomed. She's patient, she only shows you places she knows you'll like, very punctual. Point blank she won't waste your time and she delivers. read more

WE CLOSED A DEAL ON OUR DREAM APARTMENT IN LESS THAN 24 HOURS! Seriously... Rapid Realty & Sonny are the bee's knees. I can't understand why someone would want to work with any other firm, much less, any broker other than SONNY! (we met other brokers from RR while working with Sonny, all were wonderful and nice and actual real humans you can interact with, super friendly, funny, and kind). We had been wheeling and dealing in broker hell. Cut-throat market viewing absolute slum holes where we were doing all the work with no pay off. We thought we were hopeless. Where do I start? Sonny came from a friend's recommendation. Upon first arrival, he was the only broker we had met with that weekend who arrived with a sharp appearance. He had a nice, clean vehicle which was heaven sent on a 90 degree day after sludging around all weekend with ill mannered brokers with smashed crackers for a backseat. We told him what we needed and wanted, and instead of providing poor excuses for us, he met our necessary apartment criteria - scratch that - EXCEEDED IT! Lined up several places for us to look at, but knew the first spot he showed us would be the one, and it was! Sonny stopped at nothing to get us in to view the place and even managed to get a meet and greet that was next to impossible on a Sunday afternoon. I felt as though he was working towards grabbing our goal because we were "friends", and now I consider him to be one. WE WERE EVEN OFFERED A RIDE TO THE AIRPORT! He made the apartment hunt breezy, fun, and ultimately, fulfilling. Words cannot express my gratitude towards Rapid Realty, and especially towards Sonny. Thanks to you, we will be living the D-R-E-A-M. WORTH EVERY PENNY x infinity. Seriously seriously seriously thank you so much. read more

WOW! i dont think at 35 i have ever been so insulted regarding my credit if you are smart you will not use this location !!!!! ! they are a franchise so all are separately owned. First off our broker was from bum f*ck west VA only had moved to NYC 6 months ago how are you going to even know the city well enough to find me the apt i needed. I was continuously being shown run down apts that were over priced. and i felt like i was repeating myself like a broken record. after the 4th place which was in bad condition i was done looking with them. i was then insulted by the broker regarding my credit status which i have never experienced before she claimed it was our fault that she couldn't find the right fit for us because of our credit. that's not even the worst part !!!! we asked for our deposit back and went with another broker. I go to pick up the check and deposit in my bank a few day later we get a notice from the bank THE CHECK BOUNCED !!! lucky i am familiar with business checking and know you can go to the issuing bank and check if funds are available and cash it which i did a few days later very unprofessional very rude and obviously not managing their money correctly either in the end we found an awesome place and a landlord willing to work with our credit with a different company with less dress and NO DRAMA read more

Mayra Segarra is the best broker I've ever had the pleasure of working with. My situation with my current roommate made our apartment search very difficult - as my roommate is foreign and therefore has no credit score, tax returns, etc. Against all odds, Mayra worked magic looking for a management company that would accept applicants with these issues as well as one who accepted out-of-state guarantors. Mayra was always very attentive to our needs and requests and in the end, found us a completely renovated apartment within our budget and in our desired neighborhood. I could not have asked for a better experience. Would highly recommend. Thank you, Mayra! read more

We worked with Bryan Soto in finding our current apartment, and overall I would give him a rating of 3.5 or 4 stars. Bryan was very professional, responsive, and knowledgable. I really dislike working with real estate firms and brokers, but he helped make the process more presonal and didn't pressure us at all. We did run into a few issues throughout the application process. First, Rapid Realty had a systemic glitch that disabled them from running credit checks for our guarantors. Given the time-sensitivity of applying for an apartment, and the sheer amount of personal information required from guarantors, it was incredibly inconvenient and stressful to have to ask them to provide another piece of financial information in such a short time period. Additionally, after we had all signed the lease, our landlords came back with an addendum which Bryan presented to us. While he did help us to negotiate the terms, we were a bit frustrated that he allowed our landlords to come back with this addendum after we had already agreed to and signed on the terms outlined in the lease. Overall I would recommend working with Bryan, and would work with him again in the future, as the issues we experienced were less related to him personally and had more to do with Rapid Realty's system and our landlords. He is very easy to talk to, and gave us the information and updates we needed to ensure our apartment hunt was a success. read more

If you're going with Rapid Realty, I highly recommend Edward G. who manages the 606 Metropolitan Ave. location in Brooklyn, NY. Edward is not only a very nice guy, but he's extremely knowledgeable of the market and will work around your schedule to facilitate showings. When I ran into issues with my application, Edward and the Rapid Realty management team were both understanding and transparent, something hard to find in today's apartment brokerage industry. read more

My wife and I had a great experience with Rapid Williamsburg. The agent we had , Shariza Baksh Ramroop, was the best! She worked within our price range and was relentless with respect to finding us an apartment that suited us. We are a family of 6 and it can be difficult finding an apartment. She also worked to get us an apartment in the neighborhood we wanted, and that is where we ended up. If you want a great agent, look her up! read more

If you can use ANY OTHER BROKER, it's in your own best interests to do so. They make a big deal about being a representative of the renter but they don't do anything other than pressure you to give in on the landlord's requests because they just want your money and they know the market in the Brooklyn/NYC area is cutthroat. I worked with EDWARD and VALERIE. And just discovered that they were completely (deliberately?) misleading about the heat situation in the apartment building where I rented an apartment through them. I have in writing, in an email, that the heat was controlled by the building... turns out it's not. My electric bill is now several hundred dollars more a month than it should be because I believed them. read more

Bryan Soto was an absolute pleasure to work with. He is professional, has a calm demeanor, very knowledgable, and was patient with our questions and worries. He helped my husband and I secure good tenants for our new home in the exact time frame we asked. He executed the stressful situation of finding a good tenant for us with ease - which put us at ease. He was very thorough throughout a long lease signing and was a great mediator bwtn us and our new tenants. We are grateful to have worked with him and highly recommend him. read more

This is an example of the bad side of NYC realty. Apartment looked nothing like the add and the guy showing it was clueless. Finding an apartment in this city is tough and this company only made it harder with their false advertising. read more

A very belated review, but late is better than never! Amar was really great with us and did everything he could to ensure that we closed the deal (many late nights). It was a bit hectic as the entire process took only a bit over a week and things were made difficult because one of the girls was quite unresponsive and not on the ball, but he really pushed for us and went out of his way to make things as convenient as possible. The only critique I have is that he was a bit pushy at times, but it was really necessary given the situation. read more

Edward was my broker and overall I feel he did a great job! On top of being very personable, he listened to what I was looking for in an apartment and kept looking until he found the perfect fit. I'm really happy with the whole experience and my new home. read more

looking for an apartment in ny is not an easy task. that's why you want a broker. they take your ideals and translate that into what the real world has to offer. well, that's not what Maximilian Douglas Travis does. he, in his one-year of experience, has decided that what he does is insult his potential clients who would be paying his salary, and as smugly as possible tell them not to waste his time when they explain that they have one month to find a new apartment and want to start looking before the very last minute. he mentions that the landlord wants renters as soon as possible, and unless you're ready to move in within the week, he doesn't want to deal with you. who do you work for, max, the landlord, or the renter? who pays your broker's fee, you little shit? get out of my city. go home to ohio. read more