JOHN S. RABI
Chief Executive Officer
Company History*
Company Information
Typically Tropical Properties is a privately-held real estate company. How did we grow from a one man's vision in 1993, and an investment of $35,000 to become one of this island's largest and well-respected real estate companies, employing many agents and with annual sales in millions?
In November 1993, John S. Rabi founded "Typically Tropical" on the premise that nothing beats personalized service, experience and attention to detail. The ability to quickly and economically access clients all over the country with the new phenomena called Internet was a major influence having a direct impact on the Company's growth and direction. With the Information Age quickly gaining pace, speed became the watchword. Information Technology was becoming an integral part of the Company's changing role in the once well-defined chain of custody. The Internet boosted the speed of doing business and has moved us to be more flexible and creative in our business approach. At Typically Tropical Properties, everybody continued to believe leveraging technology was the best way to achieve maximum efficiency and maintain the highest level of customer service. While the corporate structure and ownership of the Company have changed during the years, John has been its Principal Broker since founding the Company, and changing the name to Typically Tropical Properties trade name was a natural step in the evolution of the Company’s corporate identity. The consolidation under a single brand for the Company signified its commitment to provide clients with seamless access to a complete set of real estate services.
In 2002 the implementation of the "True 100% Commission" program of the Company to the employees by John was an instrumental change for the Company. This innovative business model idea earned John the "Hawaii Businessman of The Year" title from the Business Advisory Council of the National Republican Congressional Committee in 2003. The award was presented to John by President George W. Bush at the Award Dinner at the White House in Washington D.C. John also received The National Republican Congressional Committee “National Leadership Award” in 2003. The award was presented to John by Congressman Tom De Lay, Majority Leader.
The Company has been dominant in the next era of business innovation, and leading the way, Typically Tropical Properties introduced its “Menu of Services” in 2005, replacing the known and industry accepted set commission structure. The Company also started offering transactional brokerage services in 2005.
In 2006, Pacific Business News (in partnership with First Hawaiian Bank, PriceWaterhouseCooper and Pacific LightNet) presented "HAWAII'S FASTEST 50 Celebrating the Speed of Small Business" with the Company being ranked as the 8th fastest growing small company in the State of Hawaii. The HO'OULU Award was presented to John by Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann at the Award Luncheon at The Royal Hawaiian in Honolulu. The Company became a two-time HO’OULU Award winning company in 2007, when Pacific Business News (this time in partnership with First Hawaiian Bank, N&K, Becker Communications and Altres HR) presented "HAWAII'S FASTEST 50 Celebrating the Speed of Small Business" with the Company being ranked as the 25th fastest growing small company in the State of Hawaii. The HO'OULU Award was presented to John by Larry Fuller, President and Publisher of Pacific Business News, at the Award Luncheon at The Royal Hawaiian in Honolulu.
John S. Rabi has been named the General Manager in addition to being the Principal Broker of the company in 2007. John was honored to be included in the MONTCLAIR WHO’S WHO (“Who’s Who In Real Estate”) 2007/2008 Edition, which is an exclusive selection of Montclair Publishing’s “Who’s Who Among Executives and Professionals.”
Typically Tropical Properties established its property management division in 2009 and moved its principal corporate office to the Chamber of Commerce Center in 2010. The company sold its Property Management Division in 2016, and fully changed its business model.*
While the Company specialized in Buyer Representation, it did represent Sellers too. Its marketing was focused on second home buyers and investors, and primarily was web-based, advertising on 74 different web sites. The Company had several Internet domain names, had a marketing representative in both Asia and Europe, had a direct e-mail marketing program to prospective Buyers, a marketing program to prospective Sellers, and was the first Hawaii real estate company directly associated with a Chinese real estate company in Sanya.
John S. Rabi, the Principal Broker & General Manager of the Company was one of the only 8,000** Certified Real Estate Brokerage Managers in the U.S.A., and a member of the Council of Certified Real Estate Brokerage Managers. There are only approximately 40,000*** ABR (Accredited Buyers Representative) designated real estate agents in the U.S.A., and John was one of them. The employees of the Company were specialized and lived in various areas of Hawaii; therefore, the Company could effectively represent clients in almost every part of the Big Island.
Typically Tropical Properties has evolved over the years, but its reputation for excellence in service, price, financial stability, and ethical business practices have remained unchanged from the beginning. It only makes good sense to do business with a reputable company that provides professional service. If you understand what 26 years means to a real estate company, staying in the prime main business district of Kailua-Kona during all these years, and the founder still active in all aspects of the business, you will know you are dealing with integrity.
*Typically Tropical Properties became a wholly owned subsidiary of Typically Tropical Enterprise Group LLC in 2016. The Company merged with Rainforest Properties LLC in 2019, is no longer an independent company, and is no longer involved in direct sales, property development, property management, international real estate, or buyer and seller representation. Its service to clients is a specialized Hawaii real estate advisory and consultation service, including but not limited to property valuation, marketing, contract review, documents processing and escrow coordination management.
** 1998 *** 2000
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