Chicago Police Detective uses clout to gain access into property

Okay people, here's a first one and I have the business card in front of me as I write this post.

WHEN YOU ARE SELLING YOUR HOME AND USING A REALTOR, never, ever allow anybody into your property if your Realtor is not present. I don't care if they say they have an appointment, they don't. There are rules that Realtors must adhere to but this one takes the cake.

One of my listings is a short sale. The property is a two flat and over the weekend, the building was shut down so that the tenants had a break from the previous weeks active showings! To my amazement, a Chicago Police Detective, who is a licensed Realtor, shows up at my client's door with his wife and says he wants to see the building. He didn't have an appointment, he didn't call me, he didn't have his Realtor's license or his business card for them. Instead, he uses his clout as a Chicago Police Detective to gain access into the property and view it with his wife.

Hear me, unless that officer has a badge on him, is accompanied with another office who also has a badge on him/her, and they don't have a search warrant, they are not allowed into your property. Call 911.

For all we knew, this man may not have been a police detective but an individual who had business cards printed up as a Chicago Detective.

FOR YOUR SAFETY, do not allow anybody into your property/building without your Realtor present. This could have ended up as a headliner in the Chicago Tribune or Chicago Suntimes with a bad ending only because the widow felt threatened because the man was using his clout as a police detective to see a property that he was lazy and didn't even call me to set up a scheduled appointment but decided to use his power.

Until tomorrow,

Barb Van Stensel
Third Generation in a Family
of Real Estate Professionals
Chicago, IL