We realize that the title of “Chicago’s sleaziest rental agent” has lots of contenders vying for it. You’ll find 100s of them in the employ of the companies on our do-not-call list of rental services / apartment finders / apartment locators.
Jerome Bressert of Exit Strategy Realty, however, appears to be making a strong run for the number one position.
We’re not referring to Bressert’s arrest records, although they need to be taken into consideration by potential renters. What we have in mind is the 100s of ads that he’s recently placed on Zillow in violation of state law that requires written permission for doing so. Many of the ads are for non-existent addresses but include photos from actual addresses. A number of the ads with actual addresses appear to be for fictitious listings.
At least one of Bressert’s Zillow ads, to my knowledge, has been removed following a complaint from the property owner. Bressert ran the bait-and-switch ad knowing that the property owner refuses to do business with him.
The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Responsibility has proven itself to be completely ineffective at responding to fraudulent real estate ads in Chicago. In theory, Bressert’s managing broker at Exit Strategy Realty should intervene to put a stop to his ads. Will that happen?