There are 16 real estate agents pictured on the “Meet the Team” page at Homescout Realty, one of the firms on our rental service do-not-call list
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We’ve singled out nine of the agents in the above photo, all of whom are described as being a “Broker.” In order for that description to be accurate, they’d have to be licensed as a broker in Illinois.
According to the IDFPR online License Lookup, none of the nine holds a broker’s license. One (Melanie Madsen) is apparently too new to appear in the database, and one (Catherine Yager) has an expired leasing student license.
The firm’s managing broker has to know that describing a licensed leasing agent or leasing agent student as a broker is a misrepresentation that most people would consider a lie.
What ought we to make of Wil Meister, Vanessa Griggs, Nicolette Tech, Kyle Licocci, Catherine Yager, Andrew Wright, Melanie Madsen, Clint Currie and Jordan Barkley?
Are these agents aware that their license status is being lied about? They ought to be, but my long experience with leasing agents leads me to believe that they’re too uneducated, too mentally lazy, or simply not bright enough to understand either their legal obligations or the clear meaning of English words.
As we approach the spring rental season, you can expect to see a new crop of rookies signing on at Chicago’s rental services.
If you’re looking to rent an apartment, do you want to trust any of these people?
You’ll find accurate information about properties in Chicago’s popular lakefront neighborhoods on YoChicago’s reviews and lists, and links to near real-time rent and availability info.
Added 2/24
Melanie Madsen is not, despite the claim, a member of the Chicago Association of Realtors.
Update 2/24, 1:15 pm
Homescout has revised its Meet the Team page, changing the inaccurate Broker description to Agent. Melanie Madsen is no longer misrepresented as a Realtor.
My opinion is that deception is deeply embedded in the firm’s DNA, so I’d caution renters to avoid anyone associated with Homescout.
Added 2/24 3:30 pm
As of a few minutes ago Homescout still hadn’t fully cleaned up its act.