I am often humbled by the support I receive from the fabulous community of educated real estate agents in the City of Chicago. I have been fortunate enough to have been invited to present educational seminars on landlord-tenant topics to some of the creme-de-la-creme of Chicago’s real estate elite. I regularly present to @properties, Dream Town Realty, Jameson Sotheby’s, and Coldwell Banker offices.
It is the perfect symbiotic relationship. As a landlord’s attorney, I can make these agents aware of the dangers and perils of the CRLTO. As a sometimes security deposit recovery attorney, I can explain – first hand – how an agent can flat out BOTCH a lease for a landlord client!
When I began presenting to agents back in 2009, very few agents had even heard of the Chicago Residential Landlord Tenant Ordinance! Now, six years later, most agents know about the ordinance and its traps. Better yet, I am lucky enough to now be able to present more “advanced” topics in landlord tenant law!
Tomorrow, I will be presenting on the CRLTO case Boyer v. Buol Properties to the agents of Dream Town Realty. I plan to do a write-up of the Boyer case soon because it is an excellent illustration of the CRLTO in practice and the mistakes landlords make that get them in trouble with the ordinance.
If I can prevent just one agent from attaching the wrong CRLTO summary (like attaching a 2012 summary to a 2013 lease) or convince just one agent that taking a security deposit is dangerous, fraught with peril, and should be seriously considered before done, or remind just one agent of the benefits of filling in ALL OF THE LINES on a lease (especially the one’s related to security deposits like the name and address of the bank where a deposit will be held), I feel satisfied. Until then, I will keep teaching and advocating… and probably pursuing a case or two just to keep everybody honest.