Complaint Review: Don Gelfund of Remax Villager

Dear Audience, I finally decided to write about only factual events that occurred when I had the misfortune of entrusting Don Gelfund formerly of MGM Realty to take care of my parent's property after they both died of cancer in 2009.  My name is Diana Grossman, I am the only living relative here in the United States and the only child of Bertha C. Grossman and Alan Irwin Grossman.  After my mother died of lymphoma my distant relative Eva Kulik suggested I place renters in my parent's home and the home was not in my legal name rather the home was still under my mother's name which became the property of the Bertha Grossman trust.  My mother's attorney decided to leave the property in my mother's legal name because he advised her it would not be taken away from me but little did I know that because of Don Gelfund's mismanagement and fraud I would be forced into selling my home to my renters.

Eva Kulik a distant cousin had full access to my mother's home and I found out she had a spare set of keys when I found some items missing from my mother's home.  I trusted her regardless to hire her former boyfriend Don Gelfund to find renters while I was still living in New Orleans, Louisiana.  Don told me taxes were left unpaid so he found a friend of his to sell all the furniture and remaining items left in the home and his friend told me he would preserve my baby photos and sentimental items like pictures of father during the war and pictures of my grandparents that I never met.  I sadly never received any of these items because four years later Don Gelfund quit of his own free will and left my photos with the real estate agent who sold my property for a mere 113,000.  Every single baby picture of mine and all these sentimental items were given to my realtor rather than me and the realtor who ended up selling my property threw them in a dumpster.  I hold Don Gelfund responsible for everything. 

From the beginning I made it clear that my parent's family home at 9147 N. Kilpatrick was not to be sold and that I was grieving and reminiscing about my childhood because my father had a mental illness and I remember a lot of unpleasant memories along with the good.  He found renters from Barbados a woman named Everlita and her boyfriend Harold Buyer who had a son between the two of them.  They were unmarried and needed a home near the school district.  Even though zillow and redfin stated my parent's home was worth at least 180,000 Don Gelfund only charged the renters 1100 a month and Don Gelfund would pay himself a property management fee of $100 each month for his services.  He did not look out for my interests because he did not charge them enough for me to pay for my rental in New Orleans nor did he charge them enough for me to pay taxes. 

Each month Don Gelfund subtracted a certain amount of money from me to pay the taxes I owed, to pay himself and to pay for any broken items in the home.  At the end of four years I found out why Don did not wish for me to meet the renters.  They ruined my kitchen and destroyed the back porch.  In 2013 Don Gelfund called me in late May to tell me the renters smelled gas.  I told him to tell them to call the fire department immediately but instead Don called up a handyman who told me there was nothing wrong with the furnace and the handyman told me he did not realize that the property was mine.

At the end of 2009 I lost my rental in New Orleans and told Don to place the renters somewhere else so I could get my own home back .  I hired a moving company and was all excited to finally move back to Skokie but after three months notice the renters did not leave and Don asked me what i wanted to do.  I asked Don if he could find me a corporate rental in Chicago and Don Gelfund said he doesn't do that .  I told Don I needed my home back so instead of evicting my tenants and allowing me access to my family home he protected their rights.  He asked me what i wanted to do and suggested I sell the place to them for only $90,000.  I told Don I was not qualified to buy a home and I needed my place back since I was in poor health and was using a lot of money for survival for me and my pets.  I travelled to make ends meet and my credit score was poor since I lost a condo in 2008 and sold it in a short sale in Chicago.  He knew I was suffering and asked me what to tell the renters.  I said increase their rent to $1350 and give them a month to month lease.  They did not leave and my client from Chicago got me a corporate rental in Chicago for a year for $3,000 a month when I only wanted to save money and live in my home that my parent's left me.

Don then changed the terms and let the renters have my propery for a mere $1200 a month and allowed them to do whatever they wanted which I did not see till it was too late.  They made changes to the kitchen devaluing my home and Don allowed the renters to pay me on the 6, 7 or 8th of every month without penalizing them so I was always struggling with my rent.  I must have asked Don Gelfund for assistance in evicting them once a month and he kept talking me out of it lying to me and telling me how lucky I was that they were paying me even if they were late.  I was so broke I was unable to keep up with the taxes and Don chose to keep them there until it was too late.  Don even lied to me and said Everlita was dying of cancer but when I met her after Don Gelfund quit she was very healthy and wearing braids in her hair and you can't wear braids in your hair while undergoing chemotherapy.

By the time Don Gelfund quit I asked for free counsel from the city of Chicago and I was living in Atlanta, Georgia trying to manage on $1200 from the rent and working full time as a couples tantra coach and massage therapist.  The ciyy of Chicago advised me to sell the home before it could be sold in auction for the over due tax bill of $15,000 that I owed.

Don Gelfund has no empathy or at least maybe he might have tipped off a friend to buy the taxes since he knew I was in trouble financially.  Don Gelfund is not your friend.  He will not manage your home properly nor care that you receive fair market value for your residence.  He needs to be reported for mismanaging a home I never wished to sell.  My home was a gift from my parents and I wanted it back so I could live there, save money and be  a qualified home buyer again.  I have two pets a dog and a cat and  work solely for myself.  Don Gelfund knew that I was dying to gain access to my home and he did nothing except cause me to lose my home by not charging the renters enough money so I could pay taxes and rent for my own needs.  Do not trust him with your home as it stands the handyman who did work on my parent's home did not even realize it was my property he assumed it belonged to Don.