Use this realtor at your own risk. Charles Rutenberg has a terrible reputation and Ginger Gillum come to find out is no different with quite an extensive past.
My mother passed away and I am handling her estate. A supposed friend of my mothers for a long-time, Ginger Gillum, I offered the home listing to is with Charles Rutenberg.
Working with Ginger Gillum from Charles Rutenberg was a terrible experience from the start. Upon completing the listing agreement, I asked repeatedly for comps in the area which I never received. Ginger said the house should be listed at $399,000 and this seemed odd given the research I did on my own and the work the home needed.
The home also needed some updates and had an older roof so Ginger claimed the sale could only be a cash offer because no one would get financing due to the age of the roof. I thought this was odd but trusted her as a supposed real estate professional.
Next, from day one showing she did nothing but point out flaws with the home and she even put price estimates on the repairs. It started with the home having termites, which ended up being makeup my mother spilled on the floor at one time and went into electrical and foundation issues. My mother had just refinanced the home about a year earlier and it would not have passed inspection with all the issues Ginger was claiming.
I originally provided a bottom number for the home to Ginger given five beneficiaries were involved in the estate. An acceptable offer on the home came in at one point with an expiration in 48 hours that was not possible given the attorney involvement and estate beneficiaries. I asked Ginger to contact the buyer and she just ignored the question initially and then said to let her handle it. The offer expired and Ginger even went as far to tell another beneficiary that I just completely refused to sign the offer which is a complete lie. My belief is she let the offer expire without ever contacting the potential buyer to explain the situation and that there was an interest.
Bottom low offers started to come in and Ginger knew I had a deadline to sell the home given the situation and expenses being covered that needed to be reimbursed. I asked about her relationships with the low offers and she would only ignore the questions never answering.
I began to suspect Ginger was holding the home for an investor and likely waiting until the last minute to try and get a low price knowing I had a deadline. This way should could potentially make a commission on the sale of my mothers home and on the backside with an investor she knows when a property is flipped.
I met with a broker in charge at the Charles Rutenberg office and explained the events that occurred. Typically, there is a financial penalty for terminating a listing agreement early but the Charles Rutenberg office had no problem ending the listing with Ginger with no money owed to them. This should tell every person something about the realtor and this situation.
Once I complained to Charles Rutenberg about Ginger Gillum there was suddenly, an offer that day for the exact bottom amount I needed for the home before the listing agreement was canceled. I asked for the relationship again with the entity of the offer and Ginger and again this was ignored. The offer was withdrawn at the end of the day. The broker even set up to have another realtor work through it. The broker wasted their time, I wasted my time, and Charles Rutenberg is aware of all the issues.
It turns out the home can likely be financed and not as Ginger claimed as only cash offers could be accepted. Not disclosing relationships with financial interest is a clear ethics violation according to the real estate Code of Ethics. This is something Ginger clearly did in addition to several others that I could continue about and will be reporting.
I started to do some background searches on Ginger and discovered quite an extensive history of public court records along with a serious traffic arrest allegation. The information I discovered would certainly call into question the character of someone for employment eligibility and particularly in real estate dealing with financial transactions.
You only need to do a simple internet search on arrests, mug shots, and public court records to gather quite a lot of information. Because I trusted Ginger Gillum as being a long-time friend of my mothers and knowing the family. I did not do this extensive research. It is important to investigate her background extensively should you chose to enter a real estate transaction with her.
Charles Rutenberg has not said much of anything with my entire situation. It is important if something happens like this to you with their realty that you complain to the state and ethics board to ensure others do not encounter the same unethical and professional treatment as a client.
Buyer beware Ginger Gillum and Charles Rutenberg do not have the best histories and it would seem they do not have their client interests at the front before their own. If you are selling your home, look for another realty and realtor. If you dont, you only have yourself to blame when something happens.
Do your research on Charles Rutenberg and Ginger Gillum.
2023
Had a terrible experience with this realtor and there are serious clear ethical violations that are being reported to the state and ethics board.
I started to do some background searches on Ginger and discovered quite an extensive history of public court records along with a serious traffic arrest allegation. The information I discovered would certainly call into question the character of someone for employment eligibility and particularly in real estate dealing with financial transactions.
You only need to do a simple internet search on arrests, mug shots, and public court records to gather quite a lot of information. Because I trusted Ginger Gillum as being a long-time friend of my mothers and knowing the family. I did not do this extensive research. It is important to investigate her background extensively should you chose to enter a real estate transaction with her.
Charles Rutenberg has not said much of anything with my entire situation. It is important to report serious broken ethical standards with any realtor and my experienced has proven no different.
Buyer beware Ginger Gillum and Charles Rutenberg do not have the best histories and it would seem they do not have their client interests at the front before their own. If you are selling your home, look for another realty and realtor. If you dont, you only have yourself to blame when something happens.
Do your research on Charles Rutenberg and Ginger Gillum.
2023