Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/09/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Please see attached files for a complete explanation.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/10/2023

  I have been back and forth with Mr. ******* with this for months.  He is clearly confused on a number of things.  I did not collect commissions from him when I was not managing his properties.  I did charge tenants for repairs after they moved out.  I did charge them for terminating their lease early and forwarded those funds to Mr. *******.  There were no months where the property did not have rents as his attorney let me know that he had new tenants moving in on August 26, 2023.  Our tenants paid for the entire month of August.  Him stating that I should not have separate contracts with the tenants and him is ridiculous.  He hired us to manage his properties.  We then find the tenants and have a rental agreement with them.  

  He hired an attorney to send me a letter and threaten me.  Clearly the attorney saw that he had no let to stand on, so Mr. ******* is now going to the BBB to try and regain money that is not rightfully his, or tarnish or reputation.  The funny thing is, a year ago when he hired us, he was so impressed by us, that he asked me to be his property manager, his realtor, and his financial advisor.  

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/13/2023

  I reject EKM Property Management’s response and I am not satisfied being that I see no effort on his part to come to a mutually agreed settlement of my complaint.
  
  I will refer to Erik M********l / Owner and my past Property Manager of EKM Property Management in Vancouver, WA as “EKM”.
  As far as I know he is the only person aside from his bookkeeper that provided services for my two rentals.
  
  After emailing EKM repeatedly and letting him know my dissatisfaction with his services, I had hoped that having The Better Business Bureau 
  involved to help settle my complaints with EKM would change his lack of tact before me having to take further steps. 
  I will address EKM’s business complaint response statements below:
  
  As for collection of property management fees of 8% per rental, my contract for one of the rentals with EKM in question had already ended (August 30th, 2023)
  yet EKM continued to collect the rent payment (which he forwarded to me) and the management fee ($231.60 which he kept) deducted from the tenant’s rent 
  for an extended month (to September 30th, 2023). This was due to EKM not correcting the tenant’s lease contract with EKM as to the beginning and ending dates
  to coincide with my EKM property lease contract.
  This is an example of why it is never a good idea for property managers to have separate lease contracts with the property owner and ones with the tenant as well.
  I consulted ***** ********* ************ ***. (**************.com) and their view was: 
  1.) “From a risk management perspective, a property manager should never sign a written lease agreement for a property to be rented by the landlord.”
  2.) “The property manager should only have written agreements with the landlord and never with the tenants  unless they have a financial stake in the property being rented.”
  
  My Property Management Contracts for my two rental houses began in 8/30/2022 and 9/26/2022.
  I wanted to terminate my two rental contracts with EKM with out a penalty for “early termination” and requested it on 1/28/2023 due to some of the reasons listed below that I experienced:
  
  1.) Breach of contract to get approval of expenses for repairs from property owner before work is done and unprofessional property management dealing with 
  not allowing enough time for repair costs to be approved by me and completed before signing lease contracts with tenants separately from mine with EKM and
  allowing tenants to move in. This time constraint caused undue pressure on me
  
  2.) Failure to supply detailed statements every month per my contract with EKM for rental payments, management, maintenance and repairs fees if needed 
  by email or entered into EKM’s web page “Owner’s Portal”.
  3.) Incorrect and changing email information as to the tenants finally chosen, dates when tenants would move in and the amount of rent to be charged.
  
  4.) Siding with the tenants finally chosen by EKM for suspected personal reasons. 
  Me having to deal with professionally evaluated property experts as to the 
  damage probably caused by the tenants per contractor’s and warranty professional opinions, rather than representing the property owner’s best interests.
  Finally possibly knowing tenant’s intent on early termination before informing property owner. 
  
  EKM states that he “did charge the tenants for repairs when they moved out” of my second early termination rental property. He did not mention refusing to charge 
  the tenants for a cracked widow I had to have repaired for $385.00 that I asked him to do. He also did not mention the repairs needed for the gouged tile laundry room floor
  or the need for the furnace filter and refrigerator water filter replacement during his final “walk thru” until I mentioned it. 
  The furnace air filter replacement was part of a “move out” check list given to the tenants to perform, as well as given me to double check. 
  
  The date the “early termination” tenants move out was August the 12th. I found new tenants who moved in on August the 26th. That would be 13 days with out rental payments.
   EKM deposited funds sporadically during the month to my banking account with out any explanation of what they were for like perhaps portions of rental payments, or security deposit amounts for repairs. 
  Once again there was no detailed explanation and EKM’s web site “owner’s portal” for my account had shown no information for months and I had to email EKM and request an explanation. 
  
  EKM said that; “Him (Me) stating that I should not have separate contracts with the tenants and him is ridiculous. 
  He hired us to manage his properties. We then find the tenants and have a rental agreement with them.”
  Please refer to my entry by ***** ********* *********** above. 
  The practice of having separate leasing contracts with the tenants and the property owners does not seem to be “ridiculous” to ***** ********* and they have 35 years of experience on such legal situations. 
  
  I hired an Attorney to see if I had legal justification against EKM for monetary damages due to his lack of professional business services and practices in dealing with me. 
  There was no intent to threaten EKM; Just to state the facts and my concerns as I had done several time before by email with EKM which I have saved and to show him that I am serious 
  about my dissatisfaction with him as my property manager. I have included a copy for BBB of the certified legal letter sent to EKM from my attorney that he suggests was intended to threaten him. 
  
  In addressing EKM’s closing remarks which I do not find humorous; I hired EKM as my property manager thru a referral from the Realtor representing the sellers of my first property I bought. 
  I never had EKM as my Realtor for the two rentals I hired him to manage for me as the property owner. The two rental properties were obtained by my own research with different Realtors. 
  I don’t think that asking EKM once or twice about the best areas to consider for rental properties makes him my “Financial Advisor” either.
  
  The time I have spent having to deal with EKM Property Management reminds me that I should always carefully research the company and or person that I intend to use as a property manager. 
  I should also have a Real Estate Lawyer go over the lease contract agreements with me carefully, and consult the Better Business Bureau web site for the company’s and or person’s reviews of their business practices 
  as well as the complaints against them by previous property owners before making a choice. 
  
  Aside from the previous files covering my lease contract with EKM, the email communications with EKM, the copies of the legal and second rental suspected forged lease contract agreement I sent you, 
  attached to this email is a file copy of the certified legal letter sent to EKM. 
  There is also an original copy of the lease contract between EKM and the first rental tenant supporting the fact that EKM’s penalties for early termination 
  differ with whom EKM is dealing with (see “it is mutually agreed” entry 5. - B. and C. of the tenants contract with EKM). 
  

  
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/13/2023

  The total amounts of money I am seeking are as follows:
  For 2726 S. Sockeye Dr., Ridgefield, WA 98642 - Rental # 2
  1.) $1,214.03 in lost rent due to tenant early termination.
  2.)  $647.50 for remainder of early termination fee due me from EKM. (EKM charges 50% of one months rent.)
  3.) $700.00 for advertising and acquiring new rental tenant. (The same fee EKM charges.) 
  4.) $385.00 for cracked window in living room of rental that EKM refused to deduct from Security Deposit. 
  5.) $110.00 for HVAC furnace filter replacement by my contractor due to tenant failure to replace.
  For 16900 NE 17th Ave., Ridgefield, WA 98642 
  6.) $231.60 for property management fee for first rental deducted after my contract with EKM ended. 
  Total due me:
  $3,381.55
  

  
  

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/17/2023

  This is in response to the funds Mr. ******* is seeking.

  1)There were no lost funds or rents.  Our tenants terminated early. They paid for all of August.  Mr. ******* had new tenants moving in on August 26 according to his attorney.  Mr. ******* earned more money than he should have.  There was zero time of vacancy. 

  2)The early termination fee that we charge tenants for ending a lease early is $800.  That $800 was paid to Mr. *******. 

  If he is referring to us not working for him for the entire year, that is because he terminated our agreement early.  He said he no longer wanted to work with our company.  If anyone should be reimbursed for an early termination, that should be us.

  3)Mr. ******* was paid the $800 early termination fee that would have covered the advertising fee.  Mr. ******* decided to manage this property himself, so did not have to pay anyone to find tenants. 

  4)The cracked window should have been covered under warranty because it happened in a wind storm.  The house was still under its one year warranty.  They are also a Millgard window that has a lifetime warranty.  Mr. ******* chose not to run it through the builders one year warranty or through Millgard.  He just had a contractor replace it.  The window crack from the windstorm was not due to tenant negligence and thus they could not be charged for it.  The tenant reported this months before they moved out. 

  5)The tenant was charged for the filter replacement.  Mr. ******* has already been reimbursed for this. 

  6)Mr. ******* took over management of this property after the tenants had been in there one year.  I was no longer collecting rents from the tenants.  There is no way I could have deducted management fees from rents, since I was not collecting rents. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/23/2023

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  
  EKM Property Management continues to avoid dealing with the 

  the complete facts of each complaint I have submitted. 

  Hopefully the entire rejections and responses will be will be posted

  to demonstrate this fact.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  **** *******

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/25/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We are renting a house from this business, and he won't help complete any work orders. We moved in on Feb. 1st, 2022, and on Feb. 4th we filed a maintenance request about the kitchen floor being rotten and caving in. The floor in the kitchen is so bad that you cannot walk anywhere near it, we are concerned that it will cave completely in. There are also mushrooms growing in between the warped and rotted floorboards. We also have 16 other work orders that are still open, most of them have been open for over a year. We've reached out to ******************************* several times and have gotten no help. After reaching out to ******************************* about all the work orders, he text my fianc saying I was a demanding, pompous, and arrogant. We are moving at the end of June, but EKM properties haven't done their part to help maintain this property.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/05/2023

  Hello,

  On the property managers response to my complaint, he stated that this is the first time hes had water issues in this house. That is not true. I have an email from him stating that there was previous water damage from before we moved in. 

  Also, the kitchen floor has completely caved in, and there is a huge hole in our floor, and black mold is clearly visible. 

  As to the maintenance tech coming, we give permission to enter on every work order. We dont have to be home for him to complete the work. The maintenance tech should have access to all work orders and have all tools needed to complete the job. 

  The property manager asked us to be home so we could assist his maintenance tech when he comes to complete work. My fianc and I work full time, so we had to schedule the maintenance tech to start after 4 pm, because thats the time wed be home from work. The maintenance tech refused. This has been an ongoing battle since we submitted our first work order. I will attach an email from ******************************* showing that his response to my complaint is untrue and that he knew of water damage previously. I will also attach a photo of our now collapsed kitchen floor

  

  Business Response

  Date: 06/05/2023

  When the tenants moved into this home, there was a small section of flooring in the kitchen that had some 1/8 and 14/" gaps in the hardwood/laminate flooring.  This started to happen about 18 months after the home was built.  At this point the home was no longer under warranty.  We could not find flooring to match in order to be able to repair this small section.  The owner was not willing to replace all fo the floors in the main level of this home because of this small section.  

  We have no idea why this gaps started to appear.  We thought it might have been defective flooring or poor install work.  We have seen this in other homes.

  The property owner did not want us to renew these tenant's lease agreement due to some issues that are not related to this.  So we have the property up and listed.  We had an applicant go by and view the home.  I then get a message from the current tenants asking why I would show the home with the "Floors caving in."  This is the first time I've heard anything about floors "caving in."  So I make an appointment to go out to view the floors.  The floors were in fact caving in a bit and moist.  This was the first time we have ever witnessed any moisture on/under these floors.  Immediately I contacted our flooring company we work with and also our appliance guy in hopes of making a determination where the water is coming from.  I gave both contractors the tenants phone numbers. They called multiple times and did not get a response from the tenants.  Finally I schedule a time to meet both contractors there.  The appliance guy confirmed that the water is not coming from the dishwasher or the refrigerator.  Underneath the kitchen cabinet and sink, it was completely dry.  So I then contacted our plumber.  They thought it would be best to start with a water and mold specialist, who were out the following day.  

  The tenants do not have 16 open work orders.  They submitted a handful of work orders right when they moved in.  My maintenance guy went out there to take care of them.  The tenants were not home at the time, only their teenage children were.  When my maintenance guy left, he asked the kids if he had covered everything on the list.  They had no idea.  A week later I get a message from the tenant that he did not complete all of the work.  Both my maintenance guy and I asked that the adult tenants be there when he comes back out again to finish the maintenance items to ensure all work on the list is complete.  

  In July the tenants submitted further maintenance request.  My maintenance guy had an appointment to go out in August.  The tenant called and cancelled.  He asked her to give him a call when she would have time and would be home.  She then called in November to schedule an appointment.  On the morning of the appointment when he was on his way to the property, she called to cancel again.  She then gave him some evening times starting at 5pm where he could do the work.  He had estimated that the work would take around 5 hours.  He told her that he could not start a 5 hour job at 5pm in the evening.  She told him it would have to wait until after the first of the year.

  Finally after the first of the year, he had an appointment to go out and finish the work.  The tenants fiancee was there at this time.  When my maintenance guy was done, he asked, "Is there anything else I can do?  Did I complete everything on the list of things you needed done?"  The tenant responded that he covered everything and did a great job.  If that is the case, there should not be 16 open work orders as they claim.

  The floors and leak are in the process of being fixed.  This is an inconvenience for the tenants.  I completely understand that.  They have asked to not have to pay any rent for the month of June because of this.  I have relayed this request to the owner.  He said no.  He wanted all of June's rent paid on time.  He was willing to do something fair after we know the scope of the work, how long it will take, and how it will impact the tenants.  The tenants have also requested to received a full deposit refund and their pet fee back.  Their deposits are fully refundable.  I've provided them with a list of things they need to do in order to get their deposits back.  If they satisfactorily complete these items, they will get their deposits back.  Pet fee not applicable.  

  When we found out about the fact that there was a leak and more floor damage than we have ever seen before, the tenants asked us to put them up in a hotel room.  I was willing to do that.  I booked a room over the phone for them.  Apparently the hotel required a credit card be presented the time of check-in.  I was not made aware of that when booking the room.  I was not able to go in person.  The hotel told me I could book it online.  I proceeded to do that.  The tenants grew frustrated and left, opting to go back to the house.  I then paid for a hotel that they did not even use.

  We are trying to accommodate them.  We are trying to get this taken care of.   

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/05/2023

   
  Complaint: 20104698
  
  I am rejecting this response because: What the business owner has stated is not true. I have every email and text sent between me and the property manager, the messages show that his response is untrue.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

  

  Business Response

  Date: 06/16/2023

  When we found out there was moisture in the floor, we immediately started contacting contractors to determine where the water was coming from and to try and start making repairs.  This has been a long process.  Since these tenants are scheduled to be out of the house on 6/30, we will begin the repairs on 7/1.  I feel badly that the tenants are having to deal with this in their last 1-2 months living in the home.  They are asking for their deposits to automatically be refunded in full.  Unfortunately I can't offer that as compensation, as I don't know what condition they are going to leave the home in.  The deposits are meant to cover any unfinished cleaning or damage they may have caused to the house.   They have chosen not to pay rent for the month of June, despite that they received notice on April 1 to vacate the property within 60 days.  Not paying almost $3000 in rent should be compensation in itself.  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/21/2023

   
  Complaint: 20104698
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  This property manager has failed to complete his duties and responsibilities. Most notably is his breach of the warranty of habitability RCW 59.18.060
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************