VerraTerra Property Management LLC

I have been waiting to write this review for weeks — and figured I needed to give it a few days to calm down. This company is HORRID — property owners & potential clients, beware!
My current lease was ending and I was needing to find a new rental in the Seattle area. Spent weeks looking online & visiting open houses. By the time this property in particular popped up, I had a very good idea of what I was looking for. I contacted the leasing agent (verraterra) the day this property posted on Trulia (right before Labor day weekend) and asked to view the house. We were heading out of town for the weekend, so I offered to fill out the app & send $ for the app fee prior to a tour — we were seriously interested in this house, pictures looked good, location was great — and we wanted to be first in on an application. The agent (Tim) replied back right away with the info the fill out the app — literally the ONLY time he got back to me quickly.
We go to tour the house with Tim, and the place is a wreck. Dirty. Spackle on the walls, no new paint. Appliances dirty, a lock on the top of the fridge. Fireplace doesn’t work. Torn screen upstairs bedroom. Yard overgrown and unkempt. Tim explains the house has been on the market for a few months, lots of tours but no buyers. We ask will there be cleaning prior to moving in? He’ll have to check. Will there be painting? He’ll have to check. Fixing the fireplace? He’ll have to check. The kicker? FULL garbage and yard waste bins that stink in the driveway. Will those be removed? He’ll have to check. Are you kidding me?
Despite ALL of this — and my serious misgivings about Tim and this company in general, pickings are slim on the rental front. We decide we would like Tim to inquire on our questions and get back to us — and we will go forward with processing our apps. This was a Tuesday. By Thursday, no response. I call. I text. I think, maybe it’s Tim. I call the main line to Verraterra and leave a message saying I’m getting no response, please get back to me. NOTHING. Get a text Friday with a «sorry crazy busy will get back to you today.» Shockingly, no follow up for the next 3 days.
The next week, I get a text saying «so I found out there is another application being processed but it looks like it could fall through. I apologies it took so long, if it does are you still interested?» Are you kidding me. The entire time — from the very first day the house was listed as for rent — there was another applicant you failed to mention? You still haven’t called me to give me the follow up answers? You also didn’t call me to explain how another app could’ve been processed before mine — that was best explained over text?
Yep, still riled up after almost two weeks of this nonsense. So grateful we went another direction.
And if they were actually the realtor attempting to sell that house — for the love of GOD, present the house in the best possible light. A little TLC would go a long way in making that house appear sell-​able — or, you know, basic cleanliness. I wonder if that owner knows how this company was treating their property — and how he could’ve had a renter in place at least a full 2 weeks earlier. They obviously work real hard for the people they are charging $$!

When we first moved into our home the agency seemed very efficient and fast. We have rented for a year and a half and service has gone down hill. They take forever to respond to questions, leaving us no choice but to contact the owners ourselves. They would blame it on the owners for their delayed response but the owners always got back to us imediatly. We are about to move out because owners decided to sell the house we are renting and the property management sent us a message asking if we had a spare key we could give them. Wait what? Isn’t that your biggest job as a property management company, to have access to your rentals in case we got locked out or denied you entry? The list goes on and even though a lot of the things I’ve noticed they have failed on don’t really affect us as renters, I’m left questioning myself why the owners are paying these people to basically do nothing. I hope they can actually help sell the home for the owners because they seem pretty incompetent so far.

Writing an update to my last post. Service much improved with the new assistant/​manager. Communication is a lot better and response times are swift.
I have to say everything has been going well. I’m impressed with the service they have and the ability to provide everything electronically makes it much easier and convenient.
My tenants have expressed interest in renewing your contract so both of us are pretty happy with the service provided so far.

I’ve worked with James for two purchases and he looks after my condo as my property manager when I am out of town. I was most impressed that even after way too many house showings, when even I was ready to setting for something I didn’t actually love, James insisted that we keep going till we find our perfect home. And we did — way to many more house showings later.
Given that an agent only gets paid when you buy, and the more time you take of theirs for house showings to make up your mind, the more it costs the agent, there is only incentive for agents to pressure you to buy the first place that will get him/​her the biggest commission off of you in the shortest time. Unless you’re James, someone who genuinely finds pleasure and pride from his work by satisfaction of helping you find a dream home.
From working with him, I’ve also come to trust him as a friend. So having him keep an eye out on my rental when I am out of town was a no brainer.