Koss Property Management

Tamara Simon and Koss Property Management have managed my Ballard rental house for more than 13 years, and I can’t imagine that anyone could have done a better job of taking care of my tenants and protecting my investment. I brought Koss in when I had a problem tenant. Tamara held my hand through the whole torturous process of getting rid of him. In the following 12 years she found me 2 excellent tenants, a testament to her vetting skills and the quality of the management (and reasonable rent), leaving the house open only long enough to clean and do repairs before changing tenants and rents started flowing again. Tamara advised me well on rental rates and the overall real estate market, knowing one day I would want to sell. My tenants knew me and how to get in touch if they ever had any problems that weren’t being properly addressed by Koss. I never heard a complaint, and in fact received may compliments on how quickly issues were dealt with. Over the years everyone in the KPM office has been attentive to my needs and concerns and I have loved working with them all. This is a first rate company which does a great job of balancing landlord interests and tenant needs.

First off our hardest lesson — don’t sign a term lease. Don’t listen to anyone who tells you this is a formality.
We reported a leak in February 16^th, 2014. We have email correspondence promising repairs for the next several months and even a few offering a rent reduction but neither statement is delivered on as of today. Over the past 10 months we’ve had multiple contractors come in and out of our house but the issue still remains. There are four large holes in the ceiling, leaks in the Master Suite and regular visits by contractors and the owner but no resolution.
Don’t call this team, you must email in order to preserve any documentation. Don’t expect a response either, many of our questions remained unanswered. It’s December 29^th and the repairs weren’t made, questions about health and safety were unanswered and we didn’t receive any reduction in rent. We received email after email with excuses but no resolution. In fact, if we asked a direct question such as concerns for our safety or health, Koss would simply start a new email chain but not answer the question.
Days before Christmas, on December 16^th we received a phone call stating our lease wouldn’t be renewed. The day after our lease expires they will start substantial rehabilitation due to water intrusion issues.
The timing is interesting, that’s for sure.
Other issues to consider, there was no direct deposit option provided for us which meant we either had to drive across town to drop off a check, send a check early through our bank account or mail a check USPS.

Office manager is very helpful.

If you have to rent from a property management company this is the one to choose Koss Property Management has been amazing. I recently rented a home from them and have had nothing, but wonderful experiences with the office staff. They are very quick to answer any questions and to fix any issues that are going on at the property.

When I was moving away from Seattle for a while and not able to rent my condo myself, I got a recommendation for Koss. I’ve found them very easy to work with and Tamara actually took pity on my situation and was able reduce their percentage so that I could break even in a tough rental market.
My personal experience: My tenant contacted Koss to report a leak in the ceiling. Koss got a handyman out there right away to check the roof and after some work, discovered it was a defect in the way a skylight had been installed. It’s all fine now. I’ve never heard from my tenant that Koss has been anything other than professional. Also, with some other work I need done, Koss promptly (within a half hour of receiving my e-​mail notification) contacted the worker and reminded them to give Koss plenty of time to coordinate with my tenant who needs several days notice before the worker can access my condo. And Tamara recommended that I not raise the rent the second year with this tenant – she said that having a good tenant is worth more than the small amount I would be able to increase.
Regarding the other reviews, as a long time renter before I bought, it’s always wise to know your landlord/​tenants rights act and to save correspondence. I did this as a client of Koss and with any other business transaction, not as a they’re-going-to-get-me measure but to be a responsible business person (even if the «business» is being a renter or a prop mgmt client). And yes, I agree that one should always read the paperwork carefully – I had to do so as a responsible client and be sure that Koss and I were on the same page. I think the people at Koss would highly recommend that you, as renters, know your rights and responsibilities, too.

We rented a home and then due to some unfortunate circumstances had to back out of the rental agreement. This was AFTER we paid our fees upfront. You can imagine the fear we were experiencing. We talked it over with Tamara. She was extremely fair and courteous with us. Advocating for the owners of the property is her first priority but she worked hard on our behalf as well. She communicated with us quickly and got the property re-​rented and our check refunded minus the appropriate deductions. No gouging us for inexplicable reasons. The true character of Tamara and her company was evidenced in this situation. Fair and honest, hard working and trustworthy. Good to do business with, reliable, you are in good hands when doing business with Koss.

This company is terrible. We have been renting a very high end house with Koss as the property management company for 5 years. The response time to maintenance requests is atrocious. They completely forgot twice. They routinely take up to 3 weeks to address a request. We have lost heat, hot water and had the security system beeping throughout the night and yet I was accused of «complaining.» They make rude comments about the owners who appear to us to be quite responsive and willing to pay for whatever needs fixing. The repair person they send out to the house has actually damaged the property trying to fix things he does not have the skills to fix. Avoid at all costs if you can.

Avoid this company if you can. They run their business like slumlords. If you rent from them, read the Washington Landlord/​tenants rights act, and be prepared to use it. Also a must: save all correspondece. They will probably try to scam you, make up stuff, or make basic things a complete hassle.
Worst property management experience I’ve ever had.

I have had nothing but good experiences with Tamara and her team at Koss. My boyfriend rented for her for a couple years at a small complex they oversee, then I got an apt at the same place. When we decided to move in together, I still had time on my lease and they let a friend of ours take it over, at no cost to me and now he has been a tenant there for a couple years. We have also referred other friends to Koss with no complaints. Additionally, the place that we moved in together is also a Koss property and it has also been just fine. They are responsive when needed, but otherwise trust you to be good tenants. I agree that it is good advice to always keep copies of correspondence for any rental situation, but I have yet to experience a situation where a lack of this has caused confusion.

I admit that it’s hard for me to rate Koss versus other property management companies as I’ve never used one before. I can say, however, that the disappointing experience that I had with them has made me vow to never use one. I honestly took the other hidden reviews with a grain of salt (after all BBB rates Koss an A+) until my own experience made me question the validity of what those users posted.
Long story short, I was presented a lease with some questionable terms — terms that should have had straightforward answers, and probably could have been addressed without me having to walk away from the rental property. Unfortunately, my questions were passed from one party to another without actually being addressed, and I chose to decline to lease property through them. I just didn’t feel comfortable with the way I was treated — you know, like a customer should feel when they’re shelling out $ 1400/​mo for a domicile.
A general word to future renters (I would give this advice to anyone, but it’s especially pertinent after my experience): if it’s not in writing, it doesn’t exist. Likewise, if it *is* in writing, it’s exactly as it appears on paper.

Interesting that all of the poor reviews of this company have been suppressed by Unilocal’s «Automated» filtering system. There used to be quite a few more reviews than this. Looks like Koss has been paying Unilocal to get their negative reviews taken down.
I have direct experience with this company, and will say that if you MUST rent a property through them, make sure you save all corrispondence, written or email, record your telephone conversations, and make sure you know the landlord tenant laws, because they’ll try to mess with you, and you’ll need the backup to get out of the mess.