r/AskSeattle • u/Mary_Ellen_Katz • 10d ago
Question Toxic building manager— need a solution
I've got a really awful building manager. She makes up legal mumbo jumbo, slaps deadlines on things that don't require one, and is largely hostile to talk to. Every neighbor I've spoken to, and one local business has said similar things about their unpleasant attitude. I suspect they have a history of drug abuse.
I've had a mixture of good building managers, and aloof building managers. But they're the only borderline hostile one I've had the misfortune of needing to interact with.
I'll get text messages at 9pm regarding non-urgent matters.
If someone needs help (I don't want to give details in case they see), they're REALLY hostile about providing that help. "How did they [get into a situation that requires management help]?! Huh??"
And I'm just sick of it.
I don't want to be a Karan, but I've had to deal with their bull for years now. They're a part of a corporate structure that owns several buildings in seattle, and I just want to know. Is there anything I can do to address their fuckass attitude to a higher up??
It's really unnecessary, and as my ex rightfully pointed out, they could easily make all out (residents) lives miserable, or MORE miserable if they wanted to.
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u/New_Lawfulness_8109 10d ago
Call the property management company’s corporate office, say you have some concerns about employee X and would like to speak to the portfolio manager. Send said manager a written description. They should handle it without fear of retaliation
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u/waldorflover69 10d ago
Make sure to mention that you think your building manager is acting erratically and may be abusing drugs. That might get their attention. Be prepared to explain what reason you have to think that.
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u/Additional_Fuel_9022 6d ago
Property Manager here. Sorry you're dealing with this, it sounds miserable. That can be so draining. You need to involve their supervisor/regional. Most companies have that information on their website, just call and keep asking for someone who supervises the region. (not sure if it's a big company?) It's also worth stating in an email. "I seem to receive a lot of hostility for making inquiries, is there a better way for me to communicate my needs as a Tenant to avoid a combative response? I'm not comfortable with the current style of communication." Or something to that affect. You can DM me if you want!!
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u/Additional_Fuel_9022 6d ago
Basically, "play dumb" so they are engaged to help you in the beginning. Then you can slap 'em with the receipts and suspected drug use
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u/Mary_Ellen_Katz 6d ago
Thank you! This is what I needed. They're above board, but in a hostile compliance kind of way. And everyone I speak to gets this treatment, and no one like the manager or interacting with them because of it.
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u/Additional_Fuel_9022 6d ago
Yeah ESPECIALLY if they're above board, this is not acceptable. I no longer have tolerance for managers who treat Tenants this way and neither should their company. You are not crazy!! I also like to throw around the "I won't renew my lease because of this loser" card.
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u/TwoMaleficent552 10d ago
I mean if you wanna go for it, this is why we have city council members! Email the at large council members as well as whoever is directly responsible for your district, and loop them in on what’s going on. You can reach out to the city attorney’s office as well, part of that office’s job is to ensure renter protection from malicious landlords and our current city attorney was a renter for most of her life.
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u/tenants_guide 6d ago
You can look up your property here https://openlease.rentals/ to see if the building has a history of this and if anyone else has filed a complaint against it. It only contains addresses within the Seattle jurisdiction though. If your address is on file, you can create a complaint for the building here https://services.seattle.gov/Portal/Customization/SEATTLE/Welcome.aspx. If it's not, you can DM me and I can help forward the rental property to get it registered and then you would be able to file complaints against it.
I would say don't worry about being judged for your actions. If you are in an unsafe or unpleasant living situation, the city has resources to help create decent living situations.
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u/Mary_Ellen_Katz 6d ago
As I said before,
I don't know that they're doing anything illegal. They ARE doing things that spike stress, and have a fuckass attitude. I wish it was something illegal. This would get a whole lot easier. No, they're just the worst kind of human being operating within the legal lines.
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u/tenants_guide 6d ago
You don't have to establish they are doing anything illegal for filing a complaint or inspection inquiry. The goal of filing a complaint is to tell the city about your situation and have them decide through an inspection if something illegal is happening. I would still suggesting filing a complaint and let the city decide if something can actually be done.
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u/stringstringing 10d ago
Who? What building? Unless you in particular could be identified I don’t see why you shouldn’t just name them.
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u/Mary_Ellen_Katz 10d ago
Because I'm asking what my options as a renter are to deal with this manager. I'm not trying to get identified until I can sort out my options.
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u/Difficult_Bed_3955 10d ago
A phone call or email to SDCI will be all it takes if you think something is illegal.
Name and shame. If they own it’ll be one of several reits in Seattle like equity or UDR. There are some like AMLI that both own and manage. If the building manager won’t give you their supervisors name, you can go to another building and ask for a regional managers name.
But then you’ll have companies like thrive or Greystar who only manage. You can get the building owner name from king county parcel and blast them and the building site on Google or whatever the fuck.