Windermere Property Management -- where your money disappears faster than your peace of mind." So, I move out, expecting the usual refund for my deposit. Wrong. They took my deposit and then sent me a bill for an extra $2,000 in damages. No breakdownlists, no explanation, just a nice little "thanks for the cash" surprise. Apparently, Windermere has a unique approach to property management -- charge tenants for things that don't exist. How fun! If you want a masterclass in how to lose money, peace, and sanity all at once, then Windermere's your spot. But if you're looking for a company that actually values tenants or, you know, follows any kind of ethical standard, maybe keep looking.​ read more

My fiancé and I have been renting from Windermere in Bellingham for a couple years and our agent Nicole Sargent has been so helpful and understanding. We had some major maintenance issues, (flooding from sewage) and she really advocated for us and got a maintenance crew in right away. She has always been really professional and kind. read more

Their agents intentionally lied to my mother about not meeting income requirements when her income more than exceeds their requirements and that the rent does not exceed 40% of her income, I will make sure people know not to rent from them for being liars read more

Let's start with the good, if you keep on them they are responsive and helpful. Everyone I have spoken with has been nice. The bad, they charged a little over $99 to replace a light bulb. So if you do rent from them make sure you account for everything when you move out so get your deposit back. read more

I had used this company since 2019. It's was a very bad property management company that you can not depend upon.It was tragic for me. The way they treat me and my tenants. We cannot get any respond from them when we need them. therefore they are all there for them self instead of taking care of your issue nor care for your property. My tenants has been rent my property for over two years and he fed up with it because of no reply or respond by the property manager when he needed help or some thing. He moved out of my property,sadly I got slapped with the bills of about $1000 on a touchup paint by Windemere management. I urge you not to use this company ,if you need property management.take my words and so you will not be regret it. I thank you for reading your safety messages. That's all my concern. read more

I've been renting for 3 years with Windermere in Bellingham. It doesn't matter if you are a perfect tenant in every way --- they just don't care about people. Customer service is truly the worst I've ever experienced in any sort of environment. Not only do property managers/desk attendants avoid your as well as your calls and emails, they will conveniently "forget" you scheduled appointments and be unable to reschedule. They are rude to your face, via the phone and via email. Maintenance requests go unanswered for years. Yes -- I said years. They do absolutely the bare minimum for their clients and its truly stomach churning. I would recommend any property management company but Windermere. read more

DO NOT RENT THROUGH WINDEMERE! My partner and I got totally scammed by them trough the application process. First, they said we each had to apply to even schedule a viewing so we paid $45 each in application fees. After paying $90, they kept telling us the property isn't available to view yet. Then they tell us because we're not married we EACH have to make 2.5x the rent for $3400 house! Or we have to find a cosigner that makes 5x the rent (so 17K/month)!! Complete discrimination because we're not married and a total waste of time and money! We still never saw the place smh. read more

the people who work the front desk are extremely rude and have zero customer service skills. when I send in maintainer requests they take weeks if not months to respond . my door bell catches fire when it's used and you know what they said to me " put duck tape over the button and don't use the door bell " instead of bringing someone out here to fix it . I've lived with these rent raising thieves for 8 years and I wish someone would take this company down ! read more

If they are as professional as they are with rentals as with managing an hoa... stay away from them if possible. I have been trying to refinance but it has been held up due to Windermere's inability to respond to my mortgage companies request for information. This process started in June and is still on going on 9/2. read more

We lived in the same rental for 4 years, halfway through our tenancy we were switched to Windermere. They neglected all yard maintenance even though we signed an extension on our existing lease which stated they were responsible for all of it. Later when we moved out we were charged for maintenance and cleaning that once again, was stated in our lease they were responsible for. If you are looking for a rental in Bellingham this is the last property management company you should go to, unless you like people taking advantage of you. read more

I rented from a private owner (he rents several properties) beginning of 2019. June 2022, I filed a protection order against my ex. & was awarded the home. The owner attempted to evict daughter & I. I asserted my rights & the notice was rescinded. After filing a complaint w/ HUD, the owner hired Windermere to deal with the hysterical woman that I am. I was EXTREMELY hopeful as there had been harassment & retaliation from the owner. I received a letter on my door mid-August. Windermere took exactly 2 weeks to verify after numerous calls. It also said if we had paid Sept. to the owner, that was fine, which we had by this time. Also, that a walk-through inspection to be conducted & that if refused I will be charged $100.00. Personally, I try not to open with threats when I begin a relationship. At the inspection 9/6 I advised them that our refrigerator hadn't been working. When stated that its difficult eating out of a freezer, her comment was "that's good, at least your freezer is working". It did not. We were eating out of a chest freezer we had brought into the home. I assumed she wrote it down while taking notes when asking my daughter & I if there are any maintenance requests to be fixed. Nope. I had to email & voicemail, & deal with the owner & his hostile & belittling texts. Eventually after an educated repair person confirmed that it was no longer working, we received a refrigerator 10/13. As I had been a month-to-month tenant for over 3.5 years with zero rent increases promised and obliged at $1525.00 per month, Windermere decided to toss a new lease at me starting at $1600.00 effective immediately due Sept. rent that had already been paid. Included was another increase, now $1700.00 effective 1/1/2023. Then "expectations", my parents were more lenient w/ rules & regulations when I was a child. I advised I would not be signing the lease & wish to remain month to month. 1/31 I received notice with the threat of unlawful detainer if we're not gone by 4/30 as the owner intends to sell the home. I asked if the other person on the lease had been notified as his items were still on the property. I was told they do not see anyone else listed. I let them know there is a protection order in place so if they could please communicate that, I'd appreciate it. I am still waiting to hear back. Upon the overwhelming communication as to what MY responsibilities are in the move out, that is all that was heard. Windermere was notified of my departure and that my ex could gather his items and assist in the cleaning. As soon as possible they did the walk through and give me their opinion on how the place looked. I asked for a copy of the rent increase that went into effect in Sept. I STILL have yet to receive a response. After a couple of weeks, I reached out & was told everything had been removed from the house & it was in the process of being cleaned at the direction of the owner. My ex has every character trait of narcissistic personality disorder. His stuff was #1 priority in the meaning of life. Him leaving everything confirmed my suspicions. I am disappointed that it was not communicated to me. Whatever. I also was not surprised when told that he's in the process of having the protection order amended & the owner has written a new lease for him to move back into the home 4/1 at $1,600.00 a month. I think back to May of 2022 & how I was done with my relationship & done with being punished for having the wrong response or thoughts or feelings or actions, etc. I ultimately didn't care if I had to live in my car. THANK YOU, WINDERMERE,...FOR MAKING THAT DREAM COME TRUE :o) I apologize as I believe this to be the longest review written ever. Being how I have relocated; I have also lost access to my therapist. So, this will have to do for now. I wish I could say I'm extremely grateful for them reaching out and apologizing after the threats, eviction, being notified that the owner never truly intended to sell, and completely ignoring my rights as a survivor of domestic abuse. But I'm still waiting for them to get back to me. read more

I've never rented from an actual rental company before - I've only ever rented from private parties. I am by nature opposed to big corporations, so when I was rental-shopping, I avoided homes rented by Windermere, and other places like it. But a home I really wanted to see was Windermere's, so I finally gave in and took a look. I'm soo glad I did, because it was definitely the house for me. I have never had ANY problems or issues of ANY kind with Windermere or Ebright Wight. Doug Wight is just about the nicest guy in the world, and the best landlord I could ever have hoped to have. He is honest, he is fair, and he gets things done. Any time I have any issue or problem with my house, he sends someone right over. The girls in the office are always super nice and helpful, and I have never had any complaints whatsoever. Maybe I will sing a different song when I move out (if? I love it here.), but the security deposit wasn't even that high, so though I hope they don't keep it, as I've taken really excellent care of my house, if they do, they do. That's part of renting. If the other renter had mentioned the dirty carpets to them when he moved in, I'll bet they would have sent someone over to clean them. Even I knew to make a list of anything wrong with the house before I moved in, and I've never done this before. I'm also bothered that he listed a lot of positives about Windermere and even said it's "not the worst company to rent from," but then he gave them only 1 star? Come on. How about we rate on our experience as a whole, not penalize them for our own inability to report damage to our unit upon arrival. As for the repair man letting himself in without authorization, it's inexcusable. I've never had it happen to me, and nothing in the world would upset me more in the capacity of renting. But I've lived here 3.5 years, and filled out my share of work order requests, and they've always been really good about calling me ahead of time. Never once have they shown up without my authorizing it. I have always paid my rent on time, and taken care of my home. I can't speak for deadbeats who don't do the same. If you're a responsible person, I absolutely recommend Windermere/Ebright Wight. I am beyond blessed to live in one of their homes. I can't rave about it more. read more

After being hustled to pay a fee and go through the labor-intensive process of applying to rent a property in Bellingham, this company went radio silent. This was despite my credit score of 829. One can only think of the Windermere application process as a money-grab in this tight rental market. Multiple applicants vie for a single property in competition with one another while the company sits back and ignores repeated requests for completion. read more

Moved in with three adult family members. House was brand new (still getting finished when we signed the lease, couldn't move in for a week) but had mud under the stove, scuffs throughout the house, ect... A year later (no longer on lease, but month to month) we get a notice saying that they were upping the rent by $50. The letters were sent out on the 7th, the last day in which a tenant can inform them that they intended to move without paying for the next month. We informed them on the 15th. Given when we moved in, this was our last day to inform them that we were leaving. Everything was going fine until they said we had to pay for the next month. We called them out on the date of the letters. We also informed them about how we were not allowed to move in for a week despite already paying (we received not back pay for this week either). We also consulted a lawyer on this, who said they were in the wrong. A few weeks passed, we moved into another place, everything seemed fine. That is, until they sent us an email saying we owed them $500!! They were charging us for the following month's rent, professional carpet, and house cleaning. The house was completely spotless when we returned it, there were no holes in the walls, and there was nothing in the lease about professional house cleaning, only carpet. That place probably looked better than when we moved in. We should have sued them. Never, NEVER again!! Beware because if all of the Windermere offices are as shady as these guys, you'll get worked over BIG TIME. read more

After reading some of the reviews, I was a little worried. I didn't know what to expect and went in with low expectations because we really wanted the home to rent. However, We have been very pleased as a new tenant. Tonya has been quick to reply to our emails and listen to us. I sent a few issues to her and two days later, someone was at the house fixing the issues. I'm very pleasantly surprised and happy with their service. read more

As owners of a unit that is rented out, we have not received essential reports for several months. This company introduced a "Portal" system last year which is totally useless. It provides irrelevant items and skips thing which, for example, we need for the IRS, not to mention for our information. It is also difficult to contact people in the organization who might help. We note that we are not the only reviews who assigned one star. read more

Windermere was the Property Managment company for The Avalon Apartments while I lived there from 2014-2015. I decided I had to finally share my story, because I came across another review that said something that helped me to connect the dots with what happened to me there. What was said is that the maintenance is there constantly to spy on tenants and is, in fact, the owners of the property. You'll see why this piece of information is important... While I was there, I saw the "Maitenance"(man and woman) on site nearly every single day. At the time I actually didn't mind it. It is in old building, and I figured that they were renovation it one unit at a time. It also gave me a false sense of safety. I felt that I had a good rapport with them, and talked to them on many occasions. I got the sense that they liked me, as I was a quiet, working professional that didn't ever have parties. One time I had a work order for a plumbing issue, and they had even commented on how clean the place was, and how they liked how I decorated the apartment. When my lease was up I gave proper notice that I would be moving out, as I was moving across the country for my job. I had paid over 900 in total for my damage deposit, and wanted to be sure I did everything I could to get it back. I specifically asked "Maitenance" what I could do to insure that would happen. The floors there are the original wood that they paint brown. I had a very heavy table that had chipped some of the paint on the floor, and asked them if they would like me to repaint the area. They told me not to worry about it as they already have the perfect matching color, and that I wouldn't be charged for small chips. Other than that I left the apartment spotless, and in better condition than I found it. Now comes the part when I got royally screwed: When I went to get my deposit back from Windermere Property Managment, it was for only about 100 dollars. I was shown a series of pictures that were either old photos, or staged. For example: there was a picture of the stove top(that I had left spotless) with crumbs and a long black hair on it. (I was blonde at the time). They used the chipped floor, which I was told not to worry about, to charge me hundreds of dollars to repaint the entire apartment. I could have done the same job myself for 25 dollars had they not been deceptive about it. There was also a very old rust spot on top of the refrigerator that I did not include on my move-in sheet, because I did not see it, and it's typically not a place people look. Even the woman at Windermere told me that she could tell that it was there for much longer than I had lived there, and would "work on getting my money back for that." I never saw any of that money, or heard from her again. I contemplated taking them to small claims court, but since I moved so far away it was more trouble than it was worth. These "Owners/Maitenance" are obviously taking advantage of their tenants, and double dipping. Shame on them, and shame on Windermere Property Managment for allowing them to do it. Future renters beware! If you do decide to rent from them anyway, just be sure to take photos and video of everything before you leave so that you have proof of how you left it. Lesson learned on my part. read more

Just awful. So dissatisfied with the property I'm currently at. They are the worst property management company I've yet to come across. Even chuckanut, SonRise, sterling, and prime property management are far better than this company. They will so everything they can to take as much money from you as possible and with little to no regard to morals. read more

Worst company ever. Not only do they suck at taking money from our account on time to pay our due fees, they then charge us a fee for being "late". Can't wait to move out of this hell hole they manage. If you plan on moving to the Darby estates don't. Nice area but this company Makes living here hell. read more

do not rent from this company . They are extremely rude through email and through our phone conversation. and basically steal an expensive rental application fee from you! I found this company to be discriminative against me and my partner. Luckily we found our rental else where and are lucky to not have worked with them considering the other reviews for this company. I spoke directly with : Michelle Jones and Bethany Aldrich read more

I would give zero stars if possible. It seems that there is a lack of concern for customers. I called from out of town and was given different information over the phone than I was given at the office when we showed up there. If you are trying to find a rental in Whatcom County I would not recommend this agency. Multiple phone calls were not returned and office staff seemed unaware of what was actually going on. I like to give positive reviews but can not for this agency. They would benefit from management and culture change at this agency. read more

IMPOSSIBLE TO GET AHOLD OF. I was supposed to be signing a lease after paying a holding deposit, but after writing that first check I didn't get any more information. Three months later and I'm still waiting to find out when I am to sign my lease, even after calling multiple times and leaving voicemails to the property managers. There seems to be a real lack of communication in the office and absolutely no care for their customers. Too bad it's too late to find an apartment with a private company. This year long lease is going to be a real struggle. read more

I've been renting from Windermere for two years now. From the beginning they have been helpful and prompt. Yesterday could have potentially been disastrous without the quick thinking and action taken by Bethany, Rebecca, and especially Scott Sanders. I got out of bed at seven am and stepped into an inch of standing water that spread through the entire apartment. I called the emergency maintenance line and within 15 minutes Scott was at my door. He made a quick assessment of the situation and within a couple hours we were on way to the storage unit with all my furniture and all my belongings in plastic totes in a trailer. Scott helped me all day, troubleshooting, loading and unloading; he even took my mom for a walk around the block when we were taking a break. She said he was an angel! Windermere put me up in a hotel for two weeks and is covering the cost of the storage unit and provided the trailer. I don't know that my experience would have been the same with another property management company, (I've heard some horror stories). To know that your renting from a company that employs people like Scott, Bethany and Rebecca, people who are your advocates and not the enemy, is a great comfort. I want to express my genuine gratitude to everyone who helped me yesterday to overcome a seemingly impossible situation. Sincerely, Megan Bradshaw read more

This property management is so professional and so helpful! They addressed matters on a timely manner and are very friendly. They even helped me with additional support after I was no longer their tenant. 10/10, I would definitely recommend and rent again if I ever move back to Bellingham! Thank you Tonya and the girls at the front desk office! read more

Frank at Windermere was helpful and understanding in application process. Great to work with so far, would recommend.

Be very careful with these folks if you are looking to rent. We are relocating and reached out to check on properties. You have to submit $40 per person over 18 (even husband and wife) to apply for a lease. We checked, they said specifically that the property was still available, so we put in an application after waiting several days to get answers back regarding length of lease, etc. After paying our $80, we find out that we didn't get the lease. They wait until they have applications from 3 people, then they start processing the applications and award the lease to the first qualified applicant. So apparently we were the third applicants, and never really had a chance. I complained, their answer was essentially "sorry, not sorry". Poor communication, taking our nonrefundable money for the application knowing that we were third...we went to another property management company that, surprise, processes each application as it comes in!! I wouldn't give these folks any business in the future. read more

My only experience was me walking into the office to inquire about rentals. I opened the door, said "Good Afternoon", and neither of the ladies behind the counter responded or even looked up from their computers, let alone give me a "We'll be with you in a minute." I waited a minute, started to speak, and after seeing that they were still completely ignoring me, I turned and said "Guess you don't want my business" out loud and walked out. No response. Enough said. read more

Give Windermere a chance, but you may need to be persistent, more then I had time for. I am a landlord. I have not used Windermere, but I did make an effort too. I phoned and was asked for some basic information [about the house] that was left for Sandy. I didn't receive a call back. I set rent at a very fair price, and have a nice home I may well retire to. My last tenant was in the house 6 years, so I decided what the heck, I'd continue managing the property myself. Ironically, I had mentioned to the receptionist that there was a yelp review noting their office hadn't returned a call, thinking it would ensure a prompt call back - it apparently had the opposite effect for me. Wood floor refinishers are booked out a month, but they called back, and did so right away. I'm a little surprised Windermere didn't take a similar interest to ensure a good sale lead didn't slip by. read more

Windermere in Bellingham managed my rental property for seven years before I retired and returned to Ferndale to live in the house myself. During most of that time the property was managed by Jay Baklund, who always did a great job. Jay was very proactive about issues with the property or tenants, and was always responsive to me when I contacted Windermere. Although I lived in another state during the time my Ferndale house was rented out, I always felt confident that my house, and future home, was being managed and maintained to my standards. I recommend Jay Baklund and Windermere to any property owner looking for a management firm. read more

I called them to request information about 2 bedrooms apt. for rent they advertise on their site located at 616 S. Riverview Rd. Lynden, WA. The girl checked and said it's not available, it has been rented. Then I asked her for another one located at 2401 Elm St in Bellingham, WA and her answer was the same. Why they still advertise places for rent if they are not available anymore is very suspicious! Then I asked her for one more located at 2216 Mercedes Pl. in Lynden, WA. Wow! She checked and said yes you can apply for this one but we already have one application pending. Furthermore, she explained if I want to apply I have to fill out an application and pay $40.00 fee and wait for her manager to check and make a decision about approving or disapproving my application. She said they already collected $40.00 for that place from previous applicant who is waiting for answer. Then I requested to talk to her manager. She connected me w/a designated broker SANDY JONES! Wow! What a lunatic and pure idiot is that SANDY JONES! SANDY JONES said by law they can charge $40.00 fee for as many applicants as they wish/apply for the same unit. Unbelievable! This is a nice way to rip off people and make lots of money just for one unit! Stay away as possible from Windermere Management located at 541 W Bakerview Rd in Bellingham, WA especially idiots like SANDY JONES! read more

I rented from Windermere in September of 2009 until September of 2012. When I moved in, the carpets were pretty dirty but I let it go. It was really not a bad experience overall, I enjoyed my apartment and they were friendly enough in the office. The only real problems I had were one time, without any legal notice, a repair man entered my apartment while I was sleeping. Also when I moved out, they charged me 74 dollars (tax, parts, and labor) to replace the thermostat knob on a heater in the bedroom, and 60 dollars to clean the apartment when I had somebody professionally clean it before, and 80 dollars to clean the dirty carpet. I was able to get back 30 dollars of the cleaning fee, so Windermere was fair in that sense. I wouldn't say they are the worst company to rent from but you just need to REALLY make sure that you take pictures when you move in and pictures when you move out. read more

To sum it up = do not do business with this company. The property manager we are dealing with has represented the company in a highly unethical way. We will no longer do business with Windermere, having previously listed three homes through them. For additional information, read the reviews on google plus. read more

We own a rental home in Bellingham and called Windermere to inquire about their property management services. I left messages for Sandy Jones who handles this, and she never once returned my call. Is this how you run a business? Good luck with that. I would give them zero stars if I could. read more

Desiree and Gwen never returns phone calls or emails about complaints. Takes weeks to hear back from the office, and that's only if you keep calling. read more

I can't speak for all of Windermere, but I can speak about a woman named Tanya who was the manager of my complex and a fucking crook. Charged me $900 a month for a one bedroom apartment with no dish washer (even though there was a space in my counter for one?), a communal clothes washer for the entire complex and a 100 year old oven that set off the fire alarm whenever I used it. Of course I called her about the oven and instead of fixing it or replacing it she said to move the fire alarm which I'm pretty sure is illegal for her to suggest. Of course when I got my security deposit back after moving out there was a charge for them having to replace my fire alarm that she suggested I move. I called her on it and she strung me along for a week before finally telling me that the only way she could reimburse my money was to take it out of her salary and she didn't want to do that so it was a no-go. What a crock of shit. read more

Windermere property management wow! I won't say names but the property manager could care less about me or the property. She ignores emails and maintenance concerns, it took 4 weeks to get my ceiling fan fixed, last time I checked it was supposed to be done within 10 days. There is black mold that she is ignoring throughout the building, not to mention other problems. I hope this company can get there sh.. together and maybe upper management will get rid of the property manager! read more

6 phone calls/5 emails/several messages over the course of a week with requests to view some of their properties. No return calls to set up property visits. If I were a property owner, I would never list with them - they won't even take the time to schedule a property visit!! read more

I have had several problems with Windermere. When we moved in, the toilet seat was older than Yhe invention of the first toilet. It was worse than a portapottie seat and could not be cleaned properly it was so old. I asked for a new one repeatedly and finally my crabby husband got them to do something about it. I don't want to know how. They don't return calls or emails. Also a few months ago I changed my online payment method from auto pay to a one time bank draft. I have never missed a payment and the money was drafted from my bank account on time. Nevertheless I came home to an eviction notice on the 15th stating I had not paid. I had to verify my payment for them and they finally figured out that it was a "glitch in the accounting program." They didn't even apologize. I read somewhere that it's the law for carpets to be cleaned between tenants, and that's why there is Always a cleaning fee no matter how clean you leave it. I guarantee no vacuum clean ever touched the carpet much less a carpet shampooer. I did it myself once I identified the smell coming from the carpet upstairs as being pet related. Pets aren't even allowed. One of the garage remotes didn't work when we moved in which was fine since we didn't need it. I listed it in the form when we moved in as needing to be fixed, and 10 months later I came home to a note on the door stating that they would be entering the apartment- again- for repairs/maintenance. I left the remote out-- again- and behold it works now. The actual property itself is nice enough, but I've been in other Windermere properties that were downright nasty. It just depends on how well previous tenants kept things. I could keep going... but I don't have all day. read more

We used Ebright Wight for management of a condo in Fairhaven and they failed to make payments to our mortgage company on time, and failed to oversee the tenants who left the condo in horrible condition, despite the company's reported inspections. Seemed to have a "boys will be boys" approach to the destruction of our property. Would never use them again. read more

We rented a home from them while it was having the bathroom remodeled, I even did over a grand worth of landscaping for free while we waited. When they gave us the keys to move in, we discovered ONE FILTHY MESS! Kitchen cabinets and drawers had food in them, HUGE urine stains on the carpet, which was not even shampoo'd. Stickers on the bedroom door, they didn't even clean the tape residue that the workers left behind from the bathroom remodel! The rec-room blinds looked like cats had been climbing thru them, and were trashed. The owners were continually driving by looking in on us. Windemere had the gall to call us the day we moved in because someone came over with a shitzu and the dog was on a leash tied to their car, UP BY THE ROAD. They said "no pets allowed. When I explained that we had no pets and that the person just dropped by for a minute, they replied, " ABSOLUTELY NO PETS ON THE PROPERTY!!! Quite hypocritical considering the huge pet stains on the carpets! We assumed they would clean the carpets and dirty walls and everything else. But they didn't do any thing. When we moved out, we washed walls and left the place cleaner than when we rented it, but they would not return our deposit. They also had the nerve to sue us for 500.00 so they could replace the blinds in the rec-room. I learned a valuable lesson about taking pictures of everything when moving in to a home! No pic's- No proof! We had to pay so that the owners could do what they should have done before we moved in. Windemere is not a place to rent from if you are a person who takes pride in their home. Please, be aware. read more