WDC Properties and Eko Living Review

Mark Madden

CEO & Founder of WDC Properties

Location: Portland, OR

 

My overall review of WDC Properties and Eko Living is both of companies and most of the people in management are terrible.

 

After submitting multiple maintenance requests the following people from WDC Properties came over to the house:

Natasha Morris – Asset Manager

Frank Stock – Director of Development

Brad Showers – Head of Facilities

They purchased the house and refurbished it without any work permits. I had some things inspected and there were issues with natural gas connections which included a downstairs fireplace they specifically told me was fine to use.

Blamed me for putting in so many maintenance requests.

I’ve emailed and called the CEO & Founder Mark Madden, but I’ve never received call back.

We had problems from the start with this company, including the safety of me and my kids.

They wanted us to sign a lease that said that if we were late on a payment they would charge us over $550. I told them what if we had a family emergency and forget to pay on time. Would it be fair to charge us that much? The answer was, that’s how we do it in Portland.

The house was absolutely filthy when we moved in.

Most of the irrigation heads were broken.

Every exterior light bulb was burnt out when we moved in.

Quite a few interior lights did not work.

The light bulbuls in the primary bedroom were flickering and dim, so I had to ask them to get replaced.

Most rods in the bedroom closets were missing.

Some shelves missing in closets

I asked if they would power wash the moss off the area in front of the front door and the answer was no.

They haven’t removed and/or replanted dead trees and bushes.

When I first looked at the house, I asked if the fireplaces were inspected. He said that was one of the first things they looked at. After moving in, I looked at the fireplaces a little more closely and things just didn’t look right so I asked if I could see an inspections report or if they would have them professionally inspected. They kept telling me they’re safe. After arguing with them, they finally agreed to get them inspected. After they were inspected, I received this an email saying the fireplace is inoperable, we are awaiting a bid for repairs. Please do not use your fireplace, until we figure out next steps.
They refuse to fix the chimney/fireplace in the living room.

I was told they would replace the one bulb fixture under the kitchen cabinets with led lights, then they said I would have to pay for them.

There’s a built in desk in the kitchen that was refinished but they forgot to put a hole through the countertop to put electrical cords through to reach the electrical outlet. I told them they forgot to put a hole in the counter and they said they would not drill a hole. This went on for a long time and they finally drilled a hole and said they did it to appease me.

They won’t install an electrical outlet on the kitchen island even though I told them it would be nice to plug in an appliance or even computers into one.

One reason we liked the house is that it has a backyard for us and our dog to run around in. Before signing a lease they agreed to install a gate between the front and backyard. They installed a gate in the wrong place leaving the backyard open to the front. I politely told them they installed it in the wrong place and they replied with, the gate stays where it is. I politely asked a couple of more times and the answer was the same each time. No

There was a leak under the kitchen sink that was apparently leaking for months. So waste from the sink and garbage disposal was piling up and it became a huge mess a stunk up the house and required quite a few workmen to repair the leak and clean up the mess. It made our house and belongings stink for a long time.

There was missing insulation in the crawl space under the kitchen floor.

They didn’t give me a mailbox key when we moved in.

They didn’t set up trash service when we moved in.

The filter for the HVAC system was absolutely filthy and had to ask them to replace it.

The hot water heater gas was turned to off. They came out to light the pilot and found out it was broken.

Misc electrical outlet covers were missing.

Rods for shades were missing or broken
timer for bathroom exhaust did not work
I reported that electrical outlets in the dining room did not work. They refuse to fix them.
They still won’t finish a project in primary bathroom.
They refuse to replace the downstairs bedroom light fixtures that are very dim and they make the room look green.
The refrigerator water was not working
They installed a dishwasher right before we moved in, but did not balance it so the drawers would fall out when we opened the door. They also did not take the protective plastic off.
Some handles missing to open windows.
Door bell does not work
I had to ask for 4-5 month for 3 window shades to be installed in the primary bathroom.
There are still missing floor vents
One door needs painting.
They only put one towel bar in the primary bathroom.
There was a missing shower rod.
The downstairs bathroom toilet seat is the wrong size and they won’t replace it.
There is a toilet that’s been leaking for 3-4 weeks.
Some tile needs to be installed. They told me multiple times when I should be at the house to let them in, and they would not show up. It took them many months to get this completed.
They recently replaced a broken toilet with a toilet with the corner missing on the front.

I asked if they would install exhaust vent since there weren’t any screens installed in the kitchen windows and there wasn’t an exhaust system. I’m glad they put effort into installing a stove that included a down draft, but it does very little. There’s plenty of room to out in an exhaust system above the stove. When they installed the downdraft, they had to make the opening for the stove bigger. Luckily I was there, because I noticed they did not cover anything to keep dust off of our belongings. They also did not put plastic in the doorway between the kitchen and dining room. Thins made a huge mess and there’s still dust in crevices and on top of books and other things. They did send someone out to clean afterwards, but with a little effort of putting plastic tarps on things would have prevented a huge mess. They also left an opening under the stove to the crawl space which caused mice coming into the kitchen. My point is to this is they don’t pay attention to details.

Believe it or not, I haven’t listed all of the problems we’ve had with this company.
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Cleanliness Issue:

When Price and I met the day we moved in, I was questioning the cleanliness of the house and pointed out how dirty the floors were.

As we were moving in, it was apparent that all shelves, countertops and window shades had(some still have) white grit on them. This includes inside all the closets. All the new kitchen and dining room cabinets and drawers had saw dust in them and on the floor below them. If there was saw dust in the floors, then it’s because it was never vacuumed or moped after installation.

The garage was absolutely filthy and was never cleaned. I had to use my blower to get all the dirt out.

The outside of the house has dirt and moss on it. The walkways have moss on them which is a safety issue. The yard still has patches of dirt where there’s suppose to be grass, the hedges have not beed trimmed, and there is some debris, but not much. It’s not a big deal, but all of these items add up.

Your cleaning employees removed most of the trash from the house but did not clean it. I contacted Price the evening we moved in and he sent the cleaning crew over the next morning which I appreciate, but it seems they only swept the floors. Just about everything remained dirty and some areas are still dirty.

It would like to suggest quality control procedures be put in place which could help everyone involved and even help retaining tenants and positive online reviews. I really don’t mind letting you know about things that need to be fixed, but it doesn’t seem there was a thorough inspection before moving in. There was plenty of time, because construction was completed when we looked at the house the first time.

Bullying Tactic Issue:

A 10% ($585) late payment fee was on the contract. When Price and I discussed this, I mentioned that it was unfair, but he would not budge and said that’s how it’s done in Portland. After going around and around with him, it came to the point that I had to hang up. I didn’t research this issue to great length, but my understand is this is not the way it it’s done in Portland. Correct me if I am wrong, but the fee is suppose to be reasonable and not to exceed 5% of the rent.

No Inspection:

I’ve owned 2 older homes about this size and still own one about 3 times this size, so I understand old homes. I don’t mind reporting maintenance requests, but it’s quite clear that no one went through this house to make sure everything was working properly. You can look at the maintenance requests that I have submitted and also ask James about others that I‘ve told him about while he was here.

Simple Requests Denied:

I requested that proper lights get installed under the kitchen cabinets instead of the small one that was installed at the last minute before we moved in. Natasha denied the light installation and said the light was planned to be there.

There aren’t any electrical outlets on the kitchen island. I requested one, but was told I would have to pay for it. There’s electricity under the stove and the electrician is suppose to be here to fix all the electrical problems, so it would be little effort to install one.