{ "name": "EMB Management", "slug": "emb-management", "company_type": "Company", "address": "15301 NE 90th St Ste 170 Redmond, WA 98052", "review_count": 51, "average_rating": 1.51, "reviews": { "yelp_reviews": [ { "author": "Sheila T.", "rating": 5, "review": "Thank you for your swift reply. I hope/think the form you sent is the one required by our mortgage holder. \n\nIf I need any additional information I'll request it. Again, thanks for your assistance!", "owner_response": { "text": "Hi Shelia! We're so happy we were able to help you out!" } }, { "author": "Mike N.", "rating": 1, "review": "EMB has a mediocre reputation for a reason, the Yelp, Google and BBB ratings speak for themselves. I initially had a positive experience with our Community Association Manager Myah, however, as prior secretary of the HOA Board that employs EMB management, I had made a few purchases for the complex that required EMB to facilitate a reimbursement for the monies I spent on various things such as light bulbs, electrical outlet lock boxes, padlocks...etc, to name a few.\n\nHowever the most significant expense I incurred that EMB has for 2 months failed to reimburse me for was a locksmith invoice where I paid to have a simplex keypad lock installed on the pedestrian gate of our gated community.\n\nAttached to this review are emails dating back to December of last year. The icing on the cake was when they reimbursed another board member for a purchase for the complex that was submitted over a month after the submission of mine.\n\nI gave EMB a chance when I joined the board towards the end of last year. Myah seemed nice and professional. However, her follow through with this simple request has alienated me from the company.\n\nMany residents of the complex we live in resent them as well and have expressed their frustration with the company. See photos attached to this review of a snapshot of them complaining on Town Square.\n\nTown Square is a platform offer by EMB for complex's who hire them. It is a 3rd party that provides residents with a portal to access things such as documents, meeting minutes, pay their dues, as well as a community forum. While convenient, the company does not provide an edit button for residents and board members to use if they should post and need to correct a typo. Furthermore, replying to threads in the forum-like platform is difficult, as the window for which you type in is so small that you have to constantly scroll up and down to review what you have written before posting it. See attached photos for clarification.\n\nAside from my own issue with the company. EMB has failed to post the 2024 reserve study provided by the accounting services they offer. I have attached snapshots of residents requesting said information, as a well as a text thread of the current HOA board realizing EMB never posted it in 2024, along with a snapshot of an email that the treasurer sent to Myah requesting it, but was never responded to.\n\nThe current board president has considered switching to Vis Group Inc. and we probably should.\n\nWe wanted to open a Amazon business account for board members to make purchases for the complex, but EMB stated that they would charge us a 30% fee of the transaction cost. Even though we, the Board and complex, pay them to work for us and management our money. They want to double dip and charge us a fee for spending our own money. I attached a snapshot of the text thread with the board discussing it.\n\nStay away from this company.", "owner_response": { "text": "Hi Mike, thank you for your praise and kind comments about Myah. We value your feedback and appreciate the opportunity to serve you and your community. We will share this feedback with Myah and our team." } }, { "author": "Wendi N.", "rating": 1, "review": "Awful!! The condo board recently selected this company for my HOA. They screwed up my very first dues payment, for April. They entered another owners payment information erroneously so I thought I was paid up. It happened again in May. They finally corrected the error but now I have to repay the 2 months dues because of their screw up. Stay away from this incompetent company. When I talked to the property manager assigned to my condo board he says he has no idea how that could have happened. That instills confidence. Not!", "owner_response": { "text": "Hello Wendi,\n\nThank you for your feedback and apologies for any frustration this has caused. While we have acknowledged and apologized that there were misapplied payments posted to your account, which were later corrected and applied to the correct owners account, please do understand that you are only paying your assessments once. While I do understand the confusion and frustration of learning these credits were not yours, I am sure you can understand that the misapplied payments needed to be moved to the correct owner account.\nOf course, if there is any further questions to help clarify your account, please do not hesitate to reach out to us directly.\n\nThanks!" } }, { "author": "Liz C.", "rating": 1, "review": "I'd like to understand why an account paid in full on 12/27/2023 for 2024 dues of $430 due on 1/1/2024 is considered delinquent, incurring NSF fees (for EMB error), exorbitant processing fees for sending a letter, and interest fees on outstanding balance. \n\nMy statement issued by EMBAssocia clearly shows a -0- balance on the account as of 1/1/2024. Why then would EMB initiate a direct debit to our bank account for the $430 already paid? \n\nEMB has advised me strongly to pay the outstanding amount to prevent further issues and the fees billed are hard costs to them. To date, they have not taken any responsibility for their billing error and are expecting us to pay for their mistake. \n\nIrritated and frustrated yet hoping to get this resolved!\nForever an optimist!!", "owner_response": { "text": "Hello Liz,\n\nThank you for sharing your concern regarding your account. For reference, NSF fees are incurred when an owners payment is returned by the bank. Any returned payment does take time to reflect on an account, so while there may be a period where the payment is applied to the account, once the notice from the bank is received confirming that the payment has not cleared, that payment is reversed on the account. Further, Direct Debit is set up only at the written request of the owner and does pull the assessment amount each billing cycle. Should an owner wish to discontinue their Direct Debit, this would also require written request from the owner. Again, we are happy to help review your account specifically, so please email us directly at customerservice@embmanagement.com, so a member of our team can assist you.\nThank you." } }, { "author": "Rene H.", "rating": 1, "review": "Terrible service provider. I strongly suggest a better HOA support provider. They wouldn't even give us timely support with Rats!!", "owner_response": { "text": "Rene, we would like to discuss and and all of your concerns. Please email us directly at customerservice@associaonline.com so a member of our team can assist you. Thanks again for your review and we will do our best to resolve your issue." } }, { "author": "Mondy V.", "rating": 2, "review": "The monthly meeting packet that EMB sends to our condo board is always titled \"ENGLISH POINT CONDOMINIUM,\" which is odd, since that isn't the name of our condominium. We've been told that this is \"a glitch in our server,\" that the problem can't be fixed, and \"Does that for all of our PDFs.\"\n\nNeedless to say, receiving a business report every month with the wrong title from a team who seems unwilling or unable to correct the problem does not inspire confidence. Requests to escalate the issue seem to have fallen on deaf ears. There are other issues as well. Clearly, our management company is not the A Team.", "owner_response": { "text": "Hello, thank you for your feedback. In reviewing I just want to clarify that the external PDF file name and the information within the PDF is for the correct community, however when opening the document the internal tab had a general community name. We have further reviewed this concern and were able to determine that this was an additional setting in the original template file during the save process that we have adjusted. Hopefully this has resolved your concern, however should you require further assistance please feel free to reach out to us directly at customerservice@embmanagement.com." } }, { "author": "Tina N.", "rating": 1, "review": "Horrible management company, make a lot of mistakes, irresponsible on customer inquiry. I sent my HOA check early every month. They received my October check, circling it around among offices. Then sent back the image of the check with an email to me asking me if I wanted to get it back after charging me for a late fee. Dealing with this type of management company, as a community member, you will be anxious for their irresponsible act. Very disappointed with the service!!!", "owner_response": { "text": "Tina, we would love to address your concerns. Please email us directly at customerservice@associaonline.com so a member of our team can assist you. Thanks again for your review and we will do our best to resolve your issue." } }, { "author": "James C.", "rating": 5, "review": "This review is specifically for Brenda Jacobs who used to work for EMB management. I worked with Brenda 10 years ago as a vendor who provided maintenance services around King county for the properties that Brenda managed. Brenda was a great property manager. She was responsive, kind, and always very easy to work with. Her professionalism was extraordinary especially considering the high-stress environment that she had to manage. I've managed condos myself and I know first-hand how complicated and difficult it can be. But through it all Brenda was always professional even when dealing with irate and unreasonable clients. There was even one time Brenda stood up for me when I was physically attacked by a board member who was having some sort of mental breakdown and I'll never forget that. \n\n I understand Brenda has left EMB and I just hope wherever she is that Brenda is doing well, and I hope she knows how appreciated she was for all the effort she put forth", "owner_response": null }, { "author": "Mary A.", "rating": 5, "review": "I am GRATEFUL to EMB Management! As a busy Realtor, I work with a lot of property management companies. Lisa and the team at EMB work hard to be very helpful. As you try to understand all the needed information, they are great communicators and great about patiently explaining things.", "owner_response": { "text": "Hi Mary, thank you for taking the time to let us know how we did. We hope you have a great day!" } }, { "author": "George L.", "rating": 1, "review": "Dear EMB Management, I recently purchased a condo in the Maxwell, 700 E. Denny Way Unit 103, Seattle, WA. 98221. I'm going to rent it out and I have only one set of common area keys, and fob. I need 2 additional fobs and two sets of common area keys. I have called 425-452-7330 repeadly and it goes to your parent company Associa. I'm always on the line for at least a half an hour and they treat me more like it's a social call than a business call. They keep telling me they are forwarding the request to you but I never get a response. I am Case #00425595. They have started to give me your office number but it's 760-346-1161 which is Desert Resorts, Palm Springs.\n\nI want to inform you that this unit will be a rental per the HOA rules and get the fobs, keys, and learn how I can pay my HOA Dues. Thank you so much,\nSincerely,\n\nGeorge Lund\n206-683-2864", "owner_response": { "text": "George, we're very sorry to hear that you're disappointed with the service that you've received thus far and apologize for the inconveniences you have experienced. At EMB we take customer care very seriously and your Association Manager will be reaching out to you today to discuss the rental procedures at your Association as well as the options for paying your assessments. Thank you." } }, { "author": "Keegan C.", "rating": 1, "review": "Absolute garbage. Unless you want to wait over half of a year for them to work with your HOA on repairs don't get involved with them. 7 months ripped up floors, cut drywall, no hot water in kitchen, cut up cabinet, and no dishwasher. \n\nI don't ever leave reviews, but I don't want anyone else to have to go through this.", "owner_response": { "text": "Keegan, we would love to address your concerns. Please email us directly at customerservice@associaonline.com so a member of our team can assist you. Thanks again for your review and we will do our best to resolve your issue." } }, { "author": "Vladimir S.", "rating": 1, "review": "It has been more than three months since December 2022, when we discovered roof leak at our house at 615 Chelan Pl. NE in Renton. We had numerous conversations with EMB office (Jennifer and Chelsea), we had three roof inspections and nothing has been done. Nothing - roof is leaking as before, destroying interior wall not only at my house, but also damaging wall common to my neighbor. More to that, EMB Manager Chelsea Pollard stated today that roof has been repaired. I wonder by whom and when. Nobody was at our house - maybe they did it at night. Horrible service.", "owner_response": { "text": "Vladimir, we would love to address your concerns. Please email us directly at customerservice@associaonline.com so a member of our team can assist you. Thanks again for your review and we will do our best to resolve your issue." } }, { "author": "Celeste M.", "rating": 1, "review": "EMB's property management services have been severely lacking. During our annual meeting, our Property Manager, Chelsea Pollard, displayed unprofessional behavior by rolling her eyes, snickering, and making condescending remarks. This kind of attitude is unacceptable and unbecoming of someone in her position. Furthermore, our property is not being adequately maintained, and the lack of cleanliness and upkeep is a major concern. Additionally, EMB seems to lack proper budget management skills, which is reflected in the poor state of our property. I strongly advise against using EMB's services if you are seeking a well-run property.", "owner_response": { "text": "Thank you for taking the time to leave us feedback. Weve received confirmation that someone from the branch has made contact with you to resolve your issue. Please contact us at customerservice@associaonline.com if your issue was not resolved or if you would like to let us know how we can improve your experience." } }, { "author": "Don't F.", "rating": 1, "review": "Dismal company to work with. They have completely failed to perform any of the mandated maintenance on the complex, and don't respond to inquiries.", "owner_response": { "text": "Thank you for taking the time to rate us. We are sorry to hear that you've had a negative experience with EMB Management. Unfortunately, we are unable to locate your information in our records system. Please email us at customerservice@associaonline.com with your contact information and a team member will reach out to you." } }, { "author": "Tony B.", "rating": 5, "review": "EMB Management based in Redmond, WA is excellent: professional; responsive and knowledgeable. \nMonika is our contact and is first class. Our condo owners association has been able to bring back financial, operational and regulatory rigor for our owners. \nMaintenance issues get acknowledged with two to three days and emergency issues are dealt with promptly and correctly, in terms of adherence to our governing documents, bylaws and house rules.", "owner_response": { "text": "Hi Tony, thank you for taking the time to leave a review for us at EMB Management. We're happy we could meet your service expectations! We will share your excellent review with Monika and our team." } }, { "author": "Jack G.", "rating": 1, "review": "Took them 35 days to send me one email for footage of my truck getting vandalized. They ignored my phone calls for weeks and when I finally got a single email in return, they gave me a fake number to call. I cannot fathom what kind of people run this business. It is absolutely UN-believable it takes over a month to get in contact with the right person to review footage of my truck getting vandalized.", "owner_response": { "text": "We are sorry you are frustrated about your experience and as you know when you spoke to the team, we needed permission before sharing access to the footage. \nWe appreciate your feedback Jack, and if you'd like, please contact us at customerservice@associaonline, and we'll get back to you within 24 hours. \nWe hope to have an opportunity to support your service requests on behalf of your Association in the future. \nMany thanks." } }, { "author": "Jenn N.", "rating": 1, "review": "If I could give a negative rating ai would. Associa tries to act like it is being responsive by asking negative reviewers to contact them directly. However, the customer service at Associa is as abysmal as it is at EMB Management. Associa, I reached out to you BEFORE my negative review and received NO response. \n\nYour property managers are rude and useless. They do not respond to homeowner requests. They encourage boards to not communicate with homeowners directly, hold closed board meetings and refuse to provide contract documents in violation of Washington State law. An HOA board serves at the behest of its homeowners, not EMB or Associa. My HOA dues pay your PM's salary.\n\nRun, run, run as far away as you can from EMB Management and any property management company owned by Associa. Attached are screenshots of my recent communications with our property manager Jodi Kay.", "owner_response": { "text": "Jenn, thank you for taking the time to leave us feedback and for bringing this to our attention. We apologize for the inconveniences you have experienced and would like to reach out to you in order to fully understand your situation. Please contact us at customerservice@associaonline.com with your contact information and any additional details and a team member will reach out to you." } }, { "author": "Wombat W.", "rating": 4, "review": "Although we used EMB several years ago, based on subsequent experience with other management companies, I am going to upgrade my review of EMB to Good based on subsequent experience.", "owner_response": { "text": "Hello, I am Stephanie with Associa headquarters. Thanks for leaving your comments, and we are anxious to understand how we can better improve our service to you. Please email customerservice@associaonline.com with a number where you can best be reached, and we will ensure that an executive speaks with you soon." } }, { "author": "Jenny A.", "rating": 1, "review": "If I could rate this company 0 stars I would. This is the WORST management group I've ever had in an HOA. My neighbors and I have contacted the company multiple times regarding CC&R violations. It's rare for the company to respond, and if they do, their e-mails are belittling, disrespectful and rude. Community concerns go unaddressed and they don't do anything to enforce CC&R's. If anyone is planning on using this company, I suggest you run for the hills. Beware.", "owner_response": { "text": "Hi Jenny,\n\nEMB Management appreciates you taking the time to provide your feedback, as we strive every day to improve our services to clients. As we have previously communicated with you, as your community's new managing agent as of February 1, 2020, we have been diligently working with the board of directors to create governing documents for the Association which will include a defined fine policy to assist with enforcing the infractions of the governing documents. We have interim procedures in place currently and have taken actions to address the issues you have brought to our attention. The team continues to be dedicated to serving you and your community. We would be happy to setup a call to discuss your concerns further. Thank you" } }, { "author": "Craig P.", "rating": 1, "review": "On 11/09/20 I purchased a Logitech Wireless Illuminated Keyboard on walmart.com; the seller was EMB Phones. I received the keyboard on 11/12/20; it was easy to setup and use. On 01/09/21, they keyboard keys wouldn't light up nor respond to typing even after changing batteries twice (the batteries worked elsewhere). It was when I went to walmart.com to look into a return that I found the keyboard had come from a 3rd party vendor (EMB Phones).\n\nI went to EMB Phones website and filled a form to tell them their keyboard had died in 60 days and asked how to proceed. The first reply I got said \"Sorry. 30-day return only.\" When I replied that I would be posting negative comments, I received a reply from a different agent telling me they would send a return label. When I replied to that email, I received a reply from a different agent saying \"Sorry. 30-day return only\".\n\nSo, I paid $45 for a keyboard that stopped working after 60 days and it seems like they just \"take your money and run\".", "owner_response": null }, { "author": "Brendan H.", "rating": 1, "review": "I have bought and sold in many condo communities and dealt with many management companies. EMB is the worst. \nI am trying to buy in a community that they are managing. I've left 3 messages for someone to call me back and no response. The community is in debt so bad that I can not get a loan and will not work with my lender to refinance. \nWhen I finally got Claire to answer my call, she was no help. I wish the hoa would realize that EMB is hurting their values. \nI will repost my follow up interactions with them as I am still trying to close on my condo.", "owner_response": null }, { "author": "M G.", "rating": 1, "review": "Pay attention to the number of 1 star reviews (and the people, like me, who wish they could give zero stars). You might be able to save yourself time, money and a nightmare experience.", "owner_response": { "text": "MG, thank you for taking the time to leave us feedback. If you'd like, contact us at customerservice@associaonline.com to let us know how we can improve your experience." } }, { "author": "Ed W.", "rating": 1, "review": "Unbelievable... I've had countless issues with this management firm for several years now and have periodically looked up their poor reviews. However now they pay google to move their manufactured reviews up the list to promote their unethical unfair practices online. The company I work for has great reviews, and we pay Google to feature them, but this is just disgusting. For some reason I can't find a way to post my review in the same threads as EMB's 4* review pages. Hmm... \n\nIf your HOA already contracts with EMB, they have already employed their strategy of creating havoc which alienates board members from the rest of the community. Using this tactic all the fees they assess go right into their pockets. I have yet to see a community hire this firm since Associa acquired them, but I've seen several HOA's fire EMB as a result of the acquisition. One of which was a large community that used them for over a decade and fired them 3 months after the acquisition. I can't personally attest to this, I have to assume the information I received from the HOA president that oversaw their termination is accurate. \n\nIf your HOA is considering hiring EMB as their management firm, tell your board your will happily absorb a 10% increase in dues if they choose a different management firm. I assure you, you will benefit in the long run. \n\nThis firm is as crooked as they come...", "owner_response": { "text": "Ed, thank you for taking the time to leave us feedback. We take your review very seriously. We would like to reach out to you as soon as possible in order to fully understand your situation and help resolve any issues you have. Please contact us at customerservice@associaonline.com with your contact information and any additional details and a team member will reach out to you." } }, { "author": "Larry L.", "rating": 3, "review": "Unable to contact the company. They do not answer the phone or return email requests. They delay processing payments resulting in late fees, processing fees, and interest charges. I have been waiting on hold this time for over an hour, and found time to write this review while still on hold. I now am paying two months in advance to possibly avoid their charges. As an HOA member for almost 8 years, I have never had this problem communicating with the managing company, or had late fees. I finally had a call back a day later, and she explained they do not have anything to do with the HOA payments, yet they are sent c/o EMB management. To reverse the errant fees, EMB said to have the HOA board vote on it. My recommendation to our board is to vote EMB out. After contacting our board, they agreed that it was refundable, and directed EMB to so. I will revise the rating from one star to three for finally responding and having the matter corrected.", "owner_response": { "text": "Larry, thanks for bringing this matter to our attention. Please email us directly at customerservice@associaonline.com so a member of our team can assist you. Thanks again for your review and we will do our best to resolve your issue." } }, { "author": "Judy C.", "rating": 1, "review": "Worst HOA ever. They overcharged me twice in my bank account with auto payment and keep denying it. I send them my bank statement which clearly state \"EMB\" but still denying it. No apology and keep saying my bank screwed it up. I stop all my auto payment and instead pay them by bank payment every month and now they claim that I have late payment.", "owner_response": { "text": "Hi Judi, thank you for taking the time to leave us feedback and for bringing these serious matters to our attention. We sincerely apologize for the inconveniences you've experienced. We would like to reach out to you to fully understand the situation and help resolve the issues in a timely manner. Please contact us at customerservice@associaonline.com with your contact information and any additional details and a team member will reach out to you." } }, { "author": "Christina Z.", "rating": 1, "review": "They will never respond your email. I need to call again and again to check whether the contractor is scheduled.\nMy house has some issues so I sent 3 emails to them and asked them to schedule contract to take a look at the issue. They didn't reply any email. Then I called them, got response was they were working on it.\nAfter 3 weeks, I called them again to ask about the progress, they told me they didn't get any updates yet.\nThe other thing is during the whole process I didn't have any chance to talk with the specific property manager that handles my case, the whole process is someone picks up the phone and asks me to wait, then she checks with the property manager.", "owner_response": null }, { "author": "Reverend Bob D.", "rating": 1, "review": "If Yelp gave an award for the business that receives the largest number of terrible reviews EMB Management would have to be a leading candidate to take down the top prize! I didn't see a single review that has anything good to say about the company, which doesn't surprise me in the least. \n\nAs an industry, the HOA \"management\" industry doesn't receive very high marks, but this is really beyond the pale. \n\nHaving been a vendor that provides services to HOAs for quite some time, I have worked with a number of communities in both Washington and Oregon that had the misfortune of being managed by one of the companies that are owned by EMB's parent company and without exception the experiences of these communities have been uniformly bad. \n\nThe business model of the management industry in general is to get the HOA under contract and then proceed to extract as many of the HOA's dollars from their bank account and relocate the dollars to the management company's bank account as you possibly can, all while doing as little actual work as possible.\n\nIn the case of EMB's parent company they own all sorts of ancillary service providers that always seem to end up being the provider that is chosen when one of the HOAs they manage contracts with a vendor. \n\nIf your HOA is managed by EMB it is a safe bet that the insurance you are buying is sold by a company out of Dallas, TX that just so happens to maintain an office right down the hall from the corporate headquarters of Associa, the company that owns EMB. \n\nIf you research the trail of ownership of this insurance agency you will find that the registered agent for the insurance agency is a Dallas attorney and an employee of Associa, whose office address is the same as the address for Associa's corporate headquarters.\n\nIt is also a safe bet that your Association's reserve study was prepared by the management company, if that management company is owned by Associa, and if it isn't it soon will be! The list goes on and on. \n\nDepending on the market where your HOA is located, if you are managed by an Associa-owned company, you could have a maintenance contractor that maintains the facilities in your community that is owned by Associa; a security service that patrols your community that is owned by Associa; a porter/janitorial service that is owned by Associa; and possibly a pool or landscape maintenance service that is owned by Associa.\n\nMeanwhile, you are probably getting lousy management service and a lousy reserve study all while a healthy chunk of your HOA's money is being siphoned off into Associa's bank account!", "owner_response": null }, { "author": "C W.", "rating": 1, "review": "The most frustrating incompetent management company out there. \n\nDon't bother emailing them, you'll never get a response. Like many people here we had issues with late fees that were eventually resolved but it took quite a while. After sending emails and getting no response we had to leave a couple voicemails. It was probably two months or so but it eventually got resolved. \n\nCalling always goes to voicemail and either their mailbox is full or they have a greeting saying they're out of the office from two months ago that they never wound up updating. Once you leave a message theres a 50/50 chance you'll get a call back. \n\nWhen they do respond it's like talking to a wall. We had issues with a contractor doing work on our property and they were less than helpful getting anything resolved. Never followed up with us despite trying to email and call for updates. \n\nIt also took us forever to get the resale cert. like someone else mentioned in a review. \n\nI don't know if maybe the property managers have too many properties to keep up with or they genuinely don't care but I would not recommend dealing with this company if you don't have to.", "owner_response": { "text": "Hello Corey W.\nI would really like to get some more information in regards to your issues with a contractor and the late fees you recieved. Please send me an email at customerservice@embmanagement.com or call me during business hours, weekdays 8:30am-5pm at 425.452.7330. I would like to help fix the problems you are having as soon as possible." } }, { "author": "Robbie L.", "rating": 1, "review": "Our community had the misfortune of working with EMB for several years. They started out okay, but once Associa took over, it was all downhill. There were major issues towards the end and we had no less than three different managers in less than a year. They overload their managers and don't provide the support they need, then they get burnt out and fail to provide the support the community needs. \n\nThe final straw for us to cancel our contract was when they misplaced $175,000 of the reserve fund. At the beginning of 2015, EMB closed a reserve account of ours and received a check. The strange thing is, the board never authorized them to close the account or to move it somewhere else. They also continued to put the $175K on our monthly financials so it appeared nothing was wrong. We only found out there was an issue when our yearly audit began asking where the money was. For two months we repeatedly asked EMB managers, accountants, and supervisors where our missing money was and they could not provide any answers. In less than one day with our new company, they found that the check issued to EMB was never cashed. The bank reissued a new check to our new company and it all worked out. But for six months, EMB had misplaced $175K and couldn't tell us where it went. \n\nIf you are an association looking for a management company, I would avoid EMB. Look for a locally based company that handles billing locally as well, not Dallas or San Francisco as is the case with EMB. It's now been 6 months since we dropped EMB and our neighborhood has improved dramatically. We will not be going back.", "owner_response": { "text": "Hello Robbie,\nI am really sorry to hear about the accounting issues your association encountered. This is a rare case. I would love to talk more with you about your experiences and gather some feedback that we can use to improve moving foward. Please contact me, Aimee, by email customerservice@embmanagement.com or by phone 425.452.7330, weekdays 8-5. Thank you." } }, { "author": "Diane S.", "rating": 1, "review": "I am the president of a homeowners association on Queen Anne and we had used EMB Management for over ten years. When they were bought out by Associa was when our problems began. They started out by letting our property manager go, who we were happy with. Then they started doing all the accounting in Dallas TX. There were so many mistakes it was incredible, starting with them charging me (and other homeowners) a monthly charge for an assessment we had already paid up front. They ended up having to reimburse me almost $800 that was taken from my checking account without authorization. I received the check in the mail with no letter or any kind of explanation or apology.\n\nThey also lost homeowners checks that were never found, the list goes on and on...but the worst part was when the board voted to terminate their contract we were informed that we could only terminate them in the month of May or otherwise pay them a 50% fee from the termination date until the next May! It's something called an \"evergreen\" contract - hard to believe they are even legal. \n\nWe waited until Jan. 1st to terminate and are biting the bullet and paying the 50% until May - that's how strongly we felt about terminating their service. Also, when we sent them the termination letter we did not receive a call or anything personal from the company - just a letter from their attorney!! Unbelievable to be treated so badly after being a client for over 10 years. When we started with EMB it was a decent local company, after being taken over by Associa I would absolutely not recommend them to any HOA looking for a property management company.", "owner_response": null }, { "author": "Lola S.", "rating": 1, "review": "I am trying to buy a condo in one of the condo complexes that EMB Management is managing. It's taking them over two weeks now to return the Resale cert for the condo I am buying. It typically takes 3-10 days. I seriously doubt whether I want to buy a unit in the condo complex they manage. I might as well start shopping for a different condo because I still don't know when I will receive the resale cert. I don't really have 2 months to wait for the resale cert. I also don't want to have a hard time selling the unit in the future because EMB Management can't produce a resale cert. I also don't want to live in a badly managed condo complex with unresponsive property management team. They don't seem to be very good at what they do. \n\nAlso it's laughable that they posted a response to Lew H.'s review 7 months after he actually posted his review. I guess that's just their turnaround time.", "owner_response": { "text": "Hi Lola, thank you for your feedback. We're very sorry to hear of your concerns in regard to customer service and responsiveness in regard to condo resale certs, as well as any miscommunication issues that may have caused inconvenience. However, our records show that your order was placed on July 8th at 10:32 a.m. and our proposed turnaround time is 5-10 business days. Given that our records also that you received your requested service on Monday, June 21st, we were still within that timeline. That being said, we take matters like customer service very seriously and if you would like to discuss matters further, please email us at customerservice@associaonline.com and we will ensure that someone speaks with you soon. Thank you." } }, { "author": "Ashley Z.", "rating": 1, "review": "This company is the worst! We have been trying to get a refund they owe us for 4 months. They will gladly take money, but wont give it back. Still no resolution. Our agent has called them at least 10-15 times wasting her time. Claim they sent a check and nothing ever shows up. Absolute worst customer service.", "owner_response": { "text": "Ashley, thank you for taking the time to leave us feedback. We are sorry to hear that you are frustrated with the billing process we use for your particular association. Each association's billing and collection policy is based upon their individual governing documents and we use those policies to perform this service. If you are willing, contact us at customerservice@associaonline.com with your contact information and any additional details and a team member will reach out to you directly to help resolve your issue." } }, { "author": "Jessica S.", "rating": 1, "review": "The worst company you can ever imagine. Like many individuals writing these reviews have stated that emailing them will get you nowhere. They will give you a half-assed response of: \"We're looking into it...\" That is all. But don't expect them to be actually looking into anything. They spent 6 months \"looking into\" nothing and they're still not doing anything. If you think you have been frustrated with a company, well, you're in for a surprise. Good luck...", "owner_response": null }, { "author": "S. N.", "rating": 1, "review": "This company never picks up their phone and never responds to emails and voice mails. I was sent a bill for a late fee without any explanation. I tried to contact them 5 times without any success in getting a hold of anyone or receiving a call back. I did pay the late fee in good will but now I am regretting this decision as I have yet understand or receive an explanation. This company has very poor customer service and very questionable accounting practices. I suggest that you avoid purchasing a home managed by this company.", "owner_response": { "text": "Hello S.N.\nWe are very sorry to hear that you have been having difficulties reaching us. Please email me directly so that I can look into this late fee you have recieved. My email is customerservice@embmanagement.com or give me a call at 425.452.7330 during office hours 8:30am- 5pm weekdays." } }, { "author": "Lee L.", "rating": 1, "review": "This is the worst \"company\" ever. As stated by many reviewers here, they will ignore you. The whole staff is extremely rude.", "owner_response": null }, { "author": "Lew H.", "rating": 1, "review": "I wish there was a way to leave negative stars. This company has \"managed\" our HOA for more than ten years. They've burned through our money and our community looks like a Calcutta Slum. Nearly a quarter-of-a million dollars has been pumped from our bank account into the coffers of EMB. We have nothing to show for it but obtuse reports and a near-bankrupt organization. We canned them and hope that no one else makes the mistake of bringing this clown-car to their neighborhood.", "owner_response": { "text": "Hello Lew, it's Stephanie with Associa headquarters. I know I have previously left you messages on several sites; however, please know that if you would like to discuss this matter further, feel free to e-mail customerservice@associaonline.com with a number where you can best be reached. We will ensure that an executive speaks with you soon." } }, { "author": "Kristina S.", "rating": 1, "review": "this is a terrible property management company. I recently received a notification that I had three late fees in 2014. The late fee date on my bills is the 16th of each month and they charged me on the 10th of each month. I requested a full refund on all the fees and they did 2 of them and then I had to keep emailing to get the third on taken care of.\n\nI finally get my updated statement and wham! Another late fee charged on 10/10/14!! Grrr!! Obviously they never corrected the root problem. This is so frustrating.\n\nI would never do business with this company if I had the choice.", "owner_response": null }, { "author": "Robin B.", "rating": 1, "review": "To call EMB incompetent would be giving them a better rating then they deserve. Over the 3 years I dealt with them on the Bridgehaven Association Board our property manager lied to us on a regular basis, they did a financial software conversion where they were unable to produce financial statements for months, they misunderstood bids, were slow to pay our vendors and we had a bank account turned over to the state as unclaimed property because they did not return the paperwork to the bank. When we complained they patted us on the head and said everything was fixed but the issues continued.\nI would recommend any property considering doing business with EMB run away as fast as they can. We hired a new manager and we are all so happy with the change.", "owner_response": null }, { "author": "Christine S.", "rating": 1, "review": "If i could give this Company minus stars, i would. Thank goodness our Complex is finally rid of this disgraceful company. Yes, they are crooks and completely incompetent..especially with YOUR money and accounting practices. All i can say is please go to the BBB and check out the over 500 complaints this company has received before signing them on! They are horrible and getting any kind of response from anybody in this company is impossible...unless they are trying to sign you up. Go to the BBB!", "owner_response": null }, { "author": "Ken S.", "rating": 1, "review": "This company is so crooked, so incompetent and so appallingly bad that they owe me 7-70 stars just to brake even. They were thrown out of our master community after their employees were found to have embezzled HOA funds but were retained by our smaller affiliated community much to the detriment of our home values. Why, because our association president worked for them, I guess we had no conflict of interest clause in our association By Laws, oh well, la de da. Oh yes, no follow up, no returned calls, no newsletter, but annual rate increases were about all they were good for. I would caution any prospective home owner from buying into one of their managed properties, since you will be paying hundreds of dollars monthly for no return on your dollar. I'm sure this will generate one of their canned responses, but here's my answer to that, \"Where were you when we needed you, drinking mai tais in the Bahamas on our dollar, because you sure weren't answering our phone calls?\" Fast forward, I did get a computer generated canned response to this review, smelled like red herrings from Amsterdam, when I opened the can.", "owner_response": { "text": "Hello Ken,\nI am very sorry to hear about your experience. A member of our executive team would be more than happy to speak with you in regards to this. Nicole Washington, our Branch President, can be reached by phone 425.452.7330." } }, { "author": "Craig G.", "rating": 5, "review": "I recently reviewed EMB management, and gave a lot of credit to Associa for either acquiring or recruiting Blue Mountain as one of their property managers. I have been interacting with Regina J. at Blue Mountain about a roofing project for my home. I wrote a long review recently about my experience, and it continues, with a very positive interaction with Regina getting that work approved. She has been very responsive, very helpful, with her very prompt replies to all of my emails. My assessment of EMB Management is all about Regina (especially and foremost), Blue Mountain, and by extension, Associa in bringing them on board, as I said in my previous review. Please see my previous review concerning Regina, and, Blue Mountain. If you are looking for a property manager, I think that you would be hard pressed to find a more helpful and responsive one than Regina J. with Blue Mountain. As long as this team is part of EMB Management, I would recommend them by extension. If you read my previous review of this company, my 5 star evaluation was for Regina, with a negative review of EMB Management.", "owner_response": { "text": "Craig, thank you for taking the time to leave us an excellent review and rating! We truly value your feedback and are glad you are satisfied with the service provided by Regina. We will share this fantastic review with Regina and our team here at EMB Management." } }, { "author": "Christopher L.", "rating": 1, "review": "You should avoid EMB Management like it was a Biblical plague.\n\nThis is a company that took on 3rd party property management of our condos at Town Squire, in Edmonds, WA, in fall 2012. From SEP 12 to JUN 13, they bungled my account, created fictitious violations/charges (from the ether), then perpetuated them onto a Resale Certificate that I purchased to sell my condo. With the profound inaccuracies, my prospective buyer walked. When I took the company to court, their CEO perjured himself, lying to the court and judge that the Certificate was accurate (though the Account Ledger I produced showed EMB reversed the charges after the fact). With them, the property amassed over $62K in delinquencies. And the HOA hired them...\n\nEMB was over its head with this 42-unit complex; imagine the implications to a larger community.\n\n\"Clown-like\" is the descriptor I would use for them. If you see them coming, run the other direction!\n\nChris", "owner_response": null }, { "author": "Tom W.", "rating": 1, "review": "If you are a condo owner or board considering hiring this company as your management company, DON'T hire them!\n\nI am a realtor and find this management company extremely difficult to deal with. They are bad about follow up communication, they never allow you to get past the person that answers the phone so you can talk with anyone, they are very slow to deliver resale certificates and they are unprofessional.", "owner_response": { "text": "Hi Tom, this is Stephanie with Associa Corporate, the parent company of EMB. Thanks for leaving your feedback about the lack of communication and turnaround time. We're sorry you feel you've received poor service. Is there anything specific we can help you with? If so, please email us at customerservice@associaonline.com describing your situation and with a number where you can best be reached, and we will ensure that an executive speaks with you soon. Thank you." } }, { "author": "Glen N.", "rating": 1, "review": "We have lived in a community in Harbour Pointe, Washington for nearly 6 years. When we moved in to our Condominium community our home owners association (HOA) used another property management firm to oversee the property. Our ex-president and now an ex-resident proposed that we (our community) were being charged way too much by our property management company. The HOA deliberated for some time and decided to change to EMB Management of Bellevue, WA. It seemed okay in the beginning, but when an issue came up that needed attention, the representative, LJ Richards turned a deaf ear. We have had EMB overseeing our community for 4 years now. It has now become a precedent that if an issue should arise, we need to contact LJ Richards via email or phone and ask her to correct it. I will give some examples of LJ's shortcomings in the paragraphs below, and then you may decide for yourself. Our HOA purchased a great deal of new mulch to help beautify our landscaping somewhat. Many of the residents here volunteered to distribute the new soil media throughout the property. I must say that it looked marvelous! I was sitting on my porch a week later and saw some young men (age 9 to 15 years) playing army with plastic nerf guns. Unfortunately, the youths were running through our newly replaced landscaping material. They trampled many of the plants and pulled branches off of the ornamental trees to use as camouflage. I also saw one of the boys deliberately jump up and down on one of the sprinkler heads. I went out and asked the boys to play elsewhere and they left, but my wife said they were back doing the same thing the next day while I was at work. I was in my home when I saw LJ Richards drive up one morning. I met her at her vehicle and shared my concern with her. In our brief meeting I explained what had occurred and showed her the damage the kids had done. I asked for her opinion in the matter and she quickly agreed with me and told me that what the kids were doing was destruction of property. I asked her if she could send an email or a letter to the parents since they would be the responsible parties for the damage. She declined and told me that she would put out a general email to all members of the community, and ask parents to talk with their children. I was at home last week when I heard some commotion in the common area. I looked out my window only to see the same children playing army in the landscaping once again. I went through me emails and noticed no general email from LJ Richards or EMB Management regarding the \"Destruction of Property\" that LJ Richards acknowledged. This is a no-brainer in my book! I am not certain how much has been spent on replacement of broken sprinkler heads in our community. But one thing I do know for sure; it can be prevented by keeping the children out of there in the first place. I am not sure what is up with LJ Richards, but she is anything but professional. Lastly, we once had a problem with a next door neighbor and her barking dog. The dog would bark continually nonstop when the resident was not at home. We had the police out here 8 times and each time is well documented in my briefcase. I emailed her and I phoned her, but nothing was done. We put up with the barking for months and months to no end. I recall the most unprofessional conversation I ever had with LJ Richards. I remember the police had just left and I had filled out a statement for them. I called LJ that evening to ask what was being done to squelch this little minion. She informed me that she had been talking to the resident and her landlord regarding the barking dog. What was said after that nearly floored me; she told me that the renter and the homeowner thought I was overreacting! Overreacting! We have 8 documented incidents from the police and other residents that say otherwise. Very unprofessional indeed!\nThese are but a few examples of EMB Management and the funky tidily wink mentality of the persons that represent them. I really wish our HOA had not been so stupid and just held onto our previous property management firm; we would be far better off. With our previous firm if we had an issue; it was usually resolved the same day, now it may be several months. One thing I do find consistent about EMB, they always collect their money on time; it comes out direct deposit every 5th of the month. UGH!!! Now we are stuck with them!\nIf it's EMB Management? Stay away!!!", "owner_response": null }, { "author": "Jin C.", "rating": 1, "review": "By the looks of reviews on this site I'm not the only one with complaints about EMB/Associa. I used to live in a condo managed by EMB and after moving out have been trying to get a refund of HOA they withdrew from my account for over 8 months now. Called again today and was told since they no longer managed the condo they couldn't do anything regarding my refund. They had 5 weeks since my last phone call to issue the refund before they were terminated as the manger of the condo but chose to do nothing let alone inform me of the change.", "owner_response": null }, { "author": "Victoria H.", "rating": 1, "review": "Not professional - that's the bottom line. Best not to trust the maintenance and care of a major and important investment to this organization. They have been more of a liability to me as a homeowner, then the advocate and project managers they are hired to be.", "owner_response": { "text": "Hi Victoria, I am Stephanie with Associa headquarters, EMB Management is one of our local branches in your area. Thanks for leaving your comments, and we are sorry to hear of your concerns. If we can be of further assistance in better improving our service to you, please email us at customerservice@associaonline.com with a number where you can best be reached, and we will ensure that an executive speaks with you soon." } }, { "author": "Hugh J.", "rating": 1, "review": "This is a big corporation and have managers overworked and upper managements too busy. Also, base monthly fee seem competitive but ultimately services they charge is very high. Will not recommend. No customer service.", "owner_response": { "text": "Hi Hugh - I am Stephanie with Associa headquarters. We are available to discuss any questions or concerns that you may have with EMB or Associa services. If you email your contact information to customerservice@associaonline.com, we will make sure an executive gets back in touch with you as soon as possible. Thanks so much and have a great day." } }, { "author": "Pam K.", "rating": 1, "review": "Horrible company to deal with. They take your money and then do absolutely nothing with it. Bogus letters which have nothing to do with the bylaws are sent to homes, no one in the neighbor is interested in dealing with the association, hardly anyone turns out to listen to them. No wonder. This is the worst homeowners property I have ever lived in. To give them one star is too many. We need to have negative numbers to rate them.", "owner_response": null }, { "author": "Katelyn S.", "rating": 1, "review": "Is is possible to have zero stars? They are literally the worst. They don't care about tenants let alone even know where they live even after multiple conversations. I had serious trouble with my car getting keyed (twice) in Bellevue because people kept parking in my space. They told me to just park on the street...guess what, we don't even have street parking. They have one measley sign covered by bushes saying it's tenant parking only which according to them is \"ample signage.\" What a joke this company is. I'm moving out of my condo and I haven't even been there a year because they are so terrible. Not even one guest spot...so lame.", "owner_response": { "text": "Hi Katelyn, thank you for giving us your feedback. We're sorry to hear about your car and your concerns in regard to parking within the property. I can assure that EMB does care about their tenants and if you feel that your concerns are not being properly addressed by EMB staff, that is very concerning to us. We take matters like this very seriously and are anxious to understand how we can better improve our service to you. Please email customerservice@associaonline.com with a number where you can best be reached, and we will ensure that someone speaks with you soon. Thank you." } }, { "author": "K W.", "rating": 1, "review": "Terrible Terrible Terrible TERRIBLE Company. A joke really. We unfortunately have them managing our condo. We had flooding strike our condo and they did everything it seemed in their power to make the situation the worst it could possibly be. The entire thing was drawn out. We can back to shambles. They made false promises. When we asked for help from the manager she said...\" I have not been involved, I let the contractors handle things..\" Im so sorry we pay our HOA dues and you are suppose to be involved. POS company. There is a completely RUDE manager we have. In the time of turmoil and loss for our community.. they made it ten times worse.. They refused to have our backs on anything and only wanted to do what was most convenient for them. I hope this business fails HARD. People deserve to be represented not pushed under a carpet. Not to mention I had to email her several times to get any response... One time she told me \" I am busy\"", "owner_response": { "text": "Hello Krista,\nI am sorry to hear of the difficulties you have been experiencing with the manager of your community. I want to make sure to resolve any negative experiences you have been having and would love some more information from you. Please contact me, Aimee, by email customerservice@embmanagement.com or by phone, M-F, 8:30am - 5:00pm, 425.452.7330. I want to ensure that your experience from now on is a positive one!" } }, { "author": "Tina L.", "rating": 1, "review": "Run very far away from this unscrupulous, litigious-hungry and incompetent property management company! I lived for 18 years in one of their managed properties in Washington state and it was by far the worse experience of my life as a homeowner. The problems started from the day I bought my condo when they tried to get me to pay the back dues accrued from the previous owner. Then tried to get me to file an insurance claim on my own insurance policy for the water damage caused by a plumbing defect not of my doing. Over the years there was a pattern of slow or non-responsiveness to simple maintenance requests like power washing of decks and sidewalks, carpet cleaning of common areas, snow removal, etc. Decks were left to rot because nobody would power wash them on a regular basis. When most of them were inspected and needed to be replaced, EMB sent out shaming letters to the homeowners reminding them of their responsibility to keep their decks moss free. Our bylaws clearly stated that the EMB was responsible for the exterior maintenance of the buildings, including the decks. The exterior paint of the buildings were faded and discolored. Only half the complex of 40 units were repainted once in the 18 year I lived there. Comments by other Yelp posters about the overcharging was absolutely true. I too was the victim of their sloppy accounting and overcharges for late fees. When I challenged the validity of the assessment of 3 years worth of late fees ($1,000), I was sent to court, costing me $15,000 in attorney fees and finally ending with the sale of my condo in 2013. If I had the deep pockets that this business has to hire the most vicious HOA attorneys to let loose on me, I would have fought my way to the Attorney General's office. But I'm just a little person who tried and lost against another soul-less company more concerned with their profit margin than doing the right thing by their customers. The mental anguish they put me through and the fact I was forced to sell my property to pay these vultures off, is irreparable.", "owner_response": null } ] }, "adjusted_review_count": 51, "adjusted_average_rating": 1.51, "distribution": { "1": 43, "2": 1, "3": 1, "4": 1, "5": 5 }, "summary": { "created_timestamp": 1739205444, "text": "

Good

In this article, it is evident that there are some positive experiences with EMB Management, albeit overshadowed by negative feedback. A few user reviews highlight exceptional service from specific individuals within the company. For instance, one user praised a property manager for being responsive and knowledgeable, having managed to restore financial and operational effectiveness in their community, while another reviewer expressed gratitude for swift assistance needed for mortgage documentation. These glimpses of efficiency suggest that with the right personnel, EMB Management can deliver satisfactory property management service. Another user acknowledged the helpfulness and professionalism of specific team members at EMB, noting their excellent communication and patient guidance in understanding complex HOA operations. The appreciation shown for former employee Brenda Jacobs demonstrates that while the employee stayed with the company, they left a lasting positive impact on those they worked with, highlighting that individual staff members can sometimes make a significant difference.

Great

Although most reviews for EMB Management are negative, there are a few shining exceptions where reviewers had great experiences, which suggests that some clients do receive exemplary service. One enthusiastic review commended Monika, a contact at EMB, for her professionalism and quick responsiveness to maintenance issues, which were handled promptly and correctly. These users were able to enjoy peace of mind, knowing their property was well-managed and that operational concerns were adhered to with diligence. Another review specifically highlighted Regina J. of Blue Mountain as a standout property manager within the EMB umbrella. Regina's prompt replies and helpful assistance with homeowners' projects were seen as reasons for giving EMB a high rating. Even when expressing dissatisfaction with some parts of EMB, the reviewer had nothing but praise for Regina's exemplary service, recommending her to others seeking a reliable property manager. These few positive experiences suggest that with the right representative, the service level can exceed expectations.

Bad

User reviews suggest recurring issues with EMB Management, with many clients citing inadequate communication and slow response times to inquiries and maintenance requests. One homeowner noted that after multiple emails and calls regarding contractor work, no timely update was provided, reflecting the company's lack of responsiveness. Additionally, users frequently complained about billing errors, late fees, and delays in processing payments, with some experiencing difficulties in rectifying these issues and enduring financial penalties as a result. Another pattern seen in the user feedback is the mishandling of account and payment information. One renter recounted having another owner's payment credited to their account, only to be unexpectedly billed for back-owed dues due to the initial error\u2014a clear indication of poor management and oversight. Reviews also mention poor customer service experiences when trying to resolve these billing issues, causing dissatisfaction and frustration among users.

Ugly

Sadly, some experiences with EMB Management go beyond inadequate service, entering into territory that users describe as appalling and troubling. One user shared a lengthy ordeal involving missing HOA reserve funds amounting to $175,000 for six months, attributing the confusion to the company's mismanagement\u2014a serious breach of trust for any homeowner association management firm. Another user complained about EMB's involvement in a prolonged legal battle over disputed late fees that resulted in costly legal fees and ultimately forced the sale of their property. These extreme failures in financial accountability and aggressive legal actions have left lasting negative impressions. An additional user review recounted unprofessional behavior by property managers during meetings, with disrespectful conduct and a failure to maintain the property as serious points of concern. Furthermore, another homeowner alleged that EMB employees embezzled HOA funds, a situation leading to severe dissatisfaction and the termination of the company's services. These severe issues point to problematic business practices that have led to deeply unsatisfactory experiences for clients.

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