Cadence Capital Group & Cadence Real Estate

I moved into the Winston about a week ago, and my experience thus far with Cadence has been exceptional. First off, I absolutely adore this building and my apartment — both of which are full of vintage charm. Cadence has gone the extra mile and updated a few of the fixtures in the kitchen (faucet, oven/​stovetop & fridge), too, which is a really nice touch.
My application and move-​in process was a breeze, thanks to Cadence’s property manager, Katie Conover. She turned a potentially stressful situation into a very effortless one. I was able to schedule the apartment viewing, sign the lease and also pay rent through Cadence’s online portal — which was so helpful considering that I moved here from out of state.
Since I viewed the apartment back in April, Katie has been super attentive and prompt with answering any questions I have had. You can tell that she’s on top of her game and is great at what she does — which is everything that you want in a property manager. Plus, it’s evident that she actually cares about her job and her tenants, as she’s very genuine and straightforward and not schmoozey or fake in any way whatsoever. I feel that if any issues were to arise in the future, that they would get handled quickly.
All in all, really happy that I made the decision to move here.

A zero star rating isn’t an option. Seriously, the worst.
The biggest issue I had was when our landlord let pest control into our apartment without us knowing. I was going through chemo at that time, and although we, including our dog, weren’t home when this stranger entered our apartment, on a regular day I would probably have been sleeping or at least laying in my bed. If some man entered my apartment while I was home, I would not only have been livid, I would have felt physically threatened and completely unsafe. I was in fact quite livid when I realized later that someone had entered our apartment and our landlord brushed off our concerns like we had no right to say anything. She later threatened tenants with eviction when pest control came back if they couldn’t enter your apartment for whatever reason, mostly dogs I imagine. She requested that everyone kennel their pets for when they did return, but they never showed. This shows a complete lack of concern for their tenants.
My car was also broken into twice right out front of the building, my mail was stolen and someone ending up squatting in the laundry room, and urinating in the trash can, where it sat for some days.
In addition, we left that apartment in perfect condition. Honestly. I scrubbed the base boards with a toothbrush. It was immaculate. No deposit return and when my boyfriend inquired about it, our landlord, Alcyone Nettels, acted like she had never even heard the term before. This seems to be a reoccurring theme with Cadence Property Management based on a significant amount of the negative reviews on here.
The worst apartment I’ve ever lived in. Don’t give these people your money.

I moved into the Sunset Villa about a month ago with Cadence. I was new to Seattle, in a bit of a crunch time wise, and starting a job. Needless to say my stress level was high.
Luckily Cadence and the building manager, Katie Conover, have been great to work with. I was out of state and she worked with me quickly and efficiently to rent the apartment. I never felt I was getting tricked or anything, and sure enough the apartment was just as Katie described. The renter portal (basically a site you can use to pay rent or log a maintenance request) is a breeze to work with, which is nice.
There was a fiasco with our mailboxes and for a bit the mail wasn’t being delivered. However it was the USPS’s responsibility and Katie did her best keeping us informed and took care of the problem. Katie has also answered all my questions in a quick and timely manner, and even swung by to check in and was a pleasure to talk to.
As long as Cadence continues to be honest and responsive to renters people will have a great experience.

There is so much I could say. But I’ll say this: be careful and aware of your rights.

I just moved to Seattle from the other side of the water, and my apartment hunt was far from painful. Found this place in the Magnolia area out of luck, and I feel like I struck gold. The application process and walk through was easy, and making deposits and payments were even easier! Not to mention, the apartment is GORGEOUS and I fell in-​love at first sight.
What I like most about this place too, is that the people in the surrounding units are at or around my age and everyone seems to have a dog. It has such a great vibe here. I am thoroughly enjoying my time spent so far.
I would like to thank Katie for being an assertive and productive agent compared to the other 20 some agents I dealt with prior to her.

Living at the Whitworth on cap hill.
Cadence has always been great to work with. I first moved in there in 2014 (2 years ago) and I plan on staying here for as long as possible. The community and location of the building is perfect.
The management is also nice, haven’t had any problems, the building is cleaned a couple times a week and the maintenance people are friendly and responsive.
If you get to work with Katie, you’re in great hands, very honest person and company.

My boyfriend and I just recently moved into The Ballard Brickstone with the help of Katie Conover, a property manager for Cadence. Although we had a few personal hiccups, Katie was prompt, professional and a pleasure to work with, making sure every step of the process was easy-​breezy, done correctly, and done quickly.
My boyfriend and I had very different schedules when we were looking at potential places to live, so we had to view this apartment separately. To this, Katie said «No problem, whatever is easiest for you!» It was reassuring that she was there to help, not complicate or rush us, and that made me feel comfortable. She effortless and without being pushy, highlighted the features of the unit and didn’t force us into a decision. When we said we were seriously interested, she pulled the ad and allowed us «first dibs.» After that, everything was a breeze. Lease and addendum singing was all done online, as were our first payments (security deposit, rent, and fees) and this was such a luxury. No rearranging schedules to drop off a check, no muss, no fuss. Once all that was said and done, we organized a time for the walkthrough and to get our keys and that was it! So painless and trouble-​free.
Sadly our building was sold shortly after we moved in and they hired a new management company, but Katie, without fail, hesitation, or making us feel we were imposing on her, was prompt in alerting us, answering all of our many questions with compassion and consideration, even though it was technically no longer her job. Communication is the key to many successes, and Katie, representing Cadence, is a perfect example of that. Although we didn’t have a long working relationship, we’re thankful to have had the pleasure of working with and knowing her. If it were possible, we’d have Katie handle all of our future moving endeavors.

The way leasing an apartment should be.
From the get go, Katie has been super helpful and easy to work with. She was quick to reply to our needs via text and email. When we met up with her she was on time and ready with answers to our questions. The leasing process was all online and she continued communication via texts and emails which was easy for us. Finally a leasing company that is in the 21^st century and using technology to make the process user friendly.
The move in was easy as well. Katie participated in the walk through and provided quick help for any items that needed to be looked into by maintenance.
Overall, happy experience and would recommend leasing through Katie and Cadence.

Just moved into the Whitworth last week. So far so good — Katie, the property manager has been extremely responsive, communicative, and punctual. The day I got my keys she presented me with an immaculate apartment, which given the age of the building is pretty tough to do. My apartment has been updated a bit but has also maintained the sweet, charming elements that I love in an old place with character.
The only issues I could see having: parking spots are extremely tight, and although overall the communal spaces are tidy, it looks like the hall carpets could use a bit of attention.
I’ll update my review if anything goes awry over the coming months but I have high hopes that I’ll want to stick around a while.

I lived in the Broadmore before it was sold recently.
Maintenance is a joke there, after waiting a month (for repairs that should’ve been done to our unit before we moved in) my husband had to threaten to go to the city before we saw any action on their part.
The washers and dryers were constantly broken, and basically told us laundry was an amenity not a necessity. That’s a load of crap since I work in the restaurant industry and need to do laundry quite often. We would’ve never rented there if we had known this.
This is the worst property management company we have ever dealt with, constantly lying and ignoring requests.
BUYER BEWARE!!!
Edited to add: This company is soliciting my former neighbors to retract their bad reviews and are asking for good reviews. It just shows how unethical this company is.

We’ve had nothing but a positive experience with Cadence. Our property manager, Katie, has been very flexible and easy to communicate with during the entire process; from viewing the property and helping us secure it, to assisting us with the lease signing. The apartment was not immaculate when we arrived but Katie quickly had a cleaning crew arrive at our convenience and the place was spotless. We have also been kept up to date on the renovations happening in the building, so there are no surprises. We feel taken care of and couldn’t be happier!

I’ve lived in the Whitworth for about a month with my girlfriend so I’ll try to remember to update this once I’m here longer. Our unit is great, the area is quiet, we have good neighbors in the building and we’re in a beautiful old building.
Unfortunately being in a beautiful old building comes with problems old buildings can have — There have been two water shutoffs since we moved in for several hours each. The elevator was out when we moved in and wasn’t fixed for a couple weeks. I haven’t been here long enough to say whether these sort of issues are an aberration or are fairly common in the building and will continue.
That said, Cadence as a company seems to be much better and more responsive than some of the scary reviews on here imply. Katie, our property manager is on top of things. She responds to my emails almost immediately and my maintenance issues have been fixed really quickly.

I have to add one more thing. Last night (Saturday evening) I was absolutely panicked because my garage door wouldn’t shut. I use my garage as a secure storage space and absolutely could not leave it open and unattended overnight. I’m pretty handy but didn’t know where to start to get my garage shut. I immediately called the emergency number that Cadence provided me with and had already started devising a plan on how to stay warm while I camped in my garage for the rest of the weekend.
Luckily, Cadence has an organized and reliable system for dealing with around-​the-​clock emergencies. Within less than an hour, Sam had my garage door functioning. What a relief! Thanks Sam!

Just moved to Seattle from Scottsdale Arizona and looked at several places to live in the ballard area and could not have found a better place than with Cadence Real Estate. Our property manager Katie is great and super friendly. Cadence Real Estate has been extremely helpful with the our move in process. They were quick to make adjustments to items in the apartment that weren’t quite right upon our move in. Overall our experience has been excellent,

I have lived at the Broadmore for 18 months and, while I love my apartment, I am sick of the management company. Everything folks have posted about broken washing machines (basically every week), poor follow through on maintenance requests, broken elevators, and complete and utter lack of communication from Sam Whitehead is absolutely true. Until this past week, though, I mostly chalked it up to the tradeoff I got for paying a fairly low rent for a large and classic space. I accepted the occasional (and mostly harmless) drug addicts yelling «f*ck!» after midnight as part of the reality of living a block from Harbourview.
Last week, we received notice that effective immediately, Cadence is no longer managing our building as it has been been bought by new owners. I found this to be somewhat suspect– wouldn’t they have had more notice about the sale? Why weren’t we informed sooner? So, I contacted Sam, who said that they didn’t have much notice themselves, that while they had taken prospective buyers through the building, «these things often fall through,» etc. He added that he had no information about the new owners’ plans for the building because they simply «had not informed» him, but that he and the staff at Cadence would be there «as a resource» to us tenants if we had any questions in the transition.
I had a hard time believing this could have come as such as surprise to the company, so I did some research and found out that the new company filed for (and was granted) a permit to convert the building from 33 1 and 2 bedroom units to 130 units, i.e., major renovations to convert this old and lovely, classic building into micro-​apartments. This permit was granted IN MID AUGUST!!! meaning, of course, that the new owners must have purchased the building at least in July. Why would they file for a permit to do major construction on a building they did not own??? Sam lied. I can’t quite explain it, except to say that they probably wanted to keep it quiet so they could avoid folks leaving. As of yet, we have not received any notice from the new owners about their plans for the building.
We were also told that, in the meantime, Cadence would see through a major electrical project, which entailed converting the building’s steam-​based heat to electric heat. This project has been ongoing for six months and has resulted in MAJOR disruption to each unit (I had to move out for a week this summer, into a very sparsely furnished unit they provided that had no working stove).
Yesterday, the electricians came by to install the new breaker panel. They assured me that I would be without power for 30 – 45 minutes and that all would be completed by the time I got home that night. I arrived home at around 8:30 pm to find that my apartment was without power (and, judging from the smells in the refrigerator, was likely without power from the time they shut it off 11 hours earlier). I was given no warning, no notice on my door, no-​one to call. So, I called Sam’s office and left a message. There was no indication of who we should call in an emergency. I packed up enough things for the night (by flashlight) and spent the night at my girlfriend’s. The next morning, I again called Sam. No response. I followed up with an email. No response.
I then contacted the new owner, who at least responded within an hour. Interestingly, she told me that other tenants in the building have had problems with Cadence, that her company has repeatedly contacted Sam and received no response, and that had it not been for her partner having run into an electrician, they wouldn’t have had anyone to call either. She said she would have my unit checked out, but that I should continue to pester Sam.
Tonight, the power is back on in my unit. However, I have heard nothing, nada, zilch from Cadence. I will have to throw out pretty much everything in my refrigerator and freezer, which was full of food. I have asked to be compensated for the loss of food, but of course, I have received no acknowledgement at all that my urgent report of no power was even received. The new owner said it is not her company’s responsibility to compensate me for the loss of food, and referred me to Sam. Great.
I don’t know what is more upsetting to me: the complete and utter lack of professionalism exhibited by this company, the fact that we were lied to, or that I am apparently being displaced from my home.
In case the above does not make it abundantly clear why you should stay away from this company, let me just summarize by saying that you will likely hear from Sam when he and his company need to access your unit. Whenever you need him to respond to an urgent problem or any problem, really, expect to call and email many, many times and then, you will only hear back when you threaten to file a formal complaint.

We have lived in Cadence buildings for going on 4 years. (One spot at the Whitworth in Cap Hill and now in Ballard). Whitworth was everything wanted it to be especially with the location in Capitol Hill, you couldn’t beat it. It had charm, the neighbors were friendly and they were very welcoming to our dog. Super close to great restaurants and parks and your choice of grocery stores. Maintenance was super attentive to any issues and the building was well kept. The only reason it’s not 5 stars is because of the elevator service issue. It went down for months and made doing laundry quite the task and the fact that there is still coin operated laundry with the price of the rent. We have had Katie as our building manager at both locations and I would give her 10 stars if I could! She is absolutely FANTASTIC! She is attentive to needs, understanding of issues and works with you to get a speedy solution. She also has a great personality and is incredibly approachable so it’s refreshing to have someone so nice as a building manager.
I would recommend living in a Cadence building.

I’m still pretty ambivalent about Cadence. But I don’t hate them like I used to. It seems they are really making an effort to try to keep their residents happy and safe, and that effort is appreciated.
First off — let me say their Manager Sam is tops. Our building is going through some pretty intensive upgrades to switch the heat from steam to electric, and our particular unit had a lot of extra problems to sort through. Sam was a great middle man — getting us into a temporary apartment, dealing with a moving company that happened to break some of our stuff, and insuring that the work was done properly before having us move back in. He’s pretty on top of communication (especially via email — phone is i a bit trickier to reach him by), and he’s generally a nice dude and I appreciate the extra effort he has put in to make sure nothing is wrong with our unit.
Eric the maintenance guy is still rad as hell. Polite, on time, and really knows what he’s doing to get things fixed. I still can’t get over how he spent 3 hours trying to get a drain fixed when it flooded our kitchen years back.
All that said I still have complaints — the washers breaking all the time is annoying (but they credit the cash back to you if you complain!)
The lobby literally smells like someone died and got buried under the floorboards.
The Cadence Builds guys are also rude — i’m still mad at them barging into my apartment while I was napping when they thought we were gone on vacation with no notice. However, after the appropriate phone calls they always check if it is ok to come in so kudos for learning from your mistakes guys.
Looks like the building is going to get sold — which is a shame cuz it is such a charmer. For the most part our time here has been good, and I still love my apartment so it will be a sad day when we do finally move out.

Things have not improved here. For a week or so ALL washing machines were down. They continue to blame it on the coins in our pockets, but I’m not buying it. I’m pretty experienced w/​communal washing machines (this is all I’ve done for the last 15 years or so), and I’ve never experienced machines breaking down like this. We’re already paying $ 1.75 a load, how don’t you have the money to fix/​get new machines? It’s really annoying when a landlord will attempt to fix something over and over and over instead of getting new machines. I wonder how much down time these have had in the last 5 years? My guess is A LOT. Then they claim this is an amenity they don’t really have to maintain… I NEVER would have rented if laundry were not provided.
I think they’re trying to do as little as possible until they sell the building and cash out. My guess is they switched to electric heat in the units because it was cheaper than maintaining the central heat of the building.
Totally not worth the $ 1440 for a 1 BR apt in my mind. You’re already in the hood here (think drug addicts sitting against the dumpsters), so it’s already not the best spot. There are other probs too, like the terrible air flow of the building, having windows open doesn’t help, it’s HOT in here compared to the outside, most of the summer was not good indoors. Also no fans in the kitchen/​bath, so it gets real steamy in here.

What a convenience, after I posted comments on Google and Unilocal about you, and my husband started calling the emergency line over and over, that’s when you guys finally decided to answer to my 25 phone calls, many voicemails and an email regarding this matter. Yes, I got my deposit back so I’m happy, and thank you for finally giving me MY Money!!! I should have had it long time ago! If you guys would have followed up after finding out that I never cashed the check you supposedly sent, then I would probably had given a 5 star review to this company. You guys can improve with future residents I hope, but dont try to make me look like liar because I love writing reviews for the good and bad companies I’ve encountered.
Have a nice!

Run. Run away from a rental at Cadence.
Don’t make the same mistake I made. I actually had read the reviews and confronted the representative at Cadence about them before moving in. So began the journey of misrepresentation and utter unprofessionalism.
During my 1 year tenancy at one of Cadence’s properties in Capitol Hill, I could never tell if the shoddy management was due to negligence, incompetence, or malice. I lean towards incompetence. My opinion is the management company doesn’t acknowledge that owning property and running a business is hard work. They do not seem to put in the time, resources, and energy to do a good job for their tenants; rather, it’s all about cutting corners.
Everything had to be a fight, over email, because no one from management would condescend to actually meet residents. Getting our names in the call box — a fight. Getting a little bucket of leftover paint to make our own touch ups — a fight. Getting straightforward answers to questions and policies — actually not a fight, just total silence and ambiguity. Giving 40 days notice (twice the legal requirement in WA) oddly turned into a fight. And finally, after moving out, we still fought: we didn’t receive our deposit and refund for overcharging us on our last month’s rent, so I had to send an official demand letter, and finally the funds were sent (with a lot of muttering about mysterious checks being lost in the mail, and complaining about my lack of understanding, and excuse making about how it wasn’t their fault).
Side note, pull out the calculator and always check their accounting and estimates and get receipts. It really seems like they just make numbers up **poof** like mathmagic!
While I never caught them explicitly red handed, their actions (at times) seem to border on illegal, and I had to use resources from the Washington Tenants Union when dealing with Cadence’s antics. We moved out with a large rush of other tenants, including some who have been in the building for many years. One woman alleged that someone at Cadence had threatened her over her complaints about maintenance.
I would never recommend renting from them under any circumstances, and I think they should probably be the subject of an official investigation and audit — even if it’s **just** negligence and incompetence, they still should be held accountable.