Capitol Hill Housing

I have enjoyed working with CHH! The building I live in (Squire Park Plaza) is very well-​managed; it’s clean and repairs are completed in a reasonable amount of time. The neighbors I’ve met have all been friendly and pretty mellow, and I’ve found management to be available and easy to talk to about any questions or issues. Overall, it’s been a great experience — I’m glad to be here!

Where to start with this organization of charlatans?
They started as a ‘low-​income’ housing organization which managed to buy property cheap across central Seattle under the guises of HUD and Federal Tax credits. They have since dropped those guises, and now call themselves ‘Affordable Housing’ which of course has ZERO legal meaning. What they basically are is slumlords, putting people with MODERATE income into housing with psychiatric cases, for which I’m sure they also receive some sort of kickback from state and city mental health orbs, and then do absolutely nothing to ensure the safety or the security of anyone involved. My manager even bragged to me about how CHHIP OWNED the buildings they now rented, and what a great investment they were.
This sad brown-​noser was getting paid minimum wage, but he really loved his master/​investor father.
They are exploiters maximizing the fleecing of the poor and middle class with substandard construction. You get to live in a paper box next to someone who belongs in an insane asylum.
Of course, some buildings are better than others, supposedly. The head of CHHIP, Christopher Parsons, likes to portray himself as some kind of grand visionary for Seattle housing, couching various overpriced projects into a bunch of art zone hoopla, when all they are really doing is blowing constantly-​raising tenant rents on champagne and caviar fundraisers (what do they need more money for exactly? — oh yeah, forgot, their SIX FIGURE SALARIES!). Hey, helping the poor takes a special set of skills, that someone should make 250k? a year performing… is any of this in public record. I know three steps down someone’s making over 100k. What do you think the top of the food chain is making?
CHHIP writes tenant contracts that force tenants to call the police to rectify any situation and stipulate that contacting your actual site manager may constitute harassment, if one’s even around. Like the Seattle Police want to answer CHHIP calls. Managers leave buildings unmonitored while they go on lengthy vacations. Of course, they’re not exactly well-​compensated either. No, all that rent money goes to the all white/​caucasian top brass, and a cadre of lower-​level managers, which, yes, do include some other races, because, of course, those lower managers, got to throw some minorities in there to deal with the rabble tenants, so they can identify with someone.
CHHIP makes ZERO efforts to talk to neighboring builders and developers. CHHIP follows maintenance to the letter of the law, and no more, though they never check smoke alarms — maybe that isn’t required any more. CHHIP WILL house a violent psychopath or drug user next to you, and say its your problem. They may or may NOT screen for violent mental illness. Enjoy the lottery folks!
Make sure you check out the CHHIP building you’re moving into, because there’s a reason the nuthouses frequently have openings — some of the worst buildings in Seattle, and a MGMT that spends their entire lives congratulating themselves on how much they are part of some socialist utopia, when what they really are is wealthy exploiters of the poor and disadvantaged, but its all LEGAL. Thanks, CHHIP, for being a true American, and grubbing all the money you can for providing nothing! You’re the greatest!

CHH is an excellent organization. However i experienced some issues with them. Some of the people working there are extremely nice, and want to help you, where as others do not care. I applied for a building. Super cheap rent and they said i qualified for it based off of income. I filled out tons of paper work and paid some money. After about two weeks they call me to tell me i am approved and all i needed was my references. It was coming very close to the end of the month, and i had already put notice in my current place. I then receive a call telling me my income was too high. WHAT?! considering the fact that they told me i was solid in there then turn around and change it. Once you don’t qualify with income, they deny you and close your file. I felt it was poor service, and they should have told me day 1 when i showed them pay stubs that i did not qualify. So just an FYI, be persistent with them and don’t let them waste your time thinking that you qualify and really dont!
(Also, the young girl at the front desk is extremely rude!)

LOTS of paperwork. Yikes.
But otherwise, I am very, very impressed with CHH. I moved to Seattle from Atlanta, and these guys were lifesavers during the move. I had a lease signed and was moved in within a month of moving up here. My apartment was an excellent deal (I’m STILL in shock at how little I pay), and it’s in fantastic shape considering it’s technically low-​income housing. I don’t know if it’s just that Seattle is nicer than Atlanta (protip: it is), but I’d have NEVER been able to get such a nice place (for the price) in Atlanta. Low income usually equals dumpy, and my place is definitely not dumpy.
Asia, my CHH representative, was very nice and super patient during all of the paperwork — even when there was a snafu with my professional contacts (they require a LOT of references and background check type stuff). My landlord, Don, is hilarious, and really seems to care about his tenants. He’s great! I put in a maintenance request (to turn my hot water heater up), and the maintenance guy did me a favor and came right away since he was in the area and it was such a dinky quick request anyway. It was really nice of them not to make me wait.
All the various paperwork and whatnot takes a long time to process (it was almost two weeks between submitting my application and getting the notice that I got the apartment), but it’s well worth it. I can’t begin to tell you how nice it is not to have to pinch every single penny in order to scrape by. Finally, I am able to afford more than JUST my rent. :)

Capitol Hill Housing (CHH) is an outstanding organization that provides a much needed service.
The organization is an affordable housing provider that has been in existence for 35 years. They own 42 buildings in Seattle concentrated mostly in the Capitol Hill neighborhood.
CHH is dedicated to providing clean and affordable apartments where individuals and families can comfortably live in an increasingly cost prohibitive urban environment.