EDMONDS — A tenant at Housing Hope’s Madrona Highlands property has filed formal complaints with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Human Rights Commission, citing unsafe citing unsafe living conditions, misuse of federal grants, and disability discrimination.
The tenant – who we’ll refer to as “AB” to grant her request to remain anonymous – is arguing that Housing Hope has allowed cigarette smoking, vaping, and illegal drug use to occur openly on its property, despite receiving a Smoke-Free Property Grant from the federal government.
AB also says her community is riddled with criminal activity including prostitution, domestic violence incidents, property damage, and frequent drug deals.
As a disabled individual, AB has also not received requested disability accommodations which she said violates the Fair Housing Act, ADA, and Washington State law.
Now she’s facing eviction following, what she is alleging to be, “misappropriation of funds.”
“This has been one of the worst experiences of my life. I moved here to rebuild, to get on my feet, and become financially stable. Instead, I’ve been living in fear, surrounded by crime, drugs, and neglect — all while management ignores their responsibilities,” said AB. “Now I’ve been forced to give notice to vacate, with nowhere else to go,”, tenant and complainant.”
According to AB, her physician has documented the impact on her health, citing anxiety, stress, and constant fear of eviction. Despite paying rent and complying with all lease terms, the tenant was forced to submit notice to vacate, leaving them facing imminent homelessness.
“Taxpayer money was given to make this property smoke-free and safe for families. Instead, those funds are being ignored, and residents — including children and people with disabilities — are left in danger. This isn’t just mismanagement; it’s a betrayal of public trust,” AB added.
Difficulties moving in
AB first contacted Coast Realty (who handles leasing at Madrona Highlands) in September 2024, for more information on the property and to inquire whether they had any available ADA units. AB spoke to a representative named Rachelle, she said, who informed her there was a ground floor unit available and that she would reserve it for AB while she completed the paperwork.
AB completed the online application, then called Coast Realty again to confirm receipt. She was told they received her application before discussing income qualifications (she was told she qualified). AB was then given a move in date of mid-October (the online application gave an approximate October 31 move-in date).
Rachelle also told AB that they would meet in-person to fill out the rest of the paperwork later.
AB didn’t hear back from Coast until three weeks later, despite multiple follows ups through phone calls and emails to meet. At this time (October 2), Rachelle said she had no record of AB’s original application and that she would need to fill out a new one. AB complied but was met with several hurdles, with the online application system not working properly. When she tried to contact Coast to bring these issues to their attention there was no answer.
The next day she called again. Rachelle answered but, according to AB, her “tone” had shifted and sounded stressed and/or annoyed. According to AB Rachelle said she was still working on a time to meet in-person but was “very busy.”
When AB asked if the ground floor unit would still be available, she was told that it had already been rented, despite Rachelle promising to reserve it. Rachelle then noted that a second-floor unit was available, for a little more money.
Despite AB being disabled and needing ADA assistance (which Madrona Highlands promises to accommodate), her desire to get into housing and stop sleeping in her car was much greater, so she agreed.
Rachelle, according to AB, said she would be added to a waiting list for a ground floor unit in the meantime, a waiting list she later learned did not exist.
In the meantime, AB attempted, several times, to fill out a new application – per Rachelle’s request – but the online application was still not working. She then decided to wait until Rachelle got back to her with a time the two could meet in person.
A week went by, and AB did not hear back. She reached out to Rachelle again who, according to AB, “forgot” that she had promised to schedule a meeting in-person, agreeing to a meeting on October 15.
The two met that day and AB filled out her paperwork as prompted (except for her social security number, which she did not feel comfortable with including on her form. Rachelle said it was not required and that she could cross-reference it with their cards).
Rachelle also informed AB that there was no application fee for this apartment and that she was guaranteed a unit by filling in the paperwork.
The two agreed to meet later that week, at another Housing Hope location, to go over final details. But when that time came Rachelle was nowhere to be found. AB waited 30 minutes, tried calling Rachelle several times, waited another 15-minutes more, then decided to drive to Coast Realty’s office in North Everett, thinking she may have misheard her.
Rachelle was not at Coast Realty’s office either. A staff member there reached out to her and told AB that she was sick and would not be able to meet. At this point AB had taken 3 hours out of her workday to meet and was given no notice that their scheduled meeting would not be happening.
By October 23 AB had filled out all her necessary paperwork, including a second application. Her scheduled move-in date was still October 31. When the end of October came and went AB did not hear back from Coast Realty, despite multiple follow-ups.
AB continued to try and reach out, via phone calls and email, but received no response. She began giving up the idea that she would be getting an apartment at all.
After the first week of November AB decided she would reach out to Housing Hope instead. A receptionist there told her that the process can take some time and that HASCO – who handles the financial clearances of potential tenants – can also be a long process. AB decided to reach out to HASCO to see what the holdup was but, according to her, HASCO had no files under her name.
AB also reached out to Edmonds Lutheran Church for assistance who said they would try and get the ball moving. Edmonds Lutheran Church was a partner in the Madrona Highlands project and owned the land used to build it.
On November 27, 2024, AB was contacted by Coast Realty Supervisor Yadi who, according to AB, was rude and consistently interrupted/talked over her. Yadi told AB that her application was incomplete, and she needed it done by end-of-day (Yadi called at 4:30p.m.). When AB replied that it was not possible to resubmit the paperwork in time — as she was living in her car and the nearest library was an hour away and closed at 5p.m. — Yadi, according to AB, said she couldn’t help her and hung up.
In the meantime, AB forwarded old email exchanges between her and Rachelle, which had most of the information Yadi was requesting. At this point her pay stubs and bank statements were outdated so she requested the new files to submit more accurate information.
During the first week of December AB visited the Coast Realty’s office in Everett to handle things once and for all. During this time, she said Yadi seemed stressed and had a pile of files on her desk of paperwork she needed to review.
Yadi took out AB’s file and AB noticed that not only were several forms missing but, of the forms that were present, much of her information was inaccurate, including the misspelling of her name. When she pointed this out, and asked where her other files were, Yadi replied they never received them and that she would need to fill out new forms. AB was also required to fill out a new application at this point.
At the end of that meeting AB confirmed with Yadi that she had completed all of her paperwork and that everything was in order. Yadi confirmed that she had everything she needed.
On December 9 AB was contacted by Coast asking for more paystub and bank information. Yadi explained the holdup was with the bank releasing the information, and not with them.
The next day AB was called in to initial where the spelling of her name had been corrected. The next day after that she was told she needed to submit new Fidelity account information as the info they had on file was now 30 days old.
AB complied with all their requests and was given a new move-in date of December 12.
Leading up to that move-in date AB met with Rachelle, who told her she had been “pulled” from the Madrona Highlands project which is why she wasn’t returning her calls/emails. AB filled out a deposit and move in form, writing Rachelle a check for the prorated rent for the month of December. At that time, she also requested a Reasonable Accommodation Parking permit, given her disability (as of today she still has not received one).
Financial discrepancies and allegations of misappropriated funds
A few days before Christmas AB noticed that her rent check had not been deposited. When she reached out to Coast Realty, saying she needed the check to be deposited as she can’t leave large sums of money in her account due to a child support situation, she was told the check would be handled after Christmas.
Come January, the check still has not been deposited. AB decided to pay Coast Realty a visit with a money order instead, and to request the check back so she could dispose of it. At that point she was told she needed to fill out a move-in inspection form. By the time she finished it, Rachelle had left for the day and was not answering her phone.
AB didn’t hear back from Rachelle until January 15, when the two met and she received copies of her money orders – but was missing two. AB also mentioned that she was unable to access the Rent Café to pay rent or submit service orders digitally. She mentioned several things wrong with the unit which needed fixing (countertops, floors unglued, and trim unattached). At that point Rachelle promised AB that her check would be shredded.
Weeks went by and AB heard that Rachelle was no longer working for Coast. She sat down with two other staff members to try and get her digital profile, on Rent Café, set up. When they tried to help her, they realized she had two different accounts, one under her misspelt name, and one with an unpaid balance.
AB had moved into to Madrona Highlands by this time and grew worried about the amount of “illegal activity” she witnessed daily, from prostitution, to drug deals, to domestic violence situations, to tenants smoking (meth, marijuana, and nicotine) in their units. Both Coast and Housing Hope, according to AB, said there was nothing they could do.
On April 10, 2025, the check that was supposed to be shredded was deposited leaving AB’s account in the negative. When she went into the office a staff member, named Berlin, told her they found a “stack of checks” and deposited them. Furious, she noted how disappointed she was that they would deposit checks without cross referencing ledgers to see if their fees had already been paid.
Berlin informed AB that the check went to paying off an outstanding balance associated with a deposit and application fee – despite the check being labeled for “rent,” the application fee being waived, and the deposit already been paid with a money order. When she continued to challenge the double charge Coastal refrained from any communication with her, either by phone or email.
AB’s bank eventually refunded the money to her under “suspicious charges.”
In July, 2025, AB logged in to Rent Café to pay her rent and noticed she had an unpaid deposit balance of nearly $1,800. When she contacted Coastal, she was told nothing was wrong on their end and that was the balance owed. That same month she was asked to provide proof of her paid money order (for deposit). AB noted that Rachelle had the copies and, despite countless requests to have copies herself, never received them.
In August 2025 AB was then told she would be given a 30-day eviction notice for unpaid fines.
Difficulties with maintenance requests
Despite AB filling out a move in inspection form, where the noted several issues needing to be fixed, they were not resolved by her move-in date. Once settled, she decided to submit a new maintenance request.
Weeks went by without any word, or any maintenance worker paying her a visit.
She resubmitted a form on May 7, 2025, and a maintenance worker stopped by on May 14. According to AB the worker seemed untrained in cleaning filters and left a mess all over her apartment, which he refused to clean up saying it wasn’t his job.
When she turned on the bathroom fan to air out her apartment, she noticed it didn’t work. She tried the stovetop fan – it also didn’t work. She contacted maintenance again, to resolve this issue, and a worker showed up visually irritated, she said.
A few days later the maintenance worker returned to AB’s apartment, without giving notice of entry, stating he needed to take pictures of her unglued flooring, warped walls, and countertops – issues previously recorded in AB’s initial inspection report.
“Well, the install did not go as well as we thought it would. I was under the impression they were just bringing in a new countertop,” said AB. “We entered the apartment, and maintenance was removing the sink. Once the installer removed the countertop it was noticed that they had put two shims in to try and level the original install rather take the time and trim down the wall to make level. Installer used a hammer to try and level wall to place countertop. We offered our level due to not having one with him. He then brought in a circular saw creating plumes of fine drywall dust that went throughout the apartment. He also stated the wall behind him appeared warped.”
Again, the maintenance worker said it was not his job to clean up the mess he left behind.
The installer finished installing the sink and countertops and used AB’s broom, and paper towels, to clean up the residual sawdust. According to AB, the installer and maintenance worker for Coast awkwardly argued in front of her who’s “job” it was to clean up the mess leftover from the maintenance/installation work which left her feeling uncomfortable.
The installer was also told, by the maintenance work, according to AB, to “gently install the sink” but, out of frustration “shoved” the sink in leaving a crack and failing to fill in several holes.
AB ended up spending several hours of her day cleaning up the mess, from removing drawers, to washing her dishes, to vacuuming and wiping everything down.
“We feel defeated with these constant issues arising. When we came home for lunch that day, we did not expect to encounter a mess. We had no clue that we had to be here as the maintenance worker said he was taking the key back since we were home. I told him we were grabbing lunch and going back to work,” said AB. “He told the installer he would be back in 45 minutes and left our door wide open as the installer ran in and out with supplies.”
On May 23 Coastal reached out to AB offering to send a cleaning service but at that point she had already cleaned the mess herself and was in no need of a cleaning service.
What’s next for AB?
In addition to her filing formal complaints with HUD, and the Human Rights Commission, AB has been desperately trying to find new housing, but to no avail.
She has been in contact with Housing Hope who initially were going to help her move in to a ground floor unit in Snohomish, but that unit has since been rented during the time it took her to fill out all the paperwork.
Now, with an eviction notice looming, nowhere to go, and being disabled and low income, AB fears she is all out of options and may have to return to sleeping in her car.
What does Housing Hope and Coast Realty have to say?
The Lynnwood Times reached out to both Coast Realty and Housing hope to hear their side of the story.
Joan Penney, Marketing and Communications for Housing Hope, declined to comment on CB’s case specifically, citing that Housing Hope, and Coast, do not respond to tenant complaints publicly.
She did, however, state that Housing Hope partners with law enforcement on all their properties in addition to using Stealth Monitoring at Madrona Highlands, which the Edmonds Police Department has full access to.
“All tenants are advised to call 911 if they witness or experience a crime,” said Penney. “We collect monthly data from the police at many of our properties, enabling us to stay informed about risks and threats that may not be reported directly to our property manager.”
Just last summer Housing Hope held a community safety meeting at Madrona in partnership with the Edmonds Police Department Commander and all tenants to discuss ongoing issues. Housing Hope plans to hold another one later this year. Part of these meetings is a teaching and learning component on what police and landlords can and cannot do to enter a unit.
Regarding the maintenance issues, Penney said many elements of the construction at Madrona are still under warranty, as it is a new building. When tenants bring issues to Housing Hope’s attention, they plan for repairs and maintenance to be performed by the contractor at this time, she added.
Lastly, regarding financial disputes, Penney noted that all of Housing Hope’s finances are audited. During weekly meetings with Coast, any issues with the management process, including financial management, are documented in those meeting’s minutes, and team members are assigned to perform necessary corrections.
“Tenants have a Complaint Process available to them when they feel their issue has not been resolved. As a nonprofit organization that works with community members in poverty, we have implemented a ledger system that allows tenants to check their monthly payment status,” said Penney. “We encourage tenants to keep their receipts and use our automated payment software to make their rental and deposit payments.”
Penney added that eviction processes also have a tenant challenge component. As of the publication of this article, Housing Hope has no completed evictions on the books at Madrona.
Coast Realty did not respond to our request for comment.
Author: Kienan Briscoe
One Response
I currently live in another coast property. Things are getting better now that Rachelle Sims is gone. However it took months longer than it should have for me to get in here. Rachelle would agree to an appointment time then not be at that property or answer phone calls . My probation officer litterally had to go property to property and locate Rachelle and call me and hand her the phone and make her talk to me. That mixed with no hot water no window screens. The burning in your eyes when you enter this building from neighbors animals using the bathroom in the hallways. My toilet not working for weeks. Rachelle making false accusations to Dcyf and the police (which I have emails to prove.)
This apartment has been a nightmare to live in. But when you have been homeless with a baby you tend to put up with alot you shouldn’t have to.