Everett Rental Owner’s Guide • 2026
The 7 Best Property Management Companies in Everett
The lightest-touch rental city in Washington — no local ordinance, no registration. And a local pack where the ratings run from 4.9 to 2.6.
Written by Johana Williams • Reviewed By: Peter Evering • Last updated: September 1, 2026
Your tenants consider many factors when deciding whether to renew. Keeping your tenants happy and showing them they are cared for can provide the added value to your rental property that will make them want to stay. In Everett that matters more than the fee schedule does, because this is a market where the difference between managers is not really about price.
It is about competence, and the evidence is unusually visible. The three firms in the Everett local pack are rated 4.9, 4.9 and 2.6. That bottom figure is the lowest rating of any property management firm we have looked at across eleven markets, and it belongs to a company that has been trading here since 1984 and still ranks in the top three.
The pricing side of this market is quiet. Almost nobody publishes a rate — one firm’s entire management services page is still filled with placeholder Lorem Ipsum text — so a fee comparison is not really available to you. What is available is a very large body of public feedback, and in Everett that is the more useful signal anyway.
The regulatory picture is quiet too, and worth understanding properly, because Everett is the lightest-touch rental city in Washington. There is no local rent ordinance and no rental registration scheme. If you have read about Seattle’s registration program or Spokane’s six-month notice rule and assumed something similar applies here, it does not.
So there comes a time when you, the owner, have to pinpoint all the qualities you wish to find in a property management company. Because finding a reputable property management company is key to your property’s success. The company you choose will steward one of your most valuable assets on your behalf. We manage property in Everett ourselves, and we are here to help you understand the strengths of each company on this list — Utopia included, and we put ourselves at number one, and we will tell you why.

The Local Rules
Why Hiring a Manager in Everett Is Different
Washington sets a rent cap and Everett adds nothing on top of it. That is the whole regulatory picture, and it is genuinely unusual for a Washington city of this size.
The state cap comes from HB 1217. For the 2026 calendar year the maximum increase is 9.683%, published by the Department of Commerce after the June inflation figures land. Rent may not rise at all during the first twelve months of a tenancy, and the state requires ninety days’ written notice of an increase.
Compare that with the rest of the state. Seattle requires 180 days’ notice for any increase and runs a rental registration and inspection program. Spokane requires 120 days below three percent and 180 days above it. Tacoma requires 180 days and charges relocation assistance above five percent. Bellingham requires 120 days for any increase at all.
Everett requires none of those things. No local notice extension, no registration, no relocation charge, no licensing scheme. The state rules are the rules.
One thing that does exist and gets described inaccurately: the Everett Fire Department inspects all multi-family buildings in the city annually. That is a fire-safety inspection carried out by the Fire Marshal’s Office. It is not a rental registration program, it is not a habitability licensing scheme, and it does not touch single-family rentals at all. If a manager tells you Everett runs a rental inspection regime like Seattle’s, they have confused the two.
Washington rules that do apply everywhere here: managing rentals for other people is licensed activity under RCW 18.85, a written condition checklist signed by both parties is required before a deposit may be withheld, and deposits must sit in a trust account at a Washington financial institution with written notice to the tenant of where.
Who Rents in Everett, and Where
If you are looking to make a return on a real estate investment, flipping and renting are two ways to do so. It can be difficult to determine whether you should flip a property or hold on to it and rent it out; there is not always a clear answer. The best method depends on your individual situation, your available resources, your overall goals, and the current market for real estate.
One of the biggest differences between flipping and renting properties is that flipping provides active income, while holding a rental property can offer passive income.
Active income is money you receive in exchange for your labor. Making an hourly wage or a salary at a job is active income. Flipping properties offers active income because it requires labor to find a property, purchase and insure it, manage contractors or perform renovations. Flipping properties is not just an investment strategy like buying stocks, it requires significant time and energy.
Passive income is money you earn from an investment continuously over time, even without performing labor. When you own a rental property, you continue to collect rental income each month as long as the property is filled. Of course, managing a rental property takes considerable time and effort, but in most cases you should opt to hire a property manager to handle maintenance, property marketing, rent collection, and other associated tasks.
Everett rewards the second of those more than most markets do, and the reason is the tenant base. Boeing’s Everett plant is the anchor and always has been, with the aerospace supply chain around it. Providence Regional Medical Center is one of the largest employers in Snohomish County. Naval Station Everett puts a rotating military tenancy into the market, which is its own kind of demand — reliable, often relocating on short notice, and frequently needing a lease that accommodates orders.
The other force is Seattle. Everett sits at the top of the corridor, and the Link light rail extension north is steadily changing what a commute from here looks like. A meaningful share of tenants work south and pay Everett rents, which keeps this market firmer than local wages alone would support.
Where you own decides who applies. Northwest Everett around Grand and Rucker holds the older character stock, the Craftsman and turn-of-the-century houses, and lets to longer-staying households. Riverside and Bayside sit closest to downtown and the waterfront redevelopment. Silver Lake and the south end are newer, more suburban, and priced closer to Mill Creek and Lynnwood than to the city center. Evergreen Way is the apartment corridor.
Both of the strategies above require finding a property with the right opportunities for value enhancement, which is typically not something that can be done consistently in the long run. In a market this steady, holding is usually the better answer, and holding is a management question rather than a purchasing one.
Before You Choose
What to Look For in a Everett Property Manager
Read the Ratings Carefully
This local pack runs from 4.9 to 2.6. That 2.6 is the lowest we have seen in any market, and it comes from 62 reviews. Read a page of them before you call.
Volume and Average Both Matter
One firm here has 735 reviews at 4.9 — the largest review base in this whole series. Another has 18 at 4.9. Those are different kinds of evidence.
Everett, Edmonds or Bothell
Two of the firms serving Everett are run from other cities. Ask who physically drives past your property.
Single Homes or Apartment Blocks
One firm here manages over 20,000 apartment homes. That is institutional multifamily, and a single house is not what it is built for.
Ask What Everett Actually Requires
Nothing beyond state law. A manager quoting a local registration scheme or an extended notice period has confused Everett with Seattle or Spokane.
The Rankings
How the 7 Companies Compare
| Rank | Company | Founded | Mgmt Fee | Portfolio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ★Utopia Management Top Pick | 1994 | 8–10% | ~9,000 properties |
| 2 | The Joseph Group | 7+ yrs | Not published | Not published |
| 3 | SJA Property Management | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| 4 | T-Square Properties | 24+ yrs | Not published | Hundreds |
| 5 | TurboTenant | 7+ yrs | Flat fee | Not published |
| 6 | Coast Property Management | Not published | Not published | 20,000+ apartments |
| 7 | Windermere Property Mgmt NW | 1984 | Not published | Not published |
Almost nothing is published in this market, so the ranking leans more on verifiable review evidence, office location and business model than on price. “Not published” means we checked the company’s own site, its sitemap and its owner pages and found no figure.
1. Utopia Management
Our Top PickUtopia holds the top position in the Everett local pack, with a 4.9 average from 127 reviews. We have been at this since 1994 and are now among the West Coast’s largest property management firms, with 27 offices across five states and roughly 9,000 properties in our care.
Utopia prides itself on service that is prompt and of a high standard. You will not be left wondering whether help is coming. Between in-house maintenance staff and 24/7/365 call monitoring, someone is always reachable — which in a market with a large military and shift-working tenant base is not a small thing.
On fees, we publish them, which on this page makes us unusual: 8 to 10 percent of collected rent, no management fee at all while the property is vacant, and tenant placement waived under full management. The Everett office is at 2200 Hewitt Avenue, Suite 120, in the city rather than in Edmonds or Bothell.
- Year founded
- 1994 (30+ years in business)
- Offices
- 27 across 5 states
- Monthly management pricing
- 8%-10% of monthly rent
- Tenant placement fee
- Waived on properties under full management
- Vacancy
- No management fee charged while the property is vacant
- Maintenance
- In-house maintenance team; 24/7/365 sales & service
- Portfolio size
- ~9,000 properties
- Reviews
- 4.9 from 127 — first in the Everett local pack
- Everett office
- 2200 Hewitt Avenue, Suite 120 — (425) 217-1111
2. The Joseph Group
The Joseph Group carries 735 reviews at 4.9, which is the largest review base of any firm in this entire eleven-market research. That is a substantial body of evidence and it should count heavily. Seven-plus years in business.
They also answer the fee question more honestly than most, if indirectly. Their own knowledge base asks whether they charge lease-up or renewal fees and answers plainly: yes. A lease-up fee covers advertising, showings, screening and move-in work; renewal fees cover lease extensions and the updated legal disclosures Washington requires. No amounts are given and no monthly management percentage is published anywhere, but at least the structure is stated rather than left for you to discover.
The thing to establish is geography. The business is run from Edmonds, about fifteen miles south of Everett. That is a short drive and plenty of good firms cover a corridor, but if what you want is somebody who notices a problem at your building before the tenant reports it, ask how many Everett properties they hold and how often somebody is actually in the city.
- Year founded
- Not published; 7+ years per the Google profile
- Monthly management pricing
- Not published
- Tenant placement fee
- Charged — confirmed on their own knowledge base; amount not published
- Lease renewal cost
- Charged — confirmed on their own knowledge base; amount not published
- Setup fee
- Not published
- Reviews
- 4.9 from 735 — the largest review base in this research
- Office
- Edmonds, WA — (425) 250-5559
3. SJA Property Management
SJA carries 683 reviews at 4.7, the second-largest review base in this market, and runs a properly built-out Everett service page rather than treating the city as an afterthought on a Seattle site.
They work across the Seattle and Puget Sound region, which for an owner with property in more than one town is genuinely useful — one relationship, one statement, one point of contact from Everett down through Snohomish and King counties.
No management rate, leasing fee, renewal charge or setup cost is published. Given the size of their operation there will be a standard schedule, so ask for the whole thing in writing rather than the headline percentage. Their local number is 425-658-1920.
- Year founded
- Not published
- Monthly management pricing
- Not published
- Tenant placement fee
- Not published
- Lease renewal cost
- Not published
- Setup fee
- Not published
- Reviews
- 4.7 from 683
- Service area
- Seattle and the wider Puget Sound, with a named Everett service page
- Contact
- 425-658-1920
4. T-Square Properties
T-Square has more than twenty-four years in the industry and describes managing hundreds of properties across King and Snohomish counties. That is a long, steady record in a market where several competitors are under ten years old.
The portfolio description is worth reading precisely. “Hundreds” across two counties is a mid-sized book, which usually means an owner is a meaningful account rather than a line item — a genuine advantage over the firm on this page managing twenty thousand apartments.
No fee schedule of any kind is published: no monthly percentage, no leasing fee, no renewal or setup charge. The office is at 19125 North Creek Parkway in Bothell, roughly twenty minutes from Everett. Ask for the schedule in writing and ask how often somebody attends your property, because those are the two things the site does not tell you.
- Year founded
- Not published; 24+ years in the industry claimed
- Monthly management pricing
- Not published
- Tenant placement fee
- Not published
- Lease renewal cost
- Not published
- Setup fee
- Not published
- Portfolio size
- "Hundreds" across King and Snohomish counties; not quantified
- Office
- 19125 North Creek Pkwy #208, Bothell — 425.485.1800
5. TurboTenant
TurboTenant offers flat-fee property management services in Everett and has seven-plus years of experience in the market. It is a software platform rather than a local management office, and that distinction is the whole of the decision.
What you get is the systems: listing syndication, applications and screening, rent collection, maintenance requests, accounting. What you do not get is somebody who drives to the property, meets a contractor, or handles a difficult tenancy without involving you. For an organized owner living locally, that trade can be excellent value against 8 to 10 percent of rent.
For an absent owner, or for a property with a demanding tenancy, it is a different proposition entirely. Judge it against the work you actually want to hand over rather than against the other percentages on this page, because it is not competing for the same job.
- Year founded
- Not published; 7+ years in the Everett market claimed
- Monthly management pricing
- Flat-fee model; the specific figure is not published for this market
- Tenant placement fee
- Not published
- Lease renewal cost
- Not published
- Setup fee
- Not published
- Model
- Software platform rather than a local management office
6. Coast Property Management
Coast manages more than 20,000 apartment homes across the Northwest, which makes it by far the largest operator on this page and one of the larger regional apartment managers anywhere in this research. Their Everett office is at 2829 Rucker Avenue.
Scale of that kind means one thing very clearly: this is institutional multifamily management. Whole buildings, on-site staff, resident portals, a corporate maintenance operation. If you own an apartment block, that infrastructure is real and hard for a small firm to match. If you own one house in Northwest Everett, you are not the customer this business is built around, and it is worth knowing that before the first call rather than after it.
Their Yelp rating is 1.7 from 25 reviews. That is a small sample and Yelp skews negative for property managers generally, so we would not weight it as heavily as a Google average across hundreds. It is still the second-lowest figure on this page and worth reading through rather than ignoring. No fee schedule is published.
- Year founded
- Not published
- Monthly management pricing
- Not published
- Tenant placement fee
- Not published
- Lease renewal cost
- Not published
- Setup fee
- Not published
- Portfolio size
- Over 20,000 apartment homes across the Northwest
- Best suited to
- Apartment buildings and institutional multifamily rather than single homes
- Reviews
- Yelp 1.7 from 25 — a small sample on a platform that skews negative for this sector
- Office
- 2829 Rucker Ave, Everett — (425) 339-3638
7. Windermere Property Management NW
Windermere Property Management NW has served Snohomish County since 1984 — forty-two years, the longest record on this page — operating as an independent entity in Everett under the Windermere brand. They are at 7003 Evergreen Way, Suite A, and hold third place in the local pack.
Their Google rating is 2.6 from 62 reviews. That is the lowest rating of any property management company we have examined across eleven markets and roughly a hundred firms. Sixty-two reviews is a real sample, not a handful, and a 2.6 average means the negative experiences substantially outnumber the positive ones. We are not going to soften that: if you are considering this firm, read the reviews first, and read enough of them to see whether the complaints share a theme.
The second finding is a smaller one but it points the same way. Their Management Services page carries no fee information because the body text was never written — it still contains the default placeholder: “Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit…”. We fetched the page directly on 31 August 2026 to confirm it, and found no percentage anywhere on the site. This is the second firm in this research whose pricing or services page turned out to be unedited placeholder text.
- Year founded
- 1984 — serving Snohomish County since; the longest record on this page
- Monthly management pricing
- Not published — the Management Services page is unedited Lorem Ipsum placeholder text, verified 31 August 2026
- Tenant placement fee
- Not published
- Lease renewal cost
- Not published
- Setup fee
- Not published
- Reviews
- <strong>2.6 from 62 Google reviews</strong> — the lowest rating found in this research
- Office
- 7003 Evergreen Way, Suite A, Everett — 425.348.7368
Know the Rules
The Everett Rules That Catch Owners Out
9.683% for 2026
The state maximum for the calendar year under HB 1217. No increase at all in the first twelve months.
Nothing local on top
No Everett rent ordinance, no registration scheme, no relocation charge. The state rules are the rules.
Fire, not habitability
The Fire Department inspects multi-family buildings annually. It is not a rental licensing program.
Read the rules before you plan an increase — and in Everett, read them for the right city. Washington’s larger rental markets have each layered something local on top of state law, and none of it applies here. An owner working from a Seattle checklist will over-comply, and a manager quoting one is not familiar with this market.
What the state requires
Washington caps annual increases under HB 1217, in force since May 2025. The maximum is the lesser of ten percent or seven percent plus inflation, and the Department of Commerce publishes the figure each year shortly after the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases June data. For 1 January to 31 December 2026 it is 9.683%. Rent may not be raised at all during the first twelve months of a tenancy, and the state requires ninety days’ written notice of an increase.
What Everett adds
Nothing. There is no Everett rent stabilization ordinance, no extended local notice period, no relocation assistance requirement tied to the size of an increase, and no rental registration or business-licensing scheme for landlords of the kind Seattle operates.
That is worth stating plainly. It is unusual among Washington cities this size, and it is easy to assume otherwise. For comparison: Seattle requires 180 days’ notice for any increase and runs the RRIO registration and inspection program. Spokane requires 120 days below a three percent increase and 180 days above it. Tacoma requires 180 days and charges relocation assistance above five percent. Bellingham requires 120 days for any increase whatsoever. Everett requires the state minimum and stops there.
The inspection program, described accurately
Everett does run an inspection program, and it is regularly mischaracterised. The Everett Fire Department inspects all multi-family buildings within the city on an annual basis, through the Fire Marshal’s Office. Safety concerns found in a private unit are to be raised with the manager or owner so they can be addressed promptly.
That is a fire-safety inspection. It is not a rental registration scheme, it does not license landlords, it does not certify habitability in the way Seattle’s program does, and it does not apply to single-family rentals at all. No registration requirement, fee schedule or enforcement timeline is published. If a prospective manager describes Everett as having a rental inspection regime comparable to Seattle’s, they have confused the two cities.
Deposits, screening and licensing
The Washington-wide rules still apply and they matter. Managing rental property for other people is licensed activity under RCW 18.85, carried out under a designated broker — ask for the license number and check it. Before any deposit may be withheld, a written checklist of the unit’s condition must be signed by both parties. Deposits must be held in a trust account at a Washington financial institution, with written notice to the tenant of where the money sits. There is no statewide cap on the deposit amount.
Sources: commerce.wa.gov — Commerce announces 9.683% rent cap for 2026 · everettwa.gov — Multi-Family Inspections. Both checked 31 August 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.
What Fees Should You Expect?
Honestly, this market will not tell you. Of the six competitors on this page, none publishes a management rate — and one of them has not written the page that was supposed to carry it, leaving default Lorem Ipsum in its place.
What we can say is what is confirmed rather than guessed. The Joseph Group states on its own site that it charges both a lease-up fee and a renewal fee, without naming either amount. TurboTenant operates on a flat fee. Utopia publishes 8 to 10 percent, charges nothing while the property is vacant, and waives tenant placement under full management. Everything else in this city is a phone call.
For orientation, Washington management generally runs 8 to 12 percent of collected rent, with tenant placement anywhere from half a month to a full month. Treat that as a range to test a quote against rather than as anybody here having published it.
Because pricing is largely unavailable, weight the other evidence more heavily than you normally would. Review volume and average, how long the firm has traded, where its office actually is, and whether it manages houses or apartment blocks are all checkable — and in Everett they separate the field far more clearly than price does.
It helps to keep the whole cost picture in view rather than the fee alone. Any person contemplating the purchase of a rental property should be well aware of the costs associated with such an investment. These include the mortgage, taxes, insurance, and maintenance. One should also be realistic about financially enduring vacancies. Set against a month of vacancy on a $2,000 rental, the gap between an eight percent manager and a ten percent one is small — which is the argument for choosing on competence here rather than on price.
“Nobody here publishes a rate. So weigh the evidence that is public — and in this market that evidence is unusually stark.”
Prefer to hand it all to a local team? See how we work as your manager on our Everett property management page.

A Few Tips From the Field
Your tenants consider many factors when deciding whether to renew; keeping your tenants happy and showing them they are cared for can provide the added value to your rental property that will make them want to stay.
Holding an event for your tenants can mean doing anything from sending a small token of appreciation to them directly, to having monthly community parties. From a single event to test the waters, to filling the calendar with regularly scheduled events, the right planning will get people engaged, help keep them happy, and could even bring in business — so everyone wins.
Before you plan, consider the tenant themselves. For example, you would not want to hold a car show in the parking lot of a busy shopping center on Black Friday. Think too about the amenities offered by your property and the types of events that might highlight and demonstrate their utility. The following event ideas are just a start, and there is plenty of room to get creative when tailoring events to benefit your tenants.
An actual free lunch
Many local delis and sandwich shops offer catering options with individually packaged boxed lunches in different varieties. These offer a generally low-cost way to provide your tenants with a free lunch without the hassle and distraction of a large catering set-up.
Yearly birthday party
Get one big cake and celebrate everyone’s birthday together.
Picture day
Hire a photographer and hold a picture day for your tenants. This could be especially beneficial if you are able to use your property’s amenities as a backdrop. A community clubhouse or park used for pictures that are then shared on social media could mean tags at the property, providing increased awareness and exposure to potential future renters.
Sidewalk art project
Great for kids and families. Set up a designated section of pavement for a community art project with sidewalk chalk. This can be held over a day or weekend, and a photo of the finished art can be sent to participants after.
Food trucks
A great way to save on catering costs. With a large enough tenant base, you can plan a community social event just by bringing in a few food trucks and places for people to sit and mingle. Add a bounce-house and some games and you will have a carnival-like event that is family-friendly. Food trucks are a great way to bring a variety of local flavors to any outdoor community event.
Showcase hyper-local art
Set up a gallery for artwork created by your tenants. Contests can be held on a recurring schedule to encourage involvement.
What retention is actually worth here
Put a number on it. On a $2,000 Everett rental, one empty month costs $2,000, plus cleaning, repainting and re-letting time. A full year at the maximum permitted 9.683 percent gains about $2,300. One avoidable vacancy wipes out an entire year of allowable rent growth. That is the arithmetic behind every retention decision in this city.
Rekey between tenancies
Each time a tenant vacates, security needs reassessing so new residents are safe from access by former ones. Rekeying rather than replacing locks is the quick, affordable version. Ask whether your manager does it as standard, and whether it is billed to you.
Get the condition checklist right
Washington requires a written checklist of the unit’s condition, signed by both parties, before a deposit may be withheld at all. Photograph everything at move-in and at move-out. Store it somewhere that is not a phone that might be replaced. This is the cheapest protection available to a Washington landlord.
A Few Questions Before You Sign
Any person contemplating the purchase of a rental property should be well aware of the costs associated with such an investment. These include the mortgage, taxes, insurance, and maintenance. One should also be realistic about financially enduring vacancies. Management belongs on that list too, and in Everett you will have to ask for the number rather than read it.
Before choosing a financing option, a buyer should be clear on their financial goals. Do they want to be able to produce the highest net income per month possible, get the real estate property paid off as quickly as possible, or somewhere in between? The same question decides which manager suits you, because a firm optimised for occupancy is not the same as one optimised for margin.
What are all five numbers
The monthly rate, the leasing fee, the renewal fee, the setup fee and the maintenance markup. Ask for them together and in writing. One firm here already confirms it charges both a lease-up and a renewal fee without naming either amount, so the follow-up is simply: how much?
What does Everett require that the state does not
Nothing. That is the correct answer and it is a fast test. A manager who describes a local registration scheme, an extended local notice period, or relocation assistance tied to an increase has confused Everett with Seattle, Tacoma or Spokane.
Do you manage houses or buildings
The firms here range from a software platform to an operator with more than twenty thousand apartment homes. Both are legitimate and neither is built around a single house in Northwest Everett. Ask how many single-family rentals they manage in this city, not how many doors they hold overall.
Where is your office
Two of these firms are run from Edmonds and Bothell. Ask how often somebody physically attends, whether you get a report when they do, and who answers at eleven at night in January.
May I see your recent reviews
Unusually, this is the most informative question in Everett. The public feedback ranges from 4.9 across 735 reviews to 2.6 across 62 — a spread we have not seen anywhere else. Where pricing is invisible, the review record is the best evidence available.
Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does property management cost in Everett?+
Does Everett have rent control?+
Does Everett require rental registration or inspection?+
How does Everett compare with other Washington cities?+
Why do the ratings vary so much in this market?+
What is the biggest cost most Everett owners overlook?+
Let’s Talk
Now that you have the list, you may have questions we would rather answer in person than in a FAQ. For property management in Everett, contact Utopia Management today by calling our office at (425) 217-1111 or e-mailing us at everett@utopiamanagement.com, and we will take it from there.
2200 Hewitt Avenue, Suite 120, Everett, WA 98201 • Open 24 hours, Monday–Sunday
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