The Ellefson Companies - Madison, Wisconsin

Kristin F.

I highly recommend renting with Ellefson Companies! We lived in a townhouse for 1 year and then when we had a baby and needed more room, we moved into a larger unit in the same building for another year because we liked the management and building so much. I felt the rent price was great for all of the space and amenities (like garage parking and snow removal) you received. Sandy in the office was such a pleasure to work with and she always made sure to handle any issues quickly! Again, would recommend renting from this company 🙂

Rene G.

Great company! Mgment & staff have always had a positive, friendly attitude. They addressed any questions, concerns or challenges we faced quickly and professionally. We have been with Ellefson for over 4 years and it’s been a great experience from day one.

Amy S.

I rented from Ellefson Company for 4 years, every year they increased the rent to a more ridiculous amount. My water heater went out in the middle of winter and it took them over a week to get it fixed. They did not give me any break on my rent since they were "working on fixing it" . So I went over a week with no hot water in the middle of winter. My deck was green with algae and falling apart. They stuck a stud underneath the deck instead of replacing it. My garage door had a tear in the aluminum to which they patched at least 3 times by using steel supports before finally replacing it. The trim around the garage was rotting. I complained numerous time and their way of fixing rotting trim was to paint it. When you are paying 1100.00 a month, I expect the place to be maintained!! When I moved out they kept my whole security deposit, even though I had cleaned, replaced light bulbs and put in a new screen door myself. No matter how well you clean, they will say its not clean enough and hire out a cleaning service. Normal wear and tear on appliances you are made to pay for. My stove had marks on the top from normal wear and tear when I moved in but because I didn't document it when I moved in, v(knowing it was normal wear and tear, from using the stove) they made me pay for a whole new stove counter top. Don't think for 1 second that they are honest people, they are only in it for the money and will work it in their best interest to get most if not all of your security deposit with them paying out as little as possible. Terrible people to rent from!!!

Cindy

I have lived here two years and never experienced what others have. Every single time I've brought up a broken light or the carpet upstairs ruined by a former tenant, they were on it. Yesterday I emailed Vern the maintenance man how my dishwasher was broken. He came out the next morning and fixed it. I don't know about security deposit, but if you patch all holes and clean well, I would hope they would be fair. I love living here and even thought about going someplace like a townhouse, both times I told management I just couldn't leave. Thank you Sandy and others.

Ryan K.

First, you cannot beat the price. You are getting gold for pennies. I got a 2 bedroom with a 2 car garage for under 1G. You cannot beat it. The neighborhood is quiet. It's also convenient because you are within walking distance from a park. If you go more south, you are also within walking distance from the woods if you want to take a walk there. At night, you are close enough to the country where you do not get all that light pollution so you can actually go star gazing with your lady and have a good time.
Next, dishwasher and washer and dryer. Seriously, if I spend $30/month washing my clothes at a laundry mat. It's so convenient to have it in the apartment. With any apartment that does not have a dishwasher is living in medieval times. Most places have dishwashers nowadays but it's usually more expensive for that luxury. I was extremely impressed with everything.
Sandy is awesome. She GETS STUFF DONE!!!! I was moving from Illinois and the only time I was able to come up was the weekend. She met with me over the weekend to hand over the keys and have me sign the paper work (weekends are her days off like most hard working people).
Her dog is fun too (i say it's a cat because it's so small). Sandy also needed to do some extra paperwork when I got a roommate a few months moving in and she was extremely helpful.
Marc is a great Landlord. I had 1 problem with the belt on the garage door and he got someone to fix within a few hours. Very respectable and you can tell right away that he wants to give you the best.
Also, I got my full security deposit back. COMPLETELY UNEXPECTED because this usually never happens to me. But I got a friend to help me clean EVERYTHING.
Overall, this is a great place.
1. You can't beat the price (Washer/dryer, garage and dishwasher)
2. Location (quiet, safe. No light pollution)
3. The service is no less than outstanding (Both Sandy, Marc and the maintenance crew work hard so that you can have a good stay)
4. If you are a decent tenant, it's rewarding.

If I move back into the area, this will be my first choice.

Roxanne R.

I realize the 1st snowfall is always difficult to clear all areas but it's 3:10 Saturday afternoon & sidewalks nor lot have been plowed since the morn snow. I ran out to help someone who slipped & fell but she was gone by the time I rushed out. I moved here in June & questioned air conditioning in 1 bedroom because it was quite hot in there. They indicated nothing is wrong/ or nothing could be done. Winter is here & that bedroom has been @ 60-64 degrees. Needless to say that room is not being used. It hasn't been that cold out yet so nervous when it does get extremely cold. Going back to the description of the property advertised it says his/her sinks on 2nd level but there is only a single sink. On the flip side, I had some issues with things right after I moved in & someone was always here in a reasonable time . Staff has always been great. Polite. Flexible when I ever need them. I like the location. Residents are quiet. Sandy and Mark (maintenance) have helped alot. I would rent again but would have requests prior to move in date. ****EDITED**** 6pm & still not plowed/shoveled although looks as though just the ENTRANCE of the main drive a few yards into the lot has been cleared.

Tony M.

I just moved out of my unit at Siggelkow and can only say good things about my time renting from the Ellefson Companies. It has been 3+ years for me since I moved in, and all of the time there I never had a single problem whatsoever. I understand the place needs to be a bit pricey if it is to attract only reliable tenants and to preserve the safety and status of the area. Also, being less than 10 minutes away from the John Nolen exit obviously does have a price.

Everyone who works with this company, from the owners to the employees, was always very polite and warm to me, and what's most important, very flexible in accommodating my expectations of any nature. I've paid my rent unintentionally late at times. On several occasions, I went to deliver the check in person and ran into the owner, who was at their Gammon office, and he told me there was no need for me stress over that the next time around. They are human too and understand things like that can happen to anyone.

Since it's a family-run company, this is to the advantage of the tenant because they are not into trying to charge you and take money out of your deposit. My apartment was not impeccable by any means after living there for more than 3 years, but I am pretty positive it all falls in the category of wear and tear and I won't be charged for it, just as I had been told would be the case.

I've never heard any.noises coming from neighbors and that's not because they were noiseless. The place is built well and properly insulated. My rent went up $25 in the 3+ years, which I believe is more than reasonable.

I now live in a small town close to Madison due to work reasons where I do pay a bit less, but my new place has much less space than I had at Siggelkow and is pretty run-down compared to my brand-new previous apartment in McFarland. I would rent from the Ellefsons again without reservation and would highly recommend them to anyone who is serious and wants to live in a trouble-free, safe, and comfortable place within minutes from downtown Madison --in the case of the Siggelkow property.

One more thing, the garage (I had the 2-car tandem type) was amazing, warm in the winter, cool in the summer without humidity, and literally humangous, not only long, but incredibly wide as well.

Cameron D.

I rented from Ellefson company for 3 years. 2 years of which were at at one of their 2br/2.5ba townhouses on Fairhaven and one year at their new apartments on Pleasant View in Middleton which was a 2br/1ba.

Overall: Find someone else to rent from for the money. Cheap construction and materials leads to more maintenance than should be necessary and excessive(!) noise from the neighbors through the poorly insulated walls. Sandy however, who was my primary contact with Ellefson, was consistently awesome and accommodating throughout my tenancy and is about the only positive note I'll carry from my experience there.

The town house on Fairhaven we genuinely enjoyed living in until a $215 year over year rent hike on the 3rd consecutive lease due to a mistake on their end where we were supposedly underpaying for 2 years. I continued to rent from them for another year despite this (they can thank Sandy for that). This townhouse didn't suffer from the poor sound insulation like their new apartments and had a convenient location.

The new apartments on Pleasant View are singularly my worst experience in over a decade of renting. We were the first tenants in this newly constructed building. Almost immediately we required maintenance on just being able to get both interior doors and the front door to shut and latch correctly (this ended up being an ongoing issue). There ended up being other maintenance items that end up just boiling down to the building evidently being constructed as cheaply as possible with the cheapest materials possible.

This cheap construction lead to by far the worst issue with the apartment building which was noise. From the living room you'll hear your next door neighbors conversations or music playing, even at what would be considered normal volumes for an apartment. In the common area there is a door that leads down to the basement and garage, shared by 4 of the 8 units in the building. This door (along with everyones front doors) you will hear slam every time someone walks through it and lets it "shut" on it's own. If you're considering renting here, stand anywhere in the apartment and have someone else open the common area door leading to the basement and let it shut on its own.

Regarding security deposits: As other reviewers have stated this is something that I would be extremely weary of when dealing with Ellefson. Anything more than (per Ellefson themselves in the explanation email) small hooks or nails to hang photos is outside of normal wear and tear. So don't expect to hang curtains, or mount a TV, or use any type of drywall screw without repair charges.