The Ellefson Companies

Revdex.com: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] , and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below Thank you for your time to review my complainFor your convenience, I marked the page number and circled the questionable items on the documents attachedI also written down the explanation next to questionable items.First, we kept our pet ( [redacted] ***) outside patio at summer time, and we kept it in cage inside at winter timeIt's scarcely possible that our pet would damage the carpetWe paid the cleaning fee for odor treatment, which deducted form security deposit(Please see page 8,15)Second, the prorated amount for carpet repair is WRONG! The calculation is WRONG! (Please see page for detail)Third, blinds in bedrooms are in good shape and they don't need to be replaceThey are just little dirty based on landlords' words.(Please see page 2,for more detail)Forth, maid service charge is unfairWe doubt whether this service is standard for every tenantWe also doubt whether the landlord had enough time to do all the maintenance and repair work before we moved in.Because we moved in right after previous tenant moved out (less than hours)We have reason to believe the landlord didn't clean up the whole place when we moved in, and some dirty was left by previous tenantIt's unfair to charge us for cleaning that dirtyWe would like to see the invoice of this service for previous tenant(Please see page 9,10)Also, please notice all of those work (maintenance and repairs) took days to be done (10/29/2014-11/13/2014), which means it is very highly possiblethat landlord didn't complete the maintenance work before we moved inIt's very possible some of the damage and dirty were left by previous tenant(Please see page 16-19)The estimate amount I dispute is $dollars base on the mark items.(screens, blinds, carpet and maid service)So the total amount I believe I should pay is$854-$300=$554Regards, [redacted] ***

The Ellefson Companies are not in the business to keep tenants security deposits. We notify all tenantsat lease signing and before move out what we expect as far as cleaning each unit. The tenant is alsogiven a list of potential charges for repairs and maid service.We feel that our charges are fair...

and reasonable. This tenant had a pet ([redacted]) that was in violationof their lease and was discovered after they had given notice to vacate. Charges for the wear and tearof the carpet are for our maintenance man to replace a portion of the carpet due to damage caused bythe pet. That amount was a prorated amount. There were also costs incurred to remove pet odors andstains. The screen charges were also for damages caused by the pet.The blinds had to be replaced as they were covered with so much grease that they could not be cleaned.Other blinds that were replaced were checked as good at check in and needed to be replaced at checkout.This tenant has had no contact with us since they moved out October 29th of last year. It was only afterwe turned the amount due to us to the collection agency that they did contact us. We have beenadvised by the collection agency that once this is in their hands that we are not to have contact with thetenant.I also question her disputed amount. She can hardly dispute anything more than her security deposit.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
Thank you for your time to review my complain. For your convenience, I marked the page number and circled the questionable items on the documents attached. I also written down the explanation next to questionable items.First, we kept our pet ([redacted]) outside patio at summer time, and we kept it in cage inside at winter time. It's scarcely possible that our pet would damage the carpet. We paid the cleaning fee for odor treatment, which deducted form security deposit. (Please see page 8,15)Second, the prorated amount for carpet repair is WRONG! The calculation is WRONG! (Please see page 11 for detail)Third, blinds in bedrooms are in good shape and they don't need to be replace. They are just little dirty based on landlords' words.(Please see page 2,3 for more detail)Forth, maid service charge is unfair. We doubt whether this service is standard for every tenant. We also doubt whether the landlord had enough time to do all the maintenance and repair work before we moved in.Because we moved in right after previous tenant moved out (less than 24 hours). We have reason to believe the landlord didn't clean up the whole place when we moved in, and some dirty was left by previous tenant. It's unfair to charge us for cleaning that dirty. We would like to see the invoice of this service for previous tenant. (Please see page 9,10)Also, please notice all of those work (maintenance and repairs) took 16 days to be done (10/29/2014-11/13/2014), which means it is very highly possiblethat landlord didn't complete the maintenance work before we moved in. It's very possible some of the damage and dirty were left by previous tenant. (Please see page 16-19)The estimate amount I dispute is $300 dollars base on the mark items.(screens, blinds, carpet and maid service). So the total amount I believe I should pay is$854-$300=$554Regards,
[redacted]

Review: This company charge me unreasonable fee for repair and maintenance when I move out the property.

Carpet damage: the measurement on invoice is $/sqyd, but it shows $/sqft on bill, $ is same. They charge me much more than they should. Also, the carpet damage is considered normal wear, should not charge the whole value.

cleaning service: cleaning excess necessary. The condition of the property is not as clean when I move in( I move in less than 24hrs the previous tenant move out), that means this charge is not common for all tenants. No given notice to tenant before they purchase the service.

Repair/Maintenance: Repair and maintenance above necessary( such as replace old blinds which is in good condition, touch up the door scratch which was there when I move in, ect. )

Charge repair fee, which such repair is not cause by us. ( Such as window screen in living room and bedrooms, except the patio screen)

No written notice before they do such repairs and maintenance. Try to ignore us and refuse to communicate with us.Desired Settlement: Bill should be adjusted. A phone call to explain.

Business

Response:

The Ellefson Companies are not in the business to keep tenants security deposits. We notify all tenantsat lease signing and before move out what we expect as far as cleaning each unit. The tenant is alsogiven a list of potential charges for repairs and maid service.We feel that our charges are fair and reasonable. This tenant had a pet ([redacted]) that was in violationof their lease and was discovered after they had given notice to vacate. Charges for the wear and tearof the carpet are for our maintenance man to replace a portion of the carpet due to damage caused bythe pet. That amount was a prorated amount. There were also costs incurred to remove pet odors andstains. The screen charges were also for damages caused by the pet.The blinds had to be replaced as they were covered with so much grease that they could not be cleaned.Other blinds that were replaced were checked as good at check in and needed to be replaced at checkout.This tenant has had no contact with us since they moved out October 29th of last year. It was only afterwe turned the amount due to us to the collection agency that they did contact us. We have beenadvised by the collection agency that once this is in their hands that we are not to have contact with thetenant.I also question her disputed amount. She can hardly dispute anything more than her security deposit.

Consumer

Response:

I would like to start off this review by saying that Sandy was super nice and helpful. She was a doll so it saddens me to have ended my relationship with this company on such poor terms. Unfortunately this company takes advantage of their tenants when it comes to the security deposit. When my roommates and I moved in to our apartment in August 2014, we were surprised to discover that the carpets were dirty (including multiple stains) and that one door had a large hole in it that they hadn't bothered to fix. Not a big deal at the time. Fast forward to move out time. One of my roommates, her mom, and I spent two days cleaning the apartment from top to bottom. We scrubbed, we patched every single hole and repainted, I even steam cleaned all of the carpet. When it came time to check out I indicated that I wanted to be present during the walk out. I set up the check out with someone else in the office who I hadn't dealt with previously (Dawn). She emailed me asking if we could do the checkout a day before. I informed her she could do a walkthrough but no one else would be present. She replied to my email saying that the original day would be fine and she would wait. When I emailed her on that day to verify our meeting time she informed that she had "went ahead and did the walkthrough the day before." I was confused, as she knew we wanted someone to be present and she had told me via email that she would wait to meet with me at our originally agreed upon day. I should have known then that this company was shady. Knowing that my roommates and I were upset about the walk-though miscommunication, Sandy scheduled another walkthrough with me and with Dawn's notes and we went about it. There were many things documented in the notes that Sandy and I couldn't locate during our walkthrough, including a supposedly "huge" hole in one of the closets. They also noted the large hole in one of the doors that we had noted on our "check-in" sheet and when I informed them we had detailed it, Sandy tried telling me there was "no way it was there" but they wouldn't charge us since we did document it (well duh). Obviously they are really good at documenting the status of their apartments before they let new tenants move in. They also noted things like "carpets dirty" which amused me since I had STEAM CLEANED them and you could still see the marks from the steam cleaner imprinted on the clean carpet. Apparently there was also a ripped screen which I couldn't verify because they had already removed it during the previous walk-through, which shouldn't have even been conducted in the first place. To make matters worse, my roommate insisted there was no rip in it but of course I couldn't prove it since it was gone. Sandy informed me that since there was "dust" in the air vents, she would be forced to hire a cleaning crew. This was the only "dirty" thing she noted during our walkthrough. I was confused, as it would take me 30 seconds to dust it and I would consider that normal wear and tear anyhow but I figured they wouldn't charge us too much. Boy was I wrong. They charged my roommates and I about $400, $200 of which was for (3 people to clean our apartment for 8 hours). Considering my roommate and I had already spent 15 hours deep cleaning I found this to be very insulting; they took pictures of various "things" they felt the need to clean, including two air vents that look perfectly clean and a tiny speck on a bathtub. They also charged us for the "huge" hole in the closet that Sandy, nor I didn't see (although they conveniently had pictures attached-from where I am not sure) and for a tiny little tool for the garbage disposal that was not even listed on the check-in sheet to verify that there actually was one there upon move-in. Seeing as how they missed a ginormous hole in one of the doors it is very likely this was simply missed after the previous tenants left. I have had stuff deducted from my security deposit before but I have always understood and accepted the reasoning behind the charges. This was unacceptable and unprofessional. I think they did the walkthrough without anyone present, using my email as "consent," even though I clearly stated I wanted to be present and was under the assumption I would be and then they used that opportunity to remove items from the apartment and not-knowing I would want a rescheduled walkthrough- documented things that clearly didn't exist.
Up until that point I had a superb experience with Ellefson Companies but after this horrendous move out experience I will NEVER rent from them again and I had to warn others that this company will go out of their way to rip you off. I have always prided myself on being a good tenant and took cleaning after renting very seriously- I should have just taken more pictures instead. You've been warned.

This review is in regards to the owner, [redacted] We had very positive interactions with the Property Manger and only had issues when the owner [redacted] was involved. In our situation my wife and I accepted positions out of the Madison area and needed to break our lease early. We worked with the property manager, whom helped us get the unit advertised. We took time out of our day to show the unit to prospective renters. The Property Manager informed us an individual completed the application process and was scheduled to sign a lease. At this point the owner [redacted] became involved and tried to persuade the man to buy the condo instead of renting. The man then decided to do neither, however we were never informed that a lease was not signed nor that we would still need to advertise the unit. We then moved out and completed all of the move out process as requested by the company. I followed up with the Property Manager, who informed us that the Owner still expected us to pay the rent for the coming month until a renter was found. This would not have been an issue had he not pressured the man to buy the condo. The property manager worked diligently and was able to get the unit rented in two days, however the owner still required we pay the prorated rent for those two days. When working with this property owner, document everything in writing because he is very unpredictable, unfair and will be contradictory to what the agents of his company say.