Used to be a great complex in Excelsior. Not so, since Marathon Management took over in 2017…read more First thing Marathon Mgmt did was to raise my rent by over $200/month for same lease with same terms and conditions. They drove out long term residents and especially seniors. But, the problem is no changes were made to buildings, grounds, nor apartments. Most they did in my building was to paint laundry room, even though it didn't need it. They hired a new Resident Management that they fired due to numerous police calls directed at her behavior after 2 months. Never replaced with an onsite Resident Manager. Used to have long term residents that now the majority have moved out or in the process of moving. Just overall negligence of the property, buildings and apartments. Small stoves, refrigerators, old repainted cabinets (COATS of paint). Brown walls, brown flooring, brown OLD carpeting. No A/C, no elevators, no handrails to building entrances, no dishwashers (despite what they advertise), no amenities to speak of. Expect a long walk to bring your groceries in, especially hazardous in the winter. They do take dogs as a lure to attract new residents, but your dog will have to remain in your apartment for 99% of the time. If your dog barks inside or outside, expect a violation. Dog pen that contains feces continually, stay away if you value the health of your dog. Dogs have been relegated to play on the tar grounds by the outside garages as to not disturb residents. Used to be the grounds were places for residents to gather on picnic tables with their dogs. No longer the case. Barren grounds in front and back of two buildings. Once sidewalks lined with lilies have been left to die and barren in front to two buildings. Inside of buildings are not kept. Carpeting in buildings are over 10 years old and never shampooed. The stench in building is terrible. Blamed on dogs, their excuse not to rectify the situation. Used to be buildings were cleaned thoroughly. The new caretaker spends 7 minutes per week per building. Caretaker is extremely rude and harasses residents. She blames residents for issues due to her negligence of cleaning the buildings. Just plain laziness and no accountability to mgmt. Curbs are crumbling in complex and driveways. Stairs to buildings are cracked. If you have children there are no areas for them to play. Many residents with children have moved out since new management took over in 2017. It is a shame what has happened to this complex. I have lived here for several years, so I know what the condition of this complex is compared to what it once was. These days apt complexes are offering so many incentives for new renters - move in allowances, one month's free rent, etc. So many amenities and just GENERAL improved living conditions are available that are lacking at this complex for sometimes less than $150-200/month. Don't be fooled just because this complex purports to accept dogs. Many complexes accept and treats dogs as family - this is not one!

Step Back into History! Live in the Past! Relive the 50's!. New management, and yes, they've made…read moresome improvements to the property, re-paved the parking lot, did some landscaping, put new doors on the the 4 buildings, but DO NOT and WILL NOT do any changes to the apartments. Some have hardwood floors, which are decent. Fixtures like sinks, bathtubs, kitchens are right outta the 50's. The only thing "modern" in the kitchen is a sprayer in the ugly 2-hole sink, leaky, lousy faucets, bathrooms and kitchen. The kitchen drawers are falling apart, held together with sheetrock screws. Multiple coats of paint on wood trim, lousy layers of caulk on the bath floors and kitchen area. It's always hot in the winter. I was told to regulate the heat, open a window, even in the dead of winter. There are 2 outlets in the kitchen and one is behind the refrigerator. not many outlets elsewhere. Washer/dryer credit-card paying doesn't work-get lots of quarters. The 'fridge' is wire shelves, nothing stands up. Cheap plastic blinds, very dusty all the time from the aged building. Other residents reported rotting wood and mold in the lower level apts. Recent action this spring included extensive notes from the mgmt regarding 'pests' and 'grease' in the units, causing 'pest problems'. A number of 'pest control' vans out front this spring. New documents you must sign to accept responsibility and pay damages if you have 'pest problems'. More like building problems. You better like dogs-they are everywhere, bark incessantly. The mgmt does nothing for YOU. Rents have increased dramatically, as have garage stalls in worn-out spaces. If you look, be aware of what you see. Ask a lot of questions. Good Luck

BEWARE OF SLUMLORDS!!!…read more This was the worst rental experience I have had. In the summer mold took over the bathroom and a toadstool started growing next to the shower. I was concerned about black mold, especially since I had a baby who was just starting to crawl. Management did nothing about the issue. Maintenance looked at it and told us to leave the vent on longer after showering. I usually left the door open a little bit anyway because the exhaust didn't do much. The bathtub also had a constant drip from the faucet, and the response from maintenance was "it's not that bad." My next door neighbors were nice, but I frequently came home from work in the evenings to find police cars at our building. My husband lost his job partway through our lease. I found a better job a distance away and we stayed with relatives and continued paying rent to finish the lease because we did not have the $2,000 to pay up front to get out of the lease early, plus still pay another 2 months of rent on top of that. I thought once the lease was fulfilled the end of March we would be free. Wow, was I wrong! In the middle of March I received an email that our rent would increase and we would be put on a month by month lease. I was stunned. There was no communication before that stating that they needed to know if we were renewing our lease or not. No emails, no phone calls, nothing. When we contacted the property manager she stated she had left a paper notice in our door in January. However, due to bad weather we had not been back to the apartment since then. I was expecting an email when/if they needed a notice. That's what previous landlords had done. This is the 21st century and an email takes about 2 minutes to send. We tried to reason with management that we were unaware of the need to provide a 60 day notice and had not received a reminder from anyone. They were unwilling to work with us. We emptied and cleaned the apartment and had our keys turned in before April 1st. They still stated that we owed for all of April and May and lost our security deposit, which was an entire month of rent too. It didn't matter that we had been good tenants, had always paid our rent, left no damage and thoroughly cleaned the unit. They still said it was an "improper notice" and we owed an additional 60 days plus losing our deposit. They also took the refrigerator out of our unit to replace one that stopped working in another unit, so the apartment was uninhabitable anyway at least for the month of April. Despite the fact that they were getting an additional 60 days (for an empty and move in ready unit!) in April and May, they still would not refund the security deposit. The property manager had made no effort until the middle of March to contact us and find out if we were renewing the lease or not. All it would have required was a phone call or an email. If you want fair treatment and decent living conditions, stay away from this place!

My apartment flooded twice in 2 months. The management company did nothing to accommodate having to…read moremoving all of our belongings out of the flooded space, and the amount of furniture we had to throw away due to water damage. They told us it was fixed, and it flooded again. We also had water running through our bathroom ceiling, not dripping, multiple times. Each time management said "its not a big deal. Its just coming from the floors above." I asked to break my lease due to poor living conditions. They would not agree to let us break the lease due to the conditions even after the mold. The management company said they went through my apartment and didn't see any mold. I broke my lease. Upon breaking my lease, they kept my security deposit and required 1,850 to be paid within 14 days or it would be sent to collections. They wouldn't even make a 2 month payment plan. It is under new management since this year, Marathon Management. Stay away from any properties owned by this company.

Edit: this was initially a poor review. The new property manager has since worked with me to solve…read moremy issues. I can feel confident recommending Stratford Wood if it is in Richard's hands!

Over priced. We call Stratford Wood the ghetto of Minnetonka. Cock roaches, mice, bed bugs. And…read moreJennifer the manager is horrible. She needs to be fired. Nothing gets resolved by Jennifer. Get a real manager who actually shows up to work. She spends all her time at the other property she manages. She's horrible.