Nice building, but inconsistent luxury experience at best
September 27, 2020 - Review from Apartments.com
The location is good – across from a park and convenient access to Manhattan. Jersey City has a lot to offer, with great restaurants, bars, and parks. The building is nice – beautiful apartment with nice finishes. However, if you have an issue, it takes a great deal of effort on your part to get DOVRA (Schuster) to address the issues and commit to getting each resolved. More than three months after moving in, and I still have major issues.
I was one of the first tenants to sign a lease. Some ...
elements of the lease agreement were unreasonable – such as a $50 pet fee per pet per month (and then later that winter, they offered to waive the pet fees for other new tenants – they would not apply that discount to me); significant monthly parking fee ($175 – and the city will not give you a street permit given you live at a residence with available parking); and a $395 annual amenity fee (which they offered no reimbursement when, during COVID, that none of the amenities were available). When I first move in, there were quite a few issues with the apartment that I spent the following months working with the super and construction crew to resolve. At the time, I chalked it up to the fact it was a new building, and they were working out kinks.
I recently transferred to another unit in the building, and the move-in experience was riddled with issues. First, was the significant lack of communications and honesty. The move-in date, which had been mutually agreed upon, was moved up by more than a week without my notice to accommodate a lease they signed on my current apartment to someone else. When I moved, the new apartment was clearly not ready for a new tenant. Just a few of the issues included, but are not limited to the following: thick mold in washing machine; refrigerator smelling of mold and rotten fish; back terrace with graffiti; microwave oven inoperable; rooms with unsanded spackling and no fresh new painted; and so much more.
I have had to follow up on every work order numerous times. The super personally manages every issue alone, without the appropriate skills to resolve, leading to multiple visits to the apartment. Management has been unwilling to compensate for the experience – while offering a free month’s rent to all other new tenants (I did not get this as part of my lease transfer). Overall, I have gained very little respect or confidence in the DVORA (Schuster) team to properly manage issues.
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