Shuster Management

I’ve been living in one of Shuster’s buildings in Jersey City for over a year now, and have had very good experiences working with Kim who is the building manager. She has always responded to me on the same day, often within the hour. it’s a good building, good ppl live here, and it’s kept clean. I have always lived in full service buildings prior to this and was concerned I’d have problems getting things fixed, but working with Kim has been a pleasure.

Compared to the past property management companies I’ve rented from before. Shuster Management is by far the best. The building i live in is always kept very clean and in good condition. They always respond very quickly to work order request. Which i think is very important. I always recommend Shuster Management to friends and family.

I’ve read the previous reviews and thought «Damn! No one is gonna believe my 4 star review» but I have to base this off of MY experience. I moved into a Union City building back in October and while that isn’t a lot of time, so far my experience with them has been great! When I have an issue, the building managers get back to me ASAP (usually less than 24 hours during the week) and even when I’ve complained about someone else’s unit they looked into immediately. Shout out to Kim and Vladimir!!!
The construction workers are friendly enough but they do have a tendency to leave little messes. Every time they’ve left the toilet seat up or made a mess I’ve confronted them to their face.
My biggest complaints are the elevator (which works but acts like it doesn’t want to) and the Super. Continuing the long tradition of mediocrity, this guy will tell you (to your face) exactly what is and what is NOT «his job». SMH I guess this is an issue anywhere you live in the tri-​state area.
Obviously, I can’t speak for everyone but so far I’m getting what I paid for — easy access to Manhattan; a newly renovated apartment and a team of people that actually respond to my concerns. I hope that any newcomers and those that currently live in Shuster owned properties will have and/​or begin to have an experience as positive as my own.

Shuster Management has a solid one star here on Unilocal and there is a reason for that. In fact, if we would be allowed to put negative stars here, I am sure they would get those. This guys don’t care about you as a tenant — they only care about money they can make from you. We got the rent increase for over $ 100 after 2 years and once we declined renewal, they put the apartment on market. for less they were trying to renew! They will promise you a lot of things, but once they get your signature under the lease — forget about that, they will just diasappear and will never pick up a phone anymore or return your call. They will overcharge you for everything. Three times higher than market cost of their chosen vendor to repair/​replace something? No problem, tenants will pay! Maintenance is poor, they hire the most inexpensive unskilled people and do not bother to control them. They will sure tell you that everything was fixed, while in fact it will never be. We had 2 issues with theft occured in their building — they don’t care, and lack of collaboration from Shuster was admitted even by JCPD detectives. And when you finally move out, they will decline your right to participate in the move out inspection and then will deduct random things and repairs from security deposit, so you will have to bring your case to small claims court to get your money back. Stay away from them, there are better landlords in this city.

This company should be called SHITTURD. They are the most unprofessional company. They never get back to you. They have a high turn over at this place. The company is rude. They turn the water off every other month due to work and they give you no notice. These people don’t give a shit about you and charge you crazy money for rent. I’d really like to give them no stars !

If I could give zero stars I would. They are glorified slum lords. It takes months and sometimes years to fix major damage and leaks. They hide behind beaurocracy and you’ll seldom talk to the same person twice. When repairs are made, they are shoddy and need to be redone. On top of that, they are rude and inconsiderate at every turn.
They manage to make every exchange unnecessarily contentious. I’ve gone to court with them twice and won both times… that’s what it takes to get them to meet their legal obligations. I handed my keys in today and can’t wait to have them out of my life. It’s been five long years AND THEY STILL HAVENT FIXED THE WATER DAMAGE FROM HURRICANE IRENE.

I would have to agree with the other reviews. They are quick to assess fees for every little thing but will take responsibility for nothing. When you call or email to have something fixed they either ignore you or say they will fix it and do nothing until you get so tired of trying to chase them down you simply give up.

Avoid any property managed by Shuster. I’ve lived in 10 different apartments in 3 major cities and have never dealt with the sort of horrible things as when I lived at 109 Christopher Columbus Drive in Jersey City for 1.3 years.
To be fair, about 6 months into my lease, the company hired a bunch of new people who are very nice. But the company policies and actions overall make it very clear that the only thing Shuster is concerned with is taking as much of your money as possible.
Some things that occurred during my lease:
1– Non-​existent water pressure in the kitchen/​shower. When I mentioned this as inadequate, I was told I was wrong and there was nothing to be done. I spoke to a plumber who constructed the building who told me the management company had set the water pressure at the legal minimum to avoid higher costs. They also set the hot water temperature at the lowest possible level. After complaining for a few months, one day I almost got knocked over from the strong shower pressure. Apparently there WAS something they could fix.
2– Make sure you read your lease. It’s very odd and not at all standard and basically Shuster isn’t responsible for anything. However, they still went against my lease upon move-​out. Luckily, they only withheld $ 135 that was not warranted, however, it is the principle that makes me mad.
I was charged $ 35 for a late rent check that I had hand-​delivered to the company and placed in their mailbox. It was taken by the mailman with the outgoing mail and, because it was in a plain envelope, couldn’t be returned to me. It was opened and sent to the address on my check (an old Chicago address) and eventually forwarded back to me when I promptly paid it. After all this, Shuster still charged me $ 35 when it was actually paid on time.
The lease states that the unit must be «broom cleaned» upon exiting. I stayed an extra day in my apartment on an air mattress just to make sure the place was spotless. I bleached, fully mopped, and scrubbed everything. And I was still charged $ 100 for cleaning on move-​out. I have no idea why as Shuster doesn’t respond to complaints they don’t care about. They like to just ignore your issues then complain about you behind your back (or in some cases, accidentally right to you in a reply all email. Oh yea. That happened).
3– When Shuster doesn’t like something a tenant does, they decide to make a new rule and charge people for disobeying it. So if you don’t recycle, you get charged $ 500. If you break a bottle on the rooftop, you get charged $ 500. There are signs and postings all over the lobby with things you’re not allowed to do anywhere on the property with threats that will result in just taking your money.
4– Speaking of the rules, I alluded to this in my review of the actual property, but the one amenity at The Grove was the roof deck and you’re not allowed to do anything up there. Smoke, drink, grill.
5– In terms of taking your money and all these rules, the minute you don’t comply with something or attempt to drive change, you get threatened with a lawsuit. My AC units were busted and the repairman would come over, say they worked fine, and leave. After multiple complaints and visits, I told Shuster I would not be paying my rent due to lack of air conditioning during a 100+ degree week. I said if these were not fixed, my living conditions were inhumane and I would be staying at a hotel and deducting that from my rent. I immediately got threatened with a lawsuit and told I had to wait my turn for repairs. Finally the manufacturer was sent out to inspect and had to fix a few things.
6– The tenants of our building tried to rally and get things fixed around safety concerns and property issues. When Shuster completely ignored EVERYONE individually and as a group, we called the state department of health, the state department of housing, and the city fire marshall. After getting slapped with ordinance violations and requiring walk-​throughs of the property, management finally decided to make a few requested changes. But the effort it took to involve government officials over the course of a few months is BEYOND what it should take to be heard.
This company is not worth the hassle. They cast a black cloud over your living situation and make financial demands that border on criminal. Just find somewhere else to live so you don’t have to deal with them.

I’ve never been so frustrated with a management company.
From the beginning of my stay I’ve been met with no communication and things that need to be fixed still have not, months later.
I moved in two years ago and a day into moving in the refrigerator completely stopped working. I called and called and called for 3 weeks to get it repaired or replaced. I received no call back or any sort of communication so I went to Home Depot and purchased a new refrigerator. When I deducted that from my rent, I was told that was not allowed and I signed a lease for an «as is» apartment. I had my lawyer step in to resolve the issue and eventually it was deducted.
Second issue, I was out of town when a sewage line busted. I was not notified there was an issue in the building and came home to standing fecal matter in my bedroom. I called the 24 hour emergency line and was told they only work from 9 – 5. I had standing poop and pee in my bedroom until 11am the next day. My walls still have not been replaced 8 months later.
Third, I had a flooding from rain in my bedroom. Once again, no 24 hour service so I had to wait 15 hours to get it cleaned up. When a maintenance man came to vacuum out the water, he said theres a piece of plexiglass that use to be over my window to ensure this doesn’t happen and Shuster should fix that. I have called, emailed and even gone down to the office to speak with my property manager and was ensured a work order would be placed. I also requested the lights in the public space be replaced as it’s dark in the halls. One and a half months later nothing was fixed. I have called every day and gone down to their office and there has been absolutely no resolution. I cannot even get a call back. I was told that since my house didn’t flood over the past month it probably won’t so I don’t need the window fixed.
I cannot believe any business stays in business when they work like this. I’m baffled.
Their office is very nice though. Good for them.

Shuster Management is THE worst management company I have ever encountered. We should have known even before we moved – we had problems even before our move in date.
1) Incorrect keys given to us THREE different times. We weren’t given the correct set until move in day. Super inconvenient because we had to drive back and forth on three separate occasions.
2) No peep hole in our door, bathroom sink had no handles, and shower knob was broken when we moved in. It took an entire month to get someone in to fix these issues. It took the guy all of one hour to do all of this.
3) Front door to our building was broken into twice. The first time it took an entire week for someone to fix the door. This means our building was open to ANYONE off the street for an entire week during the winter in the heights. My building housed not only my roommate and I (two young women in their 20s) but children! I called Shuster immediately the next morning when I left for work and called EACH day thereafter and it still took them a week to replace the lock on the door.
The second time our building was broken into the door was completely destroyed. Doorknob taken, crowbarred lock, wooden door was obvious to outsiders to be open because it was practically in pieces. I alerted Shuster that morning as soon as I left for work and saw what had happened. And still – A WEEK TO REPLACE THE DOOR!!! We lived a week with an open door to anyone off the street… AGAIN!!! They finally replaced our door with a steel door and security cameras. Wow. Thanks. After two break ins. I feel safe.
4) They allowed a BUSINESS to be run in our building. Our APARTMENT building is for people to live. not run sweatshops. The first floor apartment was rented by an «alterations «business. They would have random people in and out of our building and it was so uncomfortable and frankly, not safe in my opinion. This is a building for people to live. Not make money. But of course. as long as cheapskate Shuster gets his money — who cares, right?
5) On top of all their awful building management — we never had a constant super. We never knew who to go to for problems and would get pushed around to 10 different voicemails. I will say that they had us with one super for a solid few months and he was great to us in 3R – but then suddenly he couldn’t help us with any repairs or anything for that matter because Shuster told him that someone else from the company would handle those things going forward. Never happened.
6) Terrible people work there. I went in to drop my rent off once and the receptionist was nowhere to be found. There was one young man in a glass office. doing nothing but eating and on his cell phone. who clearly saw me standing there and he didn’t say a word. Then a pompous woman walked in and clacked her heels right passed me and into her glass office. I was waiting a good ten minutes until I said to both of them «Are you two for real? I’ve been standing here and no one has asked me what I was doing here? Can I pay my rent or are you guys good?» The man went to get the receptionist and no apologies or anything was even acknowledged.
7) Their property managers have no balls whatsoever – completely passive. Eventually after all the issues we’ve had my roommate and I began to get extremely irritated with the lack of communication and poor follow up this company has. The property manager began not answering our calls and pretending to not be available but only answer our questions over email or through a third person. Be an adult and speak to us!
8) We requested a walk through of the apartment with someone from Shuster because there were some scuffs and marks in the apartment that were there when we moved in. An employee of Shuster actually told me to ensure our apartment was spotless because they are «cheap» about giving back deposits. Our lease was up May 31^st and we were trying to get it scheduled beforehand because we were already moved out. We were on an email chain for about two weeks – this included follow up emails from us to Shuster including multiple unanswered phone calls. The walk through wasn’t scheduled and one of their employees had the nerve to blame it on us. It’s their job to do this – what is this one talking about? Finally, I went for the walk through and was told to meet someone named Anthony. Not only was this guy 20min late – it was a man dressed in paint splattered pants. not someone I was expecting from their office. because he wasn’t from their office!!! This guy told me he «just paints the apartments.» ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Had the walk through and he told me the apartment was in perfect condition. THREE WEEKS LATER after countless emails and calls and no direct response from Shuster. we lost it. We called and had to practically yell to get an answer about our deposit. Said it was sent out last Monday and it’s been a week and no checks. Probably keeping our money to make more additions to their wannabe Soho offi

Shuster is awful. They don’t care about their tenants, the management is unorganized and they do not make timely repairs. By the look of their office, you can tell they must be making good money, which is clearly the only thing the company cares about. They certainly don’t care about their reputation because the customer service is atrocious. Be warned and stay far away from their properties.

This message is for potential renters. Rent at your own risk.
1. as i moved in. It took over a month for management to give me a second key to the building.
2. It took 2 month to replace broken refrigerator with smaller white old refrigerator. it took another 3 month to get stainless steel appliance.
3. It took whole winter of begging for somebody to come in and fix leaking heater. eventually i had to call city to get things fixed.
4. It took a serious fight to resolve bedbug issue in the building.
5. We were notified about magnetic key lock installations after doors were locked and we could not enter building.
6. Bicycle was stolen from basement and i was told that they were too busy to view the video feed and it was taking too much of their time and they had other things to do. (so when you see cameras in the building and feel safe and cozy. don’t kid yourself. No one will actually care enough to look.)
7. we were ordered to take down AC units. Building does not provide storage units.(They don’t have to, But it would be nice.)
8. Management takes no responsibility over the mold on the window sill.
9. Management would take responsibility over mold only if AC units were rented from Shuster.
10. Information about AC rent program was never distributed.
We have changed so many managers and supers in the building i cant keep up with the names, but somehow each time they manage to do things wrong.
Resident since September 2011. I am afraid my list will keep growing.

Current and last rentals both managed by Shuster. I shouldve known from last time how horrible these people are in responding to issues. They expect you to comply to their demands yet when you need something, they are nowhere to be found. When they finally agree to have a someone «come by», they don’t show up and are unapologetic. No one should live at a place where they don’t feel safe or comfortable. Don’t rent from them!

One of the worst property management companies I have ever dealt with. They abide by only their needs and are completely uncooperative and inattentive to the needs of their tenants. Serious issues took place in our apartment complex from safety to health, to «losing» tenants security deposits. They were inattentive and immature when it came to resolving the issues. They cannot take blame for their faults and are nearly impossible to communicate with (i.e., ego overrides open ears). I highly recommend NOT renting with this company for the sake of your sanity.