Two South Willow — Attraction in Montclair

Building asked for a 19% increase in rent at renewal time. I unfortunately have to update my review of this apartment building to be a 1 star review. As other's have noted here, the building staff ask for 5 star reviews with personal callouts as it's beneficial to their employment, hence why you will probably see so many 5 star reviews only a few months after being in the building. I am a single father, and now have to contact and work with the Montclair Rent Control Board because they just asked me for a 19% increase in rent at renewal when there is the exact same size unit "available" on the market for $400 a month less than what they are asking me to pay now with this rent increase. In the same building! I have been at the building since it opened and seen the maintenance decline, leaks throughout the building, generators that literally make it impossible to hear the person sitting next to you kick on all the time, and as others allude, fire alarm testing very very frequently at all hours, with little to no notice. Be very cautious signing a lease here if you intend to settle down someplace for any more than a year or less.

--- As of 2/25/2023 --- There is apparently a New Jersey exception for any builder newer than 30 years old, this building does not appear to be protected under the Montclair's new rent control ordinance. Management has said that the rent was "automatically determined by the system based on market rates, but the market rates have dropped since the renewal amount was determined". I am assuming upon research, the system determining prices is either RealPage or a similar system that is under investigation by the DOJ because a single organization is "algorithmically" determining the market rent prices for almost half of all the available rental properties in the US. If you are looking to move to this property, be sure to ask questions about how renewal prices are determined, and be prepared to have to do research on your own about what is available on the market and what is not.

--- As of 3/2/2023 --- In response from the owner "and wish you had met with us to discuss", I did meet with them on 2/25/2023 as alluded to in my update. A 19% increase in renewal rate for an apartment is never acceptable.

--- As of 3/9/2023 --- The owners response has been modified from its original messaging, the quoted section above is no longer in the message, but was in its original unedited state. Keeping the quote for context around changing messaging from the management office, and I think it demonstrates that they did not intend for me to pay a 19% increase, but instead wanted to use "used-car sales" tactics to try and get me to pay as much of that...

Pros: Decent location with AMtrack access.

Apartments with a NYC views.

When it's open, the rooftop deck is pleasant.

The package facility and mailroom are efficient and easy to use. Even during peak holiday season, they don't get overwhelmed.

Wellmont theater access is great.

Well appointed & clean gym.

Cons: Constant fire alarm "testing" at all hours of the day & night. Residents are leaving the building for this reason alone.

The Wellmont "arts" plaza that was zoned as a contingency of TSW's construction never materialized. It's just a restaurant, rock climbing gym, doctors office and hair salon.

Selling resident information to unapproved third parties (a violation of FTC guidelines & URBY's own privacy policy).

Poorly maintained premises with untrained and unknowledgeable maintenance staff. Broken trash rooms, jammed doors, leaky showers, spotty hvac, and chipped walls. Very slow response times and general inability to fix resolve maintenance issues in a timely and professional manner. Avalon is in another league with their maintenance team.

Dirty and chaotic parking garage without any rules enforcement. People are constantly parked illegally in the handicapped/reserved spots (including/especially building staff).

The entry/exit gate for the garage is extremely temperamental and rarely functions smoothly, you will be rocking back and forth (and usually waiting in a queue to do it) trying to enter/exit. Occasionally it will tell you that you've already exited forcing you to pay the maximum fee in order to exit the garage.

The latch system is slow and doesn't consistently function via Bluetooth -- don't let them tell you otherwise... It's classic security theater, the "secure" floor access is easily bypassed by taking the open stairs. I have no problem with the lack of floor security, but the bad elevator system is an issue that needs a better response from management.

Summary: We are on our second lease in the building, when we first moved in the issues weren't as prevalent, but the building has been on a decline since we moved in. I'm sad to have to write a negative review.

If you are evaluating the other reviews on Google, you should know that TSW Management solicits...

I posted 10 months ago about a significant rent increase on top of an ongoing leaking issue. I was filing paperwork for my business at the time, so I didn't want to disrupt this process by changing my home address. As a result, I ended up renewing the lease. The management did not offer help, and we did not find any resolution, as they commented in the previous review, trying to cover up.

However, the leaking issue was never truly resolved, and it returned this November. The management provided no explanation for why it happened again, offered no meaningful assistance, and failed to take any real action to fix it. Instead, they had maintenance paint the ceiling white, seemingly to mask the problem. Their concern seemed limited to mold growth on the ceiling and water on the floor—asking me to use a loud industrial humidifier in my bedroom, place a bucket to catch rain, and manually dry the floor. Yet, the uninhabitable living conditions were never a priority to them.

A few weeks ago, the freezer stopped working properly. Water droplets formed on multiple food packages and the food was not frozen solid. I couldn't go food shopping during this holiday season. I submitted a maintenance request three weeks ago, but no one was sent until New Year’s Eve. Scheduling this on a holiday was completely inappropriate. A simple Google search reveals that same-day appliance repair services are at least 20-30 available in this area.

The man they sent claimed to be a fridge technician but refused to present any license or certification. During his inspection, he did not use a thermometer or any tools to check the temperature, nor did he take photos for inspection reports. Instead, he spent 10 minutes talking about how experienced he is and repeatedly commenting that he is older than he looks. This was a clear red flag that he acted/spoke very oddly. Unsurprisingly, he declared there was no issue and insisted I speak with management instead.

It’s clear they prioritize collecting rent and maximizing profits over addressing residents’ legitimate concerns. Over the last 18 months, their Google rating has dropped from 4.8 to 4.4, despite their sophisticated review...