Haus25 — Local services in Jersey City

We've lived here for the past 14 months and our lease is coming up in a couple months, so here is an objective review from someone who is leaving and has nothing left to gain by leaving a positive review.

We've toured a TON of buildings in this area before moving into Haus 25, and again now that we're looking to move out of the building. The only reason we are moving out is we now have our first baby and childcare is not CHEAP! So we are looking to downgrade and save some money. Otherwise, we would not leave Haus 25.

Here are my pros: The amazing staff: First, the leasing office agents. I've had the privilege of working with Janice, Joe, Patricia, Jessica, and Mike, who actually gave us the tour of the building but moved onto a different Veris building before we moved in, but still followed up with us over email after we moved in to see how our move went. They are all incredibly awesome and kind and helpful. Second, the concierge / security people. They've all become our family, always welcoming us home. Shout out to Abe and Jose in particular! Lastly, all the cleaning staff. They literally clean every part of the building every single day. The lobby, hallways, all the amenity space, wiping down every equipment in the gym every single day. My wife and I have moved buildings every year since we moved to New York 4 years ago, and I've never seen a cleaner building.

The views / amenities: I know it's not the same for every unit, but we were lucky enough to live in a corner unit facing southwest. We see the Statue of Liberty every single day from our living room and got to enjoy the sunset without any obstruction. We will miss it all very much. The amenities are all top notch. Game room, a top-class gym, golf simulator, pool and outdoor area, you name it. We've never used amenities more than at Haus 25. And if you're into grilling, the grills here are available throughout the year. We are now learning that that is not the norm and we've taken it for granted as we are touring other buildings in the area. Everything here just makes sense, and that shouldn't be taken for granted as there is always something weird or funky about most buildings.

Location: I don't think you can get much better in terms of location. Right in between two Path stations, so you have both the options of going anywhere on the west side of Manhattan all the way up to Midtown, or to WTC. And the Whole Foods finally opening was so helpful. We are there at least 4 times a week because it's literally across the street. And we are close to Grove Street and the water on either side, and we will miss being so central to everything.

Maintenance: Our dryer stopped working one day, and it was a common issue with the particular dryer when I looked up online why it may have stopped working. Maintenance replaced it with a new dryer the very next day after running a couple tests. Our ice machine also stopped making ice in the first month we moved in, and they replaced it with a new fridge. We didn't have any other issues in the apartment but we couldn't be happier with how fast our maintenance requests were addressed.

Cons: To give an objective view, I am listing the one nuisance I've noticed while living here, but I'm really nitpicking at this point just to say something. Sometimes you wonder how the elevators are set up. There are 4 elevators serving the lower floors and 5 elevators serving the higher floors, so most of the time you rarely have to wait for the elevator even though there are over 56 floors, and we live on 42nd. And the elevators are really fast! But every once in awhile it seems like only one elevator is running and you wonder if the other elevators are doing anything. But truthfully, this has happened like 5 times in the 14 months that we've lived here so far, and most of the time the elevator will come in less than 10 seconds.

If you are considering moving to downtown JC, you will really have a hard time finding a better option. Yes, it's pricey, but if it's in your budget, go for it (until you have...

I moved in last June, I have to say this building is becoming worse and worse.

12%+ increase in lease renewal. I've never seen any building increased the rent at this level, not even after the covid special offers. Not to mention that the management is a mess, and all the high fees for amenity. The luxury apartments nearby in Jersey City either have less than 2% increase in rent, or no increase at all. I couldn't see anything special in Haus 25 comparing to all the other buildings around, only worse management and unreasonable charges.

Incredibly high charges. They have promised to launch the electronic door lock on mobile apps for apartment doors when I moved in. And now, almost a year has passed. Nothing happened. The most ironic thing is that, they charge $150 for lockout fee. This is also the highest amount I've ever heard of. I admit that it is normal to charge some lockout fee for high-rise luxury apartments, but I don’t think unlocking needs such a high charge. Where did all the high amenity and management fees go? Is this a new way to increase the revenue? Very interesting.

Unreasonable rules. Residents paid high management and amenity fees living here, but have to face all kinds of ridiculous rules from the management. One is that you have to collect and collapse all the boxes or any large items, and drop them by yourself all the way down to the FIRST floor’s rear door. This is also the one and only so-called luxury building I’ve ever heard of to implement such kind of the rule. Even some older buildings I’ve lived before will have the management staff to come to your apartment door and collect large boxes. Some other new luxury buildings around ask resident to put them in the trash rooms at every floor, which is a normal practice and acceptable. Again, where did all the high amenity and management fees go? Why should residents pay the high fees for luxury apartments with the service like living in old condos? The other one I must highlight is the 11pm curfew in the common area. The gym will close at 11pm, and all the other common areas. Is this a strictly managed dorm in college? I can’t imagine after all these years, I have to face the most strict curfew rules in a luxury apartment - not when I was in college, or at home, but in this brand new luxury apartment with high rent and management fees! If you get back from work around 7-8pm, you have little time to work out using the gym, which really bothered me a lot. The management said it was for safety etc. If you want to ensure the safe, just close all the common areas all day long, and this will be the safest way for you management people.

4.Discrimination. Some staff at the front desk tend to please the white people apparently (only a few, not all of them, some of them are really nice). I’m the kind of person who always make the eye contact with a smile, trying to greet the staff when I walk by the concierge. I had great relationships with all the staffs in my previous apartments, at my work, and even at school dorms. But here at this building, I could not feel that I am welcomed. This is especially obvious when I walk in behind white people, that front desk staff is overly enthusiastic to say hello and welcome home to the white people with a big smile, and only tries to give me a stiff and fake smile, as if it is only a must-to-do job. But in most cases, they even ignore me, or avoid my eye contact. Do those staff think that I cannot understand English so that they don’t need to bother speak to me as I’m a Chinese? This is unacceptable and always makes me feel depressed. (Btw I do want to say thanks to Pam, she is awesome, and always with the great positive energy to all residents)

Hope the management can see these low ratings and stop ask people to give high ratings - those high ratings are fake. PLEASE spend more efforts improving your management instead of finding people give you fake high ratings. STOP the high increase on rent, and the...

We've been at Haus25 for several months now, and I've thought for a while about how I'd rate living here. I notice a large amount of the reviews are from people who have either only toured the building, or who have lived here for a week or two, so I thought I would offer an alternative perspective.

What we don't like: Rent and amenties fees not covering everything. Cabana by the pool, extra fob for guests you have staying, locked out outside of business hours... these shouldn't be things you are charged for when the rent is some of the highest in Jersey City.

Lack of soundproofing. We can hear dogs barking, our upstairs neighbor in her bedroom, people laughing, any movement in the hallway, even someone else's alarm sometimes. I don't expect my neighbors to tip-toe around or not have fun, but I expected the building to do a better job of muffling it.

Random smells in the apartment. In our previous apartment if another unit was cooking, you would only smell it in the hallways. Here we are sometimes surprised with some parts of the apartment smelling of strong cooking smells (fish, roast meat etc). I assume it comes in via the vents for the Ecobee.

Speaking of the Ecobee units, one of the two that we have is so loud we can't have it on if we are watching television or someome is trying to sleep in the bedroom it covers. It emits a low humming/vibrating sound. Maintenance have been to see it three times and are "keeping an eye out for a new unit." They have been looking since January so I don't hold out much hope.

Small things that we can deal with, but shouldn't have to - the shower door in our unit just swings and hits the wall, so we had to add protection so we don't accidentally make a hole. The towel rail isn't big enough to hold two adult sized towels, so you're either stuffing them in or hanging another rail. Our blinds let in so much light we might as well not put them down. The bedroom can clip the closet door if they are both open.

What we like: Concierge team and mail room. Every member of the team is friendly, knowledgeable and efficient. We are particularly impressed at how well the mail room is run. Packages are entered into the system promptly and the hours for collection are long enough that you can easily collect a package at your convenience.

The gym. We appreciate the upkeep of the equipment, which is all still new enough that there are few, if any, signs of wear and tear. Serious gym-users might dislike the lack of a couple of pieces of standard equipment, but that depends on what you need to get the job done. Look carefully when touring to ensure you aren't disappointed.

The maintenance team. Fast, friendly, efficient. Let us know what caused the problem and what solution they used. On each occasion you can indicate beforehand if you want to be home when they come in or not.

What we are neutral on: The leasing office. Some things we were told during our tour haven't eventuated (other reviews touch on this) and going in to see them to ask a question is just OK - friendliness levels vary.

Parking. Last advised (November 2022) it was $400 per month, up to each individual as to whether this is a "good deal" or not.

On balance, if it is within your budget and you prioritise a clean gym, secure mail room and efficient maintenance team, move in. If you are a light sleeper/don't want to hear your neighbors, don't have flexibility in your budget for extra charges or want an apartment you can live in without modifying anything,...