I will start off by saying this: Claremont Towers is not the worst place to live, but it IS very overpriced. Living in Central NJ is expensive -- I've lived in the area all my life, so I know. But there are places out there in Somerset County that will give you the same if not better service, similar if not more amenities, and similar if not more square footage as Claremont, for less money. I know because I am moving into one when my lease expires. You just have to search for them. So please, keep in mind that even though Claremont Towers bills itself as a "luxury apartment" there is nothing luxury about it, except maybe the price. Now onto the review:

The minuses:
-The rent was raised 4 times within my first 10 months of living here (to what equals a 20% increase in less than one year -- ridiculous!!). No noticeable improvements have been made to warrant such an increase. What they charge for a 1-bedroom now is on par with what other places charge for a larger 2-bedroom in a nicer location with more amenities.
-The elevators break down frequently -- almost weekly. When we first looked at this place, we were told the elevators were going to be replaced soon, but upon talking to our neighbors, apparently long-time residents have been hearing that lie for years. My roommate got stuck in the elevators TWICE, and one time the emergency phone was not even working. Thank God for cell phones. This is bad for a place that bills itself as "handicap accessible". And for those of us who can use the stairs when the elevators are out, be aware that there is no staircase in the lobby. You have to go back outside and down a dimly lit stairwell to access the stairs.
-Maintenance is HORRIBLE. Slow if any response and the maintenance people have violated tenant law pertaining to entering the apartment in my experience with them. Most of them are rude (though there is one guy who is always smiling and saying hello). I've taken to just fixing things myself. I do a better job.
-The apartments are advertised as renovated, but better quality materials could have been used. All kitchen appliances but the microwave have given us a problem (albeit minor problems). Cheap fixtures in the bathrooms -- no ceramic tile tubs/walls. A pain to keep clean, and we are not messy people. The windows and balcony doors are old and drafty, and leak considerably in heavy rain. There are no working locks on windows or the balcony screen door. The balcony screen door is missing some weatherstripping and frequently comes of its track. Maintenance has ignored our questions about this and has even told us that the doors and windows are supposed to be like that. I think not.
-Beware frequent false fire alarms.
-The electrical wiring in our apartment is old and wired incorrectly.
-Beware the overzealous tow truck drivers. Make sure that your parking sticker is clearly visible, because there was an incident of a resident with a parking sticker (!) who had his car towed anyway. Make sure all your guests have guest parking passes as well. If you throw a lot of get-togethers, beware that the office can be stingy when handing out passes.
-Watch out for outrageous utility bills. My old man was a miser when it came to money and raised me similarly, so I am forever looking for ways to cut down on utility bills. I open the windows in the summer, and throw on several layers of clothing rather than turn on the heat in the winter (unless it's extremely hot or cold, respectively). And when the heat is actually on, our thermostat is only set at 55-60, and the AC set at 80 or higher in the summer. Definitely not "blasting it". I don't cook often, leave lights on, run electronics all day, or use a lot of hot water. And still, the electric bill is always at least $200 in winter/summer... around $80-$100 in spring/fall. Ridiculous, and I still can't figure out how it is that high. It shouldn't be.
-The laundry room in the basement is dirty and disgusting. The old machines are almost always broken down. Things have been stolen out of the machines if left unattended. There are a couple of laundromats in town -- you are better off going there. Some apartments have W/D in the unit, but we did not, so I cannot speak for that.
-The office staff can be rather snippy, with the exception of one kind soul that generally works weekends down there.
-The office says it will accept your packages, but the office does not ID or make the person picking up a package sign for it. Serious liability there. They have lost a package of mine as well. Postal service in this area also sucks; I have lived here less than a year and have had several pieces of IMPORTANT mail lost on me, after a lifetime of never once having lost mail. If you are ordering items and won't be home to receive them, you might want to have them sent to your place of work or another alternate address, to be on the safe side. Consider a PO box.
-This might just be our luck of living across from the noisiest and rudest family in the building, but the concept of sound-resistant walls is lost on us. Slamming doors and screaming children frequently wake me from a sound sleep early in the morning.
-Be aware that dogs are not allowed (though I wonder if some people are secretly harboring them due to barking noises I hear). You will pay a fortune in deposits and pet rent just to keep a cat (up to two cats are allowed). I often wonder why I cannot own a well-mannered dog when my rude neighbors are allowed to have three loud, destructive, disruptive, bratty children raising holy hell across the hall from me.
-Outside of building, lobby, elevators, and stairwells almost always look dingy if not downright dirty and trash-filled. The interiors of the apartments are nicer, but I could do a better paint job with one arm tied behind my back.
-We've had minor problems with bugs.


The plusses:
-Parking is generally not a problem - just watch out for those tow trucks.
-Fairly quiet neighborhood. Occasional noise from kids driving around in their loud, souped-up cars, or children playing.
-Short drive to many shopping centers, movie theater, etc. However -- slightly longer drive to local colleges, malls, highways. 206 is very traffic heavy so learn those backroads.
-Extra storage space in the basement comes in handy, but beware because some rooms will flood. The space is really not much more than rooms divided up by fencing. You supply the padlock to the storage "cage". However, management has finally put locks on the doors to the rooms holding the "cages" and has made tenants register their storage "cage" in order to get a key to the room. I don't store anything of major value down there for those reasons.
-A Courier-News newspaper machine and a Star-Ledger machine right outside the building for news junkies!
-Depending on which direction your apartment faces, the view can be spectacular.
-Very diverse population in the building, from families to young professionals to elderly. This is a plus or a minus, depending on how you feel about it.

User Responses
From: Anonymous	Date: 03/18/2007
oh my!! could you write anymore? what a laundry list
From: Anonymous	Date: 07/12/2007
I apologize for my thoroughness insulting your short attention span!
From: Anonymous	Date: 10/15/2009
this is really helpful as I am planning on moving in soon. and I read everything you said. thanks for your thoroughness.

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