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Renting an Apartment in St. Cloud
What You Should Know
St. Cloud is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is a major place in
the state's central region. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total
population of 64,308. It is the county seat of Stearns County6. Although mainly
located in Stearns County, the city extends into Benton County and Sherburne
County as well. It is the main city of a small metropolitan area, with Waite
Park, Sauk Rapids, Sartell, Rockville, and St. Augusta directly bordering the
city, and others such as Kimball, Clearwater, Clear Lake, St. Joseph, and Cold
Spring nearby. The Mississippi River flows through the city.
St. Cloud is northwest of the Minneapolis-St. Paul area along Interstate 94,
U.S. Highway 10, and State Highway 23. It is sometimes considered to be part of
the Twin Cities region, and the media markets for the two areas overlap. A
commuter rail line running into the Twin Cities known as the Northstar Corridor
may reach the city in a second phase. The line is still in planning stages.
History
The City of St. Cloud was incorporated in 1856. It developed from three distinct
settlements, known as Upper Town, Middle Town and Lower Town that were
established beginning in 1853[1] The remnants of deep ravines that separated the
three are still visible today. Middle Town was settled primarily by German
Catholics. Lower Town was founded by settlers from New England and mid-Atlantic
states. Upper Town was platted by a slave-holding southerner.
Minnesota had previously been organized as a territory in 1849. The area had
been opened to legal ownership by non-Native Americans following treaty
negotiations with the Winnebago tribe in 1851 and 1852.
St. Cloud was named after the suburb of Paris by John L. Wilson, a native of
Maine with French Huguenot ancestry and an interest in Napolean. In its early
years it was a major trading post and transporation hub for oxcarts on the Red
River Trail to Canada. Steamboats docked at St. Cloud although river levels were
not reliable. Granite quarries have operated in the area since the 1880's.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 80.1
km� (30.9 mi�). 78.1 km� (30.2 mi�) of it is land and 2.0 km� (0.8 mi�) of it
(2.62%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census� of 2000, there were 59,107 people, 22,652 households, and
12,254 families residing in the city. The population density was 756.7/km�
(1,959.9/mi�). There were 23,249 housing units at an average density of
297.6/km� (770.9/mi�). The racial makeup of the city was 91.75% White, 2.37%
African American, 0.72% Native American, 3.11% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander,
0.58% from other races, and 1.40% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of
any race were 1.33% of the population.
There were 22,652 households out of which 27.3% had children under the age of 18
living with them, 41.4% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female
householder with no husband present, and 45.9% were non-families. 30.2% of all
households were made up of individuals and 8.0% had someone living alone who was
65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average
family size was 3.00.
In the city the population was spread out with 20.8% under the age of 18, 24.1%
from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 17.3% from 45 to 64, and 10.3% who were 65
years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there
were 101.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $37,346, and the median income
for a family was $50,460. Males had a median income of $33,670 versus $23,759
for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,769. About 5.0% of
families and 13.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.0%
of those under age 18 and 9.9% of those age 65 or over.
Sites of interest
* Cathedral of Saint Mary, the largest church serving the oldest parish in the
community, built in the 1920's in the Italian Romanesque style.
* The St. Cloud Central Business District is listed on the National Register of
Historic Places. St. Cloud is a Preserve America Community.
* Great River Regional Library, a six-county regional system serving 32
commununities.
* Munsinger Gardens and Clemens Gardens, extensive flower gardens dating from
the 1930's. See Munsinger Clemons Botanical Society.
* Quarry Park, a unique public park that features 20 ganite quarries, hiking,
biking and ski trails. Part of the Stearns County park system.
* Paramount Theatre and Visual Arts Center, restored 1,700 seat theatre, built
in 1921.
* Stearns County History Museum, two floors of exhibits, research area, museum
store and 100 acre nature park. The only county museum in Minnesota accredited
by the American Association of Museums.
* St. Cloud Civic Center, 100,000 square foot meeting center overlooking the
Mississippi River.
* St. Cloud Regional Airport, providing scheduled commercial jet passenger
service, private, corporate, cargo and military operations.
* St. Cloud State University, with 15,500 students including international
students from 84 countries.
* St. Cloud Technical College, a member of the Minnesota State Colleges and
Universities System.
Some Things to Consider When Looking for an Apartment...
When searching for a new apartment make sure to take your time to
think through what are the most important things to you in an apartment
and plan your search based on those priorities. Here are some things to
consider when planning your move:
1. Consider the areas where you would like to live
* What is the crime rate?
* If you have children - what rating does the local school system have?
* Is there area convenient shopping, health and recreation services in
the area?
2. Make a list of your housing priorities
* Do you have pets?
* Do you need parking?
* Do you need to be on the ground floor?
* What amenities are important to you - swimming pool, fitness room, in
unit laundry?
3. Evaluate the building
* What is the condition of the unit and building?
* Are the grounds maintained?
* Are windows, steps, and railings in good condition?
* View the property at night. Is it safe and well lit?
4. The security of the property
* Are there security service? When is the guard on duty?
* Does the building have controlled access?
* Does each unit have secure door and window locks?
5. Talk to the neighbors
* Ask other residents whether they are satisfied with the building.
6. Amenities
* Who is allowed to use the amenities?
* When are they open?
* Are the fees charged to use those facilities included in rent?
7. Ask about Utilities
* Does the owner or tenant pay the utility bills?
* Are any utilities included with monthly rent?
* Do units have separate thermostats to control heat and air
conditioning?
8. Review the lease
* How much notice must you give before moving out?
* Can the rent be increased? If so, by how much and how often?
* Are pets allowed?
* What is the security deposit and cleaning costs upon move out?
* What is the responsibility of tenants for damage to property?
* Is there a penalty for breaking a lease?
9. Information too bring to a lease signing
* Credit Report
* Pay stubs/tax returns
* Reference
* Application
More Apartment Information
An apartment (or flat in Britain and most other Commonwealth
countries) is a self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a
building. Apartments may be owned (by an owner-occupier) or rented (by
tenants).
Some apartment-dwellers own their apartments, either as co-ops, in which
the residents own shares of a corporation that owns the building or
development; or in condominiums, whose residents own their apartments
and share ownership of the public spaces. Most apartments are in
buildings designed for the purpose, but large older houses are sometimes
divided into apartments. The word apartment connotes a residential unit
or section in a building. Apartment building owners, lessors, or
managers often use the more general word units to refer to apartments.
Units can be used to refer to rental business suites as well as
residential apartments. When there is no tenant occupying an apartment,
the lessor is said to have a vacancy. For apartment lessors, each
vacancy represents a loss of income from rent-paying tenants for the
time the apartment is vacant (i.e., unoccupied). Lessors' objectives are
often to minimize the vacancy rate for their units. The owner of the
apartment typically transfers possession to the occupant by giving
him/her the key to the apartment entrance door and any other keys need
to live there, such as a common key to the building or any other common
areas, and an individual unit mailbox key. When the occupant move out,
these keys should typically be returned to the owner.
Apartments can be classified into several types. Studio, efficiency,
bed-sit, or bachelor apartments tend to be the smallest apartments with
the cheapest rents in a given area. These kinds of apartment usually
consist mainly of a large room which is the living, dining, and bedroom
combined. There are usually kitchen facilities as part of this central
room, but the bathroom is its own smaller separate room. Moving up from
the efficiencies are one-bedroom apartments where one bedroom is a
separate room from the rest of the apartment. Then there are
two-bedroom, three-bedroom, etc. apartments. Small apartments often have
only one entrance/exit. Large apartments often have two entrances/exits,
perhaps a door in the front and another in the back. Depending on the
building design, the entrance/exit doors may be directly to the outside
or to a common area inside, such as a hallway. Depending on location,
apartments may be available for rent furnished with furniture or
unfurnished into which a tenant usually moves in with his/her own
furniture. Permanent carpeting is often included in an apartment.
Laundry facilities are usually kept in a separate area accessible to all
the tenants in the building. Depending on when the building was built
and the design of the building, utilities such as water, heating, and
electric may be common for all the apartments in the building or
separate for each apartment and billed separately to each tenant
(however, many areas in the US have ruled it illegal to split a water
bill among all the tenants, especially if a pool is on the premises).
Outlets for connection to telephones are typically included in
apartments. Telephone service is optional and is practically always
billed separately from the rent payments. Cable television and similar
amenities are extra also. Parking space, air conditioner, and extra
storage space may or may not be included with an apartment. Rental
leases often limit the maximum number of people who can reside in each
apartment. On or around the ground floor of the apartment building, a
series of mailboxes are typically kept in a location accessible to the
public and, thus, to the letter-carrier too. Every unit typically gets
its own mailbox with individual keys to it. Some very large apartment
buildings with a full-time staff may take mail from the mailman and
provide mail-sorting service. Near the mailboxes or some other location
accessible by outsiders, there may be a buzzer (equivalent to a
doorbell) for each individual unit. In smaller apartment buildings such
as two- or three-flats, or even four-flats, garbage is often disposed of
in trash containers similar to those used at houses. In larger
buildings, garbage is often collected in a common trash bin or dumpster.
For cleanliness or minimizing noise, many lessors will place
restrictions on tenants regarding keeping pets in an apartment.
In some parts of the world, the word apartment is used generally to
refer to a new purpose-built self-contained residential unit in a
building, whereas the word flat means a converted self-contained unit in
an older building. An industrial, warehouse, or commercial space
converted to an apartment is commonly called a loft.
When part of a house is converted for the ostensible use of a landlord's
family member, the unit may be known as an in-law apartment or granny
flat, though these (sometimes illegally) created units are often
occupied by ordinary renters rather than family members. In Canada these
suites are commonly located in the basements of houses and are therefore
normally called basement suites.
Staying in privately owned apartments rather than in a hotel is quickly
becoming popular with travelers.