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Renting an Apartment in Stillwater
What You Should Know
Stillwater is a city in Washington County, Minnesota (coordinates,
45.055487,-092). The population was 15,143 at the 2000 census. It is the county
seat of Washington County6. Stillwater is part of the Twin Cities Metro Area.
Geography
Location of Stillwater, Minnesota
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 18.9
km� (7.3 mi�). 16.8 km� (6.5 mi�) of it is land and 2.1 km� (0.8 mi�) of it
(11.37%) is water.
Stillwater receives an average snowfall of 42". Average rainfall is 24". Each
year has an average of 14 days above 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 15,143 people, 5,797 households, and 4,115
families residing in the city. The population density was 903.7/km�
(2,340.0/mi�). There were 5,926 housing units at an average density of 353.6/km�
(915.7/mi�). The racial makeup of the city was 97.52% White, 0.32% African
American, 0.28% Native American, 0.57% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.36% from
other races, and 0.93% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race
were 0.98% of the population.
There were 5,797 households out of which 36.8% had children under the age of 18
living with them, 57.2% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female
householder with no husband present, and 29.0% were non-families. 24.3% of all
households were made up of individuals and 9.0% had someone living alone who was
65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average
family size was 3.07.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.7% under the age of 18, 6.3%
from 18 to 24, 28.8% from 25 to 44, 25.4% from 45 to 64, and 11.8% who were 65
years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there
were 92.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $57,154, and the median income
for a family was $72,188. Males had a median income of $49,158 versus $33,680
for females. The per capita income for the city was $27,163. About 3.0% of
families and 4.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.6%
of those under age 18 and 5.3% of those age 65 or over.
History
On July 29 and September 29, 1837, treaties were signed between the US
government and the local Ojibwa and Dakota nations that allowed settlement in
the St. Croix Valley. The town was founded by settlers drawn by the area's
then-abundant lumber and river traffic, making it one of Minnesota's oldest
towns, predating Minneapolis by several years. Stillwater was officially
incorporated as a city March 4, 1854 (the same day as St. Paul).
Stillwater is often referred to as the birthplace of Minnesota. In 1848, a
territorial convention that began the process of establishing Minnesota as a
state was held in Stillwater at the corner of Myrtle and Main Streets. Minnesota
officially became a territory in 1849 and became a state in 1858. Shortly after
Minnesota became a territory, Stillwater was chosen as the site of the
territory's first prison. The Minnesota Territorial Prison was opened in 1853.
Lumbering was the predominant industry in the St. Croix River Valley in the
second half of the 19th century, and for many years logs were sent down the St.
Croix, collected at the St. Croix Boom Site two miles upstream of Stillwater,
and processed in Stillwater's many sawmills. Steamboats were used most widely
from 1860–1890, and a few are still used for entertainment purposes today.
Stillwater today
Stillwater is a popular day trip for tourists from the Twin Cities who enjoy the
historic downtown's used bookstores, antique shops, restaurants, historical
sites and the scenic St. Croix River valley.
In recent years, there has been a good deal of new housing development on the
outskirts of the city, and there is a substantial population that commutes daily
to the Twin Cities.
Attractions
* Lumberjack Days
* St. Croix Boom Site
* St. Croix River
* Stillwater Lift Bridge
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.