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Renting an Apartment in Murray
What You Should Know
Murray is a city in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. The population was
34,024 at the 2000 census. Its estimated population in 2005 was 44,555. Nearly
all of the growth is due to an annexation of a portion of the Cottonwood West
CDP.
History
The Mormon pioneers came to the Salt Lake Valley in 1847. A pioneer group called
the Mississippi Saints arrived one year later and began to develop a scattered
settlement in the south end of the valley in the fall of 1848. The area was
distinguished by various names such as the Mississippi Ward, Cottonwood, Big
Cottonwood, and South Cottonwood. Written history states that at least 20
families were living in the South Cottonwood area in the 1860s. The area
remained agricultural until 1869 when a body of ore was found in Park City and
additional ore was found in Little Cottonwood Canyon. Because of its central
location and access to the railroad, the first smelter was built in Murray in
1870 and Murray became the home of some of the largest smelters in the region
over the next 30 years.
The first official post office was established in 1870 as the South Cottonwood
Post Office. The area changed over time as the railroad came in, smelting
expanded, the territorial road (later known as State Street) was established,
and trolley transportation was developed. A business district also began to
develop along the transportation corridor.
The City received its present name from the post office which officially changed
its name from South Cottonwood Post Office to Murray Post Office in 1883 after
the civil war general, Eli Murray Who was assigned to Utah after the war. Murray
was never a Governor.
City Incorporation
After a riot and fire started by a rowdy group of smelter workers in a local
saloon, the fight for incorporation was begun by the local newspaper editor. The
final incorporation committee drafted a petition in 1901 and created an intense
campaign on both sides of the incorporation battle. The election took place on
November 18, 1902. Those in favor won and C.L. Miller was elected as Mayor by
three votes. Salt Lake County recognized the election results as official on
November 25, 1902 and the City was officially recognized as a Third Class City
by the State of Utah on January 3, 1903.
Cultural Makeup
The early Mormon settlers were largely from Western European and Scandinavian
countries. When the smelter operations began in 1870, the ethnic makeup of
Murray dramatically changed with large numbers of workers coming from Eastern
European and Asian countries. Over half of the smelter workers came from Greece.
Many came from Armenia, Yugoslavia, Italy, and Japan. These groups brought new
religious customs to Murray as well. Methodist, Baptist, Lutheran, and Catholic
church congregations developed. The ethnic diversity of early Murray is very
visible in the Murray City cemetery.
Form of Government
Murray City initially created a Mayor-Council form of government. In 1911 a
state law changed the form of government for cities of the first and second
class in Utah from the old Council form to the Commission form of government.
This form of government was again reversed in 1981. The city adopted the
Mayor-Council form of government which included an elected Mayor and five City
Council members. To insure staggered terms of the Council, an election is held
every two years for half of the council members for four year terms.
Geography
Location of Murray, Utah
Murray is located at 40°39′9″N, 111°53′36″W (40.652397, -111.893229)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 24.9
km˛ (9.6 mi˛), all land.
School district
The Murray City School District was created on January 1, 1906. It has eleven
schools: seven elementaries, two junior highs, (Riverview and Hillcrest), and
one high school (Murray). An alternative high school, (Creekside) was closed in
2006. Murray High is a 4-A school in Utah's 5 Division high school sports
leagues (1A being the smallest, and 5A being the largest).
Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 34,024 people, 12,673 households, and
8,719 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,367.0/km˛
(3,542.3/mi˛). There were 13,327 housing units at an average density of
535.4/km˛ (1,387.5/mi˛). The racial makeup of the city was 91.56% White, 0.99%
African American, 0.63% Native American, 1.83% Asian, 0.33% Pacific Islander,
2.77% from other races, and 1.89% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of
any race were 7.49% of the population.
There were 12,673 households out of which 34.1% had children under the age of 18
living with them, 53.3% were married couples living together, 11.3% had a female
householder with no husband present, and 31.2% were non-families. 24.6% 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 2.68 and the average
family size was 3.24.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.2% under the age of 18, 13.3%
from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 19.5% from 45 to 64, and 11.3% who were 65
years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there
were 95.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $45,569, and the median income
for a family was $51,482. Males had a median income of $35,636 versus $25,713
for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,094. About 5.5% of
families and 6.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.4%
of those under age 18 and 4.3% of those age 65 or over.
Trivia
The city was home to Ken Jennings, who holds many Jeopardy! television show
records.
Murray was the home of former heavy weight champion fighter, Jack Dempsey who's
family owned the property that is now the Three Fountains condominium complex.
In 2009 Murray will host the national playoffs for Babe Ruth League baseball for
12 and 13 year olds.
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.