Rentals in Dulth (Duluth, Hermantown, Herman: low income, homes, transfer)

[Boatswife]

Hi!

Curious if any locals have any good tips or ideas of finding a great rental? We are a large family compared to todays standards, family of six here (2 adults, 4 kids). My husband is in the military and we are being transferred to Duluth May/June. All of the rentals I have found are really expensive and sorry for the lack of better words…unappealing. They also all seem to be geared towards college kids. I also am not finding any subdivisions, is it all urban living? Since we will only be in the area for 4 years we don't want to buy. I am feeling really discouraged about moving, since I am not finding anything I find suitable. Can anyone point me in the right direction? Our budget is $1,700. We also have a small dog which seems to be a deal breaker on anything semi half nice.

Thank you in advance!

[aluminumpork]

Since there are three universities locally, many of the rentals you find on Craigslist (or otherwise) will indeed be geared towards college students; that's not to say that you can't find something nice however. Additionally, a lot of recent developments have been geared more towards urban living/high rise living. I'm not as familiar with homes as large as it sounds like your family needs.

Are there any particular amenities or neighborhoods you're interested in? Duluth is a very long city with many varied neighborhoods. The city runs SW to NE along the St.Louis River/Bay and Lake Superior, but residents refer to it in the east to west sense. If you live in the north, you actually live in the east. Conversely, if you live in the south, you live in the west. With this in mind, homes prices (rental or otherwise) generally start on the high end in the east and progressively get less expensive as you move west. Also, the further you move from the lake (into Hermantown), the more newer construction homes you'll encounter.

There are many very nice rentals available in the ~$1,200 range, but the bedroom count you need may be what could cause issues. How many bedrooms are you thinking? Four? Five? I'd recommend contacting the Housing & Redevelopment Authority of Duluth. They usually gear their offerings toward low income housing, but they also offer market rate rentals. A brand new neighborhood was built by them off of Central Entrance and Mesaba called the "Harborview Highlands". The neighborhood is a mixture of new construction duplex and single family homes. They unfortunately don't have their inventory online, but a quick call to them could help point you in the right direction.

I'm not sure of what your expectations as to unit quality are, but from my basic Craigslist searches, it seems like most of the higher end homes are in the ~$1,900 - ~$2,300 range. Otherwise, you'll find that many of the units you look at have an "older" look to them. They won't be significantly updated, many original features from the 1920s, 30s and so forth and you'll have a hard time judging them from photos. Many will feel nicer once you walk in, but they will not feel like new construction. This of course does not mean that they won't be appropriate for a family.

Please let me know if you have any more details about your wants, needs, etc so maybe I can point you in a better direction.