Questions, answered.

The price, and what it includes. Most of what rents in Urbandale starts several hundred dollars above this, with the utilities on top. Urban Heights starts at $599, and heat, air conditioning, electricity, water and trash are all covered by a flat $35 a month. It is a renovated 36-apartment building on Hickman Road with heated interior hallways, free off-street parking, and a management office that answers the phone the same day.

The roof is new. The exterior is new: black standing seam metal over the whole upper story, a repainted base, cedar framing at every entry, new exterior lighting, new landscaping and a cedar fence. Security cameras cover the building and the lot. Inside, the common areas have new flooring, new paint, new stair rails and a rebuilt laundry room, and the hallways are heated, so you are never outside at your own door in January.

Apartments are renovated as they turn over and half the building is done: wood-look plank flooring, a new kitchenette with new cabinets and countertop, fresh paint, new light fixtures and door hardware, and in some, new appliances or a rebuilt bathroom. One boiler and one chiller heat and cool the whole building, so there is no window unit in any apartment. Maintenance requests go through the resident portal and the office schedules the repair; anything urgent, call.

The $35 covers every utility: electricity, heat and air conditioning, water and sewer, and trash. No meter to read, no bill that doubles in January, no account to open before you move in. The only thing it does not cover is your own internet service.

To get keys: a $25 application fee, a security deposit equal to one month's rent, the first month's rent, and the first month's $35. There is no administrative fee. On a $599 studio that comes to $1,258. After you move in, your monthly cost is rent plus the flat $35 and nothing else, unless you have a pet.

We publish what we look for, so you know where you stand before you spend anything on an application: monthly income before taxes of two and a half times the rent (about $1,500 a month for a $599 studio), a credit score of 625 or above, and two years of rental history. Housing Choice vouchers are welcome, and the income test is not applied to the portion of rent your voucher pays. There is no income limit and no waiting list.

Under 625, or short on the deposit? Neither is automatically a no. A lease guaranty service can stand behind your lease, which works like a co-signer without asking anyone you know, and a deposit coverage program lets you pay a much smaller fee instead of a full month. Both are priced on your own situation, so call and ask before you apply. We would rather tell you honestly than take your $25.

Pets, yes. Dogs are $50 a month and cats are $35 a month, with a $250 non-refundable fee per pet, a maximum of two pets per apartment, and no breed or weight restrictions. Assistance animals are not pets: service animals and support animals are welcome with no fee, no deposit and no monthly charge, and they do not count against the pet limit.

Parking is free and off-street, no permit and no assigned stall, with more spaces than the building has apartments. Laundry is a rebuilt room on site, coin operated. Large storage lockers are $25 a month for the things that do not fit in a studio.

Call (515) 334-3345, email urbanheightsurbandale@stanbroughrealty.com, or request a showing from any open apartment on the listings page. Tours are by appointment and take about fifteen minutes. Applications are online from the apartment's own listing, the fee is $25, and they are reviewed in one to two business days. Urban Heights is managed by Stanbrough Realty, a Des Moines property management company; leasing, rent and maintenance all go through their office.