How early do I need to rent? (apartments, renter)

[1stpontiac]

As the title says, how long before I move do I need to be looking at signing a lease to have a good pick of apartments? My wife and daughter and I will be moving up in late June or early July, but we're still unsure where my wife will be working. Are there generally places available on pretty short notice, or will I be in trouble if we haven't got a place lined up by early April?

Waiting for my wife's employment to shake out would be preferable, both in terms of knowing where in town to look, and because our budget would be a bit higher if we knew for sure she had a job.

[FamousBlueRaincoat]

I've always tried to line up an apartment as early as possible, but it doesn't always work out that way. The shortest amount of time I've ever had between making contact with an apartment company and renting was about a week (this was a sublet, and the place sucked, and I only stayed there until the lease already in progress ran out). The longest time I've ever had was like 5 months, and it was an okay place in a really nice and convenient part of Marcy-Holmes. I knew I wanted to live in that area, which is why I jumped on the apartment so early.

Most landlords require either 30 or 60 days notice (with some 90) to move out. Which means the bulk of apartments that are worth renting will get scooped up several weeks before the previous tenant moved out - unless it needs some kind of serious renovations.

If you're planning to move in on, say, July 1st, I would do my most intense searching around the beginning to middle of May. However, if you're going to be utilizing something like craiglist, it'll be good to keep an eye on the listings for a while beforehand, in my opinion. That way you can get a feel of which apartments are showing up over and over again (and know there is probably a reason nobody is taking them, and not waste your time). And you can get an idea of how much an apartment similar to what you're looking for is typically going for, so you know you're not getting taken advantage of. And maybe you'll even see something that's right for you and you'll get a pretty stressful task taken care of earlier.

[1stpontiac]

Thanks FBR, that's good advice. My wife should have an interview or two in March that might clear things up a bunch, so getting things set up in April or early May should be possible.

Where I live now is such a college town that almost all leases start on Aug. 1st, and if you haven't signed by mid-February, the pickings get pretty slim.

[FamousBlueRaincoat]

Originally Posted by 1stpontiac

Thanks FBR, that's good advice. My wife should have an interview or two in March that might clear things up a bunch, so getting things set up in April or early May should be possible.

Where I live now is such a college town that almost all leases start on Aug. 1st, and if you haven't signed by mid-February, the pickings get pretty slim.

Keep in mind that if you want to move in late June, you'll probably have to sign a lease starting on June 1st.

[Cleverbeetle98]

OP - You can start looking as early as you want. My experience in moving is that often complexes don't know what they will have available until a month or two before you want to move in.

I was able to look in June and line up an end of July move. And you won't necessarily have to sign starting on the 1st. Depending on what they have available, you may be able to just pay pro-rated days for the end of June and have your '12 month' lease start July 1st. (Tell them what day you want to sign a lease (i.e. June 25th) and they should be accomodating...if they know a renter will take the apt, most places will hold it for the rest of the month til you're ready to move)

From what I can tell, a lot of apartments (depends on the area/prices you are looking for) are begging for renters - so you shouldn't have any problem finding a nice apt starting when you want.

[StilltheSame]

You could always get temporary housing - depending on your specific needs though pricey it might be worth it. Symphony place on 11th and Marquette is one that's popular.