Find out the searching lead time in your area. What do we mean by this? If you decide you’re in the market for an apartment today, it’s unlikely that there will be very many good-quality apartments available for move-in tomorrow. In other words, when would be a reasonable time for your move-in date? It depends on the area. In big cities like New York or San Francisco, expect that the majority of the market will be available for move-in within the month – sometimes really within a few days. On the other end of the spectrum, some college towns have lead times of two months or more. So, search the listings in your area and see when most places are available – your target move-in date should follow that timeline. Actual searching. How long does actual searching for an apartment take? If it’s your very first time looking at apartments, we recommend going on at least two outings, where you look at least 2-3 apartments each time. Ideally, you should look at 8-10 apartments. This way, you’ll get a feel for what’s in your price range and what a deal looks like. If you go out looking on the weekend and maybe an evening or two after work, you can easily see plenty of places and make a decision within a week – and sometimes it can be done in one weekend, if you’ve done the prep-work.