When should the house hunt begin?

[highhopes]

Now that I've accepted an offer, when should I start house hunting? I imagine now would be too early for August/September vacancies but equally, I don't want to leave it so late that all the cheap/good places have been snapped up (this is LA so expense is a pretty big deal). Another complication is that I am not currently living in America, so I can't go around visiting places long before the academic year begins. (I've submitted an application for university housing, so this is just in case).

Oh, and as a reference, the quarter begins Sept 22nd.

[thepoorstockinger]

It depends on what the rules are about when people need to give notice that they're not renewing a lease. If you have to give one months notice then there's no point in looking two months before you need a place since most landlords won't know what they'll have available.

[Dontuse]

YESTERDAY.

[studentfromLA]

I suppose it depends on where you are going, but I do not think it is too early to start looking, especially if you are going to a tradtionally college town, because in those places much of the housing is under student leases, and the landlords can start asking as early as January 1st whether the current occupants are going to renew their leases for the next school year, and most leases run from August to August or the like. If you are going to a big city, it might be different, but if you are going to a university town, start looking now.

[piper]

One to two months before is a good rule of thumb.

[flit]

I'm having a hard time with the house hunting thing... partly because we haven't really decided between buying & renting - and partly because I really don't want to move.

I didn't bother getting a place for my MA (same school) ... just stayed in a motel for the days I needed to be there each week .... but the Phd program has, they tell me, a residency requirement and the motel doesn't count