Rental expires in November

Who in the world told you that? START LOOKING NOW!!! It's never too early - get a feel for the market and what you want. Then when you're ready you'll be able to spot a good 'deal' that meets your criteria and make an offer.

A 1 br in your price range will put you in the coop territory (for Manhattan anyway) - which means a longer process. by the time you have the contract signed you then need to get the board application in, have the board review, meet with them, and this can take at LEAST a month, sometimes longer. Oh, and then you have to negotiate a closing date. But that's assuming the board accepted you and the seller signed the contract; if these don't happen you're back to square one. But if it all works out your new place may need rennovations before moving in.

Also, don't try to time your lease expiration date w/a closing because there are too many variables involved.

If it expires Nov. 1, you should be fine - assuming you are not looking for the world's most perfect apartment. Either way, get going soon. Even if you find a place in a couple weeks, you have to assume it takes at least 60 days to go from accepted offer to close (probably more for a coop) - oftentimes it is more than that in any case. You should also assume you will want to do some work to the new place (at least painting, etc.), unless you are buying new construction. So, factor in a few weeks for that. good luck.

If you are looking for a coop you should start looking no later than 6 months before you want to move. Coop boards often take a LONG time to review your application, have you in for a meeting, and accept you. I was looking at a coop, my offer was accepted at the end of october. By the time of closing it was mid march. My realtor did not seem to think that was an unusually long time. Mind you we were also looking for about a month before we found the place.

Start looking NOW, and hope you find something soon, or hope the board is fast.