early warning apartment hunting

[blondeamazon.livejournal.com]

My roomie and I have decided we want to move closer to Davis Square when our lease is up in July. Before we get our hopes up, how likely are we to find a 2-bedroom with washer and dryer and two off-street spaces for $1250 within a 20 min walk to the Square? I was sorting through the rental tags and will explore some of the realtor recommendations on there but will most likely us Craigslist to avoid the fee. Any other "super secret" tools we should use and how soon is too soon to start seriously looking? Happy holidays!