Question about Tenant Turnover Timing...help please...

[Suzanne A.]

Hi everyone. I have two rental properties which are both occupied but my first tenant turnover will be happening this fall.  My awesome tenants are moving out after two years.  Their lease will be up at the end of October. (I know this is a bad time to find tenants but can't do anything about that).  I'm just struggling with the timing of it.  Obviously I want to minimize the time that the house is unrented.  The house is in great shape and was maintained well by the tenants, but I'm sure we will need a day or two of miscellaneous cleaning/repairs. I'm assuming we could start showing the house before they move out.  Best case scenario: Tenants move out October 31.  We clean, etc. for two days, and the house will be ready for the next tenants on November 3 at the earliest.  So on to my stupid questions:

• Let's saw we show the house in October find tenants want to move in.  Their lease runs out at the end of October, but the house won't be ready until November 3.  Where do they live on November 1-2? 
• Would the prospective tenant pool be mostly people whose leases run out at the end of Novemver? (Meaning we'd have a whole month of vacancy anyway?)
• I know we can prorate the first month so lease ends at the end of a given month, but that still begs the question, what do potential tenants do between the first of the month and when the unit is ready?
• You want to get a tenant as soon as possible, but once you're getting into the middle of the month, are you getting mostly people who are being evicted or is there a good mix of tenants with leases running out?

I hope my ramblings make sense.  I've just never been able to make practical sense of lease beginnings and endings...thank you for taking the time to read!