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The old-school rule: know the schools

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The home you’re eyeing gets an ‘A.’ Does the school district earn a passing grade?

By Erik J. Martin
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You have your heart set on a dream home that’s within your budget, close to work, in a nice neighborhood and ripe for the picking. It passed the test with a home inspector and you’ve passed the test with a mortgage lender.

But you’re about to score an ‘F’ for not looking closer at a key criterion: the quality of nearby schools.

Even if you have no children or don’t plan to be a parent, the performance and reputation of the local school district can have a major impact on your satisfaction as a homeowner.

“The quality of the school district has a direct correlation on property value and how easily you can sell the home in the future,” says Janine Acquafredda, associate broker with House N Key Realty, Brooklyn, N.Y. “You want to buy in an area with a good school-district reputation because there may come a time when you want to sell. School reputation is one of the top three must-haves for serious buyers with children.”

Of course, a good neighborhood school does not always mean a good school for your child. “You want to make sure your children will be comfortable and successful in their school environment,” Acquafredda points out.

Typically, families with children remain in their homes longer and upgrade or update their homes more often. “They are more concerned about the neighborhood parks, maintenance and safety — important factors that equate to higher home values,” Kyle Alfriend, real estate agent with Alfriend Real Estate of RE/MAX Achievers, Dublin, Ohio, says.

Doing your homework on local schools starts with talking to your real estate agent. Request local school rankings, standardized test scores and graduation rates of public, private and charter schools within the district where you’re thinking about purchasing. Get the names of and contact information for area schools.

“Proximity to home is very important for children and parents. It should be convenient to get to and from area schools,” Acquafredda says.

Gathering facts on paper is helpful, but experts still recommend visiting local schools, walking through classrooms and meeting with administrators and teachers, if possible. Be prepared to ask questions, such as the size of classes, student-to-teacher ratio, diversity of classes, any boundary changes planned, if a variety of afterschool and extracurricular activities offered and more.

Most schools allow you to schedule a time to talk to the principal and faculty or to attend a parent open house.

“This is a great time to bring your list of questions and to start forming relationships with other parents,” Christian Ross, senior vice president/managing broker for Atlanta-based Village Realty, says. “Touring the school during the day is also a great way to see how children are learning and interacting with teachers.”

Alfriend believes it’s important to examine the school district’s stability. “How consistent are the school’s test scores and trends? Are past years’ test scores an anomaly or a consistent performance?” he asks. “The scores may be good now, but how have they been looking back five, 10, even 15 years? How is the district funded and will they continue to get the funds they need? Does the area have a history of voting down needed school funding?”

Areas with lower school scores are often in areas with lower local taxes and property taxes. If you’re not satisfied with the quality of area public schools, a nearby private school could be an alternative. One option is to buy a home that’s in an area with great local amenities but a poor school district, yet is close to a quality private school.

“I went this route with the home I just purchased,” says Ross. “I was able to get into a great location with proximity to everything. The schools were not great, but being able to buy a condo for $120,000 next door to a $600,000-plus neighborhood took the guesswork out of buying for me.

“In this instance, what you save in the sales price you can invest into a private school,” Ross says.

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