Schools Rule

It Pays to Own in an A-Plus School District—Here’s How Much

It’s well known that homes in good school districts sell for a premium—and are a good investment for buyers with or without children. But just how much can you expect to top up that listing price or bid? And what are the top school districts where people  are rushing to buy homes—regardless of the cost?

The economic research team at realtor.com® took up the challenge and dived into the data. The team compared homes in school districts rated 9 or 10, the highest score, by GreatSchools.org with homes in nearby districts rated 6 or less.

“It’s common knowledge that buyers are often willing to pay a premium for a home in a strong school district,” says Javier Vivas, research analyst for realtor.com. “Our analysis quantifies just how good it is to be a seller in these areas.”

It turns out, homes in the higher-rated public school districts are, on average, 49% more expensive—at $400,000—than the national median of $269,000, and 77% more expensive than schools located in lower-ranked districts in their own area, with a median of $225,000.

Plus, homes in higher-rated school districts sell an average of eight days faster than homes in below-average school districts, and four days faster than the national average.

People are more interested in homes in good school districts, too—they’re viewed 26% more, on average, than the average home on realtor.com, and 42% more than homes in areas with below-average schools.

Let’s check out the schools where you’ll shell out the most extra (or profit the most) for a quality public school education.

Top 10 school districts with the highest premium

1. Beverly Hills Unified School District, Los Angeles County, CA

Sixteen years after the hit teen show “Beverly Hills 90210” went off the air, the coveted ZIP code still has cachet. Homes in the top-rated Beverly Hills Unified School District (GreatSchools rating: 9) sell for an average 689% more (that’s $3.8 million) than other homes in Los Angeles County (a far more reasonable $550,000). BHUSD homes beat out those in nearby Santa Monica–Malibu Unified School District, which is rated 9 and has a median list price of $2.5 million, and more recently hip Culver City Unified School District, with a rating of 8 and a median list price of $975,000.

2. Highland Park Independent School District, Dallas County, TX

Homes in the Dallas-area Highland Park Independent School District (rated 10) carry an average 632% premium, at $1.8 million, over the median-price home in Dallas County (a mere $277,000). Buyers would get a relative bargain in the neighboring Coppell Independent School District, which has a rating of 9 and a median home price of $470,000.

3. Kenilworth School District No. 38, Cook County, IL

The Chicago area’s Kenilworth School District No. 38 ranked third in the nation with a home price premium of 606% compared with greater Cook County. Homes in the district alongside Lake Michigan (rating: 10) go for a median list price of $1.6 million. But just a bit southwest, Wilmette Public Schools District 39 has a rating of 10 and homes that go for $780,000.

Rounding out the top 10 school districts with the highest price premiums are:

4. Indian Hill Exempted Village School District, Hamilton County, OH

5. Winnetka School District 36, Cook County, IL

6. Manhattan Beach Unified School District, Los Angeles County, CA

7. Scarsdale Union Free School District, Westchester County, NY

8. Saddle River School District, Bergen County, NJ

9. San Marino Unified School District, Los Angeles County, CA

10. Mariemont City School District, Hamilton County, OH

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But buyers aren’t necessarily rushing to pay the highest price possible for good schools. So we also looked at school districts with the highest demand from home buyers. How can we tell? By looking at listing views for that market on realtor.com, compared with the surrounding county.

“While highly ranked school districts in these markets have pushed home prices higher than their surrounding areas, the majority of these high-demand markets are relatively affordable when compared to the national median, which is a big factor contributing to their popularity,” Vivas says.

And it’s definitely a less glitzy list than the one above. The winner: Rocky River City School District in Cuyahoga, OH, rated 10, where listings within district boundaries receive 2.8 times more views than other areas in the county. Cuyahoga County schools are pretty popular, it seems, because Strongsville City School District also makes this list at No. 7.

Top 10 in-demand school districts

1. Rocky River City School District, Cuyahoga County, OH
2. Clear Creek Independent School District, Harris County, TX
3. School Town of Munster School District, Lake County, IN
4. Orange School District, New Haven County, CT
5. Etiwanda Elementary School District, San Bernardino County, CA
6. Longmeadow School District, Hampden County, MA
7. Strongsville City School District, Cuyahoga County, OH
8. Plymouth-Canton Community School, Wayne County, MI
9. Regional School District 05 School, New Haven County, CT
10. Trumbull School District, Fairfield County, CT

Source: Realtor.com, Cicely Wedgeworth
http://www.realtor.com/news/trends/top-school-districts-premium/?iid=rdc_news_hp_carousel_theLatest

7 Massive Mistakes People Make When They Move

Whether you struck oil—black gold, Texas tea—and are moving to posh Southern California (that’s a reference to “The Beverly Hillbillies,” you millennials!) or maybe you’re making a cross-country migration to work for Snapchat (that’s a popular messaging app, boomers!), there’s a lot to think about when pulling up stakes and settling in a new place. Sure, it’s exciting, but a whole lot can go wrong, too.

So no matter your reason for relocating, beware these top mistakes people make. Check out this list, and brace yourself for some tough decisions.

Mistake No. 1: Renting out your old home badly…

Sure, it seems smart to hold on to your old place just in case. It’s also nice to collect rent! But that’s the best-case scenario; you need to also consider the worst.

“Renting [out] a home can be a great investment, if you know what you’re doing,” says real estate investor Mark Ferguson of Investfourmore.com. “The problem is, many people have no idea how to manage renting a home—like collecting rent and checking on tenants—or [to] anticipate the expenses. Landlords have to account for maintenance and vacancies, not just their mortgage payment, so most houses won’t make money as rentals.”

So make sure you have a plan to manage your home remotely, and that you can afford to keep paying the mortgage in between tenants.

Mistake No. 2: Or selling it prematurely

Robert Palmer, host of the syndicated Saving Thousands Radio Network, talks up the other side of the issue.

“Selling years from now is going to net you more money than selling today, and someone else will have made the [mortgage] payments for you,” he says. “This helps you build wealth.”

The key is the right tenant, like a friend or somebody you know. Bottom line: If your home is in a hot market like San Francisco, Los Angeles, or New York City, it might be impossible to buy back into the market should you ever decide to return to it. Which happens more than you might think.

“In L.A., it’s not uncommon for rental amounts to be more than the mortgage payments,” says Terra Andersen, director of Internet marketing at apartment-rental company NMS Properties. In that case, it might be more wise to rent out your home, as a revenue stream and a fallback option.

Mistake No. 3: Muddling a mortgage on a new home

If you’re relocating for a new job and want to buy a home before you start working, be sure to structure your employment agreement to avoid issues with lenders. While an executed offer of employment can serve as documentation to qualify for a new mortgage, many lenders will require proof that all the offer contingencies have been met as well, says Mary Catchur, president of Marimark Mortgage.

A solution is to meet with a mortgage loan originator licensed in the state you’re relocating to and develop a plan to fulfill those requirements, “preferably before finalizing the new job offer,” says Catchur.

Mistake No. 4: Storing stuff with plans to move it someday

Tempted to leave behind lots of your possessions to transport months or maybe years after you’re settled? If you’re certain a relocation is permanent, it’s best to move everything right away. The reason: “You can take the moving expenses adjustment on your tax return only for expenses paid in the same tax year as your move,” says Crystal Stranger, president of 1st Tax and the author of “The Small Business Tax Guide.”

Plus, “from a realistic standpoint, it’s easy to forget about an item in storage,” points out Christine Haney, executive vice president of Global Relocation at Elliman Real Estate. “When my father was transferred to Europe, my parents stored their 1970s gold, brown, and green furniture. When they returned eight years later, their now-retro furniture had no place in their new home. It did provide a good laugh for all—or tears, once they discovered how much money they had spent in the long run!”

Mistake No. 5: Expecting your possessions to arrive ASAP

And even if you do pack up and send off everything all at once, don’t push it too close to the day you start a new job or endeavor, expecting all your possessions to arrive at one time.

“It can take a few days, if not a week or two, for all your belongings to arrive at your new home, due to weather or road shutdowns,” says Ryan Carrigan, co-founder of moveBuddha. “Many people end up having to buy new work clothes, school supplies, or basic kitchen items” when they show up at a home well before the moving truck does. Pack a starter kit with whatever essentials you need for a week, and always keep important documents with you.

Mistake No. 6: Not getting schooled on schools

“Some people move into a district without checking out the schools,” says Alina Adams, who works in school admissions in Manhattan. What’s worse, she says, is when people move to a neighborhood with a great school without realizing that it has no more room. So play it safe: Call the school district or private school you want to find out if you can enroll your child.

Mistake No. 7: Trying to arrange your new home exactly like your last

Often relocaters “try to replicate the exact same old living environment in a new area,” says Haney.

“As families try to mitigate the impact on the changes that any move can bring, sometimes this can actually add to the stress, especially when the former lifestyle can’t be replicated. Further, it takes away from experiencing new cultures and learning about new areas. The most successful moves I’ve seen is when families embrace the change.” Welcome a new environment to go with your new move. You’ll be glad you did.

Source: Realtor.com, Margaret Heidenry
http://www.realtor.com/advice/move/mistakes-people-make-relocate/?iid=rdc_news_hp_carousel_theLatest

Trulia: Where schools matter and where they don’t in homebuying

When I was taking classes to get my real estate license, they taught me everything about selling houses - legal aspects, finance, paperwork, marketing, writing the offer, real estate economics, but nothing about the one thing that motivates many buyers to buy in the areas that they do; good school districts. 

After getting my license I quickly learned that homes in good school district areas generally command a higher asking price than a similar property in a not so great school district area. Here in the Silicon Valley Cupertino, parts of Sunnyvale, parts of San Jose and others that I'm not going to get into, fetch a nice price for the lucky homeowners who are selling in these areas.



Either schools are of critical importance to a homebuyer, or they matter not at all.

There’s very little middle ground because either homebuyers have kids or they don’t.

Trulia’s recent survey found that when searching for a home, the quality of the local schools is an important factor for families with children.

According to a recent Trulia survey, 19% of Americans indicated that their dream home is located in a great school district. But among parents of children under 18, the percentage of Americans who want to live in a great school district jumps to 35%, in contrast to 12% of those without kids.

Also, the survey also revealed that a great school district is almost twice as important to those who search online for their dream home on a weekly or monthly basis than those who only search annually.

Here’s what they found.


(Source: Trulia)


(Source: Trulia)

Source: HousingWire, Trey Garrison
http://www.housingwire.com/articles/34750-trulia-where-schools-matter-and-where-they-dont-in-homebuying