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Buying a House in a Neighborhood w/ Less than Stellar HS?
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Anonymous
| I have three preschool age children and we are looking to buy a home in a neighborhood with a "questionable" HS assignment (Einstein). How big of a consideration should this be when kids are only 1,3, and 4 now? Homes in this area are in our price range and meet our other criteria, this is our only hang up-that we would have to move or send kids to private school-likely out of our price range-in 10 or so years. Anyone in a similar boat/have a perspective on this? Thank you! |
Anonymous
| We decided to move into the BCC district because we figured that the house values would appreciate/be more stable in a more desirable school district. Just a thought. |
Anonymous
If BCC = Bethesda Chevy Chase, I thought this school had a strong reputation for education? |
Anonymous
OP here-I would love to buy in a more desirable district, but our budget is $450k or so- not relly feasible for BCC, WJ, others, correct? |
Anonymous
I think that was PP's point. |
Anonymous
| So it sounds like, if you buy this house in a bad school area, you will absolutely have to move in 10 years since you can't afford private school. This would be after you and your children are established in your neighborhood. In 10 years, the better school district will probably still be more costly than the neighborhood you bought in, so you will still have to stretch to be able to afford anything there, and will probably have to downgrade your house to move. Your children will also be very sad to move away from their friends and go to the better school where they don't know anyone. I don't know, after considering that, I think I'd rather move in a better district now where you can settle in for good, versus risk being even more priced out of a better location later on and having to disrupt your family life to move. |
Anonymous
that's our price range too. but we're looking at listing prices up to $550K (which gets us into better school districts) and try to bid down - not to set ourselves up for disappointments, but our mindset is it won't hurt to ask. maybe after a few rejections we'll be more realistic... haha... good luck to you! |
Anonymous
| I would say, you can't really know what the school will be like in 9-10 years and if it will be a good fit for your children. I suppose it depends on why you feel the school is "bad". Is it dangerous or is it just that test scores are not as high as at other schools. If it is the former, I would probably not move there. If it is the latter, that doesn't mean that it won't be a good fit for your children. Many school's test scores vary for a variety of reasons - larger immigrant population is usually a big reason. However, this doesn't mean that the school does not have good programs or opportunities for your children to thrive. If the neighborhood is good and you feel comfortable there, I don't see a big deal moving to a high school that is not considered the "top". Plus, who knows how the school will change in 9-10 years? it may get better or it may get worse. You can't really know. |
Anonymous
OP here- that is my precise concern. I was hoping someone would come on and tell me what a great school Einstein is and that I shouldn't worry! Thanks for the feedback. |
Anonymous
| Are you looking to move by the time your kids reach HS age? The pendulum will probably swing the other way 10 years from now when your oldest child is ready. |
Anonymous
| What neighborhood are you looking into? The area right around Einstein? Have you noticed the demographics? Once they head in a certain direction, they won't magically turn around IMHO. Things will only get worse. We're moving out of Silver Spring because of this. While our immediate neighbors were great, as new folks moved into the neighborhood and school district you could sense that things were changing. Folks started renting out their SFH to multiple families. All of a sudden there was an influx of low income kids in the neighborhood school (causing it to become a Title I school). When selling the home we quickly learned about foreclosures nearby and that our zip code had been labelled as a declining area. I think the Einstein area is the same situation. You can buy a nice home in the Olney/Brookeville area with great schools (elementary through high school) for $450k. Check out Olney Mill, Tanterra, Brookeville Knolls, etc. -- very family friendly. If you are looking up to $550k, you have even more options. Folks will say that Olney is way out there and that it lacks a metro stop -- but that's a good thing IMHO. There was lots of crime around the immediate area of our local metro stop -- folks were mugged walking home at night, etc. While my commute will be a bit longer (20 mins), it's worth the trade off to be in a family-friendly neighborhood with great schools. Lots of folks are saying that Brookeville is the new Potomac -- they're building million dollar homes left and right -- but there are older more modest homes (built in the 1970s, 80s and 90s) with 4+ bedrooms, all hardwood floors, etc. in established neighborhoods for under $550k. |
Anonymous
|
We purchased in Greenbelt because the schools here are some of the best in PG county, and because the HS is very highly rated. Not one of the three gold levels that are located in Montgomery county, but still Elenore Roosevelt HS is very well rated.
Our budget was $425,000, and we spent $400,000 on an existing home, with 2500+ sq ft, good sized yard, great neighbors, and easy access to the lake. We also liked the ease of being able to get into DC. Sometimes you have to go where your budget takes you. Now, I love where we live, the neighborhood is great, and the town is one large community. Well, at least Old Greenbelt is. |
Anonymous
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I can sympathize with your dilemma. We opted for the best school district possible (BCC, 5 years ago when you could still find houses for around your current price range) but compromised on neighborhood - we live on a busy street, with only a limited sense of neighborhood. Mostly I think this was a good compromise for us - change doesn't come easily for us, and especially given the market it's good to know that if we absolutely need to, we can stay put for 18 years (with a lot of renovating). Our priorities were good schools, limited commute time, and sufficient space - we got all those but certainly didn't get a 'dream' house.
Two other things to consider: The other piece of it is that there's always a "better" school -- we are happy about BCC but sometimes think about trying to move to the Whitman district as our children get older. I'm not even wholly convinced it's actually better, but it's easy to get suckered by parents bragging about their schools' fancy reputations! Also, it's worth playing around with the mortgage calculators and trying to see if you could afford a bit more than $450k. I don't presume to know your finances, but I sometimes wonder this in our case. You obviously don't want to take on more than you can handle but the difference between $450 and $500 may not be a dealbreaker. At $500 and up you have a few more options, although the houses will be small fixer uppers - but if you're handy that can be a great bargain. |
Anonymous
I would look at the MoCo school website. There is a down-county consortium of high schools including Blair, Einstein, Northwood, and one other I think. They offer magnet programs in different areas including communications, math, etc. Don't rule out a neighborhood you like, and can afford because of what your perception of the school is today. Also, a lot can happen in 10 years, and even if you move to a "better" school district, the public high school may not be the best fit for your child, or you may be prepared to make different educational choices then. We live in a fabulous historic neighborhood, in a a house we love, in the Einstein district. Our daily quality of life here suits us beautifully. We are a few years away from high school, but we are considering all options including the consortium. Not being house-poor enables us to be more flexible in our choices when that that time comes. I have heard great things about Einstein, and I know some great families whose kids attend. Yes the demographics include kids from lower-income families, and kids who speak English as a second language, but I think it is more reflective of the world in general than other schools. |
Anonymous
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As another PP pointed out, houses in better school districts tend to appreciate more (or in this market, depreciate less!). It's impossible to predict the future, but my main concern about buying a house in a district with a so-so HS would be that the houses in the better school districts would appreciate at a faster rate. So 10 years from now, the difference between a house w/ a great HS and the ones you're looking at would be much greater than the difference today, making it even tougher, if not impossible, to move when your kids are ready for HS. I'd also tend to agree that while anything can happen, in a declining economy, it's less likely that a less than steller HS today will improve and more likely that it will go downhill. But who knows?
Unless you think you may be able to swing private schools, I'd make school district the most important criteria and give in other areas, like size or commute. |