Are you considering schools when selecting a home?
Schools review their boundaries every year to accommodate expanding communities. Don’t trust what is on the MLS and search sites, like Zillow® and Trulia® only identify the schools that are near, not necessarily the school associated with the address. The links below, take you directly to the county site and have the most updated information.
Click the county below and enter the address to find out.
Hillsborough Schools Hillsborough County School District Locator.
Pasco Schools Pasco County School District Locator.
Pinellas Schools Pinellas County School District Locator.
Want to know about a schools grade? Go here to Great Schools.
When buying a home, there are a variety of different factors that we consider in making this big decision. They most often include the homes price range, square feet, the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, the condition of the home, the neighborhood and the location. Clearly, there’s a lot to consider when shopping and buying a home. But what about if you have children? And what about their schools?
One of our greatest responsibilities as parents is to prepare our children for their future. Of course you want a school that is safe, but don’t you want a school that consistently scores well too? Unfortunately, schools with higher grades are usually in districts with higher home values. The good news is that in the state of Florida, we have many choices in public schools outside the standard school protocol. For the public school system, we have school choice, magnet schools, charter schools, ABC schools, technical schools and virtual schools. Though these are all awesome programs, they each have an inconvenience which could disrupt their effectiveness. So, if you have children in school, consider you’ll probably have to face the following choices to some degree, when shopping for a home.
1. A great home in a good school district?
Would you prefer to have a nice, spacious home with all the right features. Like the right number of bedrooms, the right size yard for kids, hardwood floors, a nice upgraded kitchen with upscale counter-tops and appliances and have schools that are really good?
2. A good home in a great school district?
This point of view assumes a very good school district, with a great reputation and high test scores, will help a child as he or she progresses through the grades and ultimately goes on to college. The scores are high for a reason and the kids will ultimately have stronger fundamentals, be better prepared and have higher peer group expectations as they complete school. This will help them compete as they establish themselves as young adults and beyond. And for the home? Maybe not as ideal as the home above. Maybe it would be older, have less updated features, smaller rooms, smaller lot, etc.
Good schools don’t produce good kids and bad schools, don’t produce bad kids. But, providing your children with the greatest opportunity along with involved, loving parenting produces the best possible results.
Note: School boundaries change from one year to the next. The above links are provided by the school systems directly and should be accurate, but are not guaranteed. I and Carrington Real Estate Servies do not guarantee the accuracy of the links. If in doubt, call the school directly and verify. You will need the physical address of the home being considered. Streets are used for boundaries. One side of the street could be in one school district, while across the street, could be in another.
If you are ready to buy a home within the next 60 days, you must have cash or be pre-approved. The real estate market moves very fast and the right home, in the right school district, at the best price will slip away if you are not prepared. If you are financing your next home, get pre-approved. Go to a lender of your choice for a pre-approval letter. Not sure where to go? Call me for a recommendation.
Be sure to mention Curtis Rudolph Realtor® for preferential treatment.
Note: Most mortgage loans today will require 5% to 25% in cash at closing. And, in nearly all mortgage loans, the cash cannot be borrowed. Even the zero down, USDA programs must have at least 1% earnest deposit and 100% of the difference over appraisal or you won’t close.
Are you ready to buy within 60 days? Got cash or some cash and a pre-approval letter? Need an expert buyers agent? Call me at 813.240.6054 today and Let’s get to work!
You say you have a little more time or just want to see what’s out there? Fill out the Contact Us form and I or one of my team will contact you ASAP to set up a 15 to 20 minute, face to face meeting. With your wants and needs entered in to the system, we’ll set you up for an auto-search. This auto-search system will send you an email the moment a property gets into the MLS® that meets your criteria. This focused search will save you a lot of time by filtering out what you don’t want and only sending you what you do. Contact us today!
We specialize as buyer’s agents in South Tampa including SOHO, Davis Islands, Channelside, Harbor Island, Westshore, Sunset Park, Beach Park, Culbreath Isles, Culbreath Bayou, Hyde Park, Bayshore Boulevard and Plant High School district homes. Specialty zip codes 33606, 33602, 33611, 33609, 33629. We are buyer’s agents for the rest of the Tampa bay areas including: Westchase, Country Way, Citrus Park, Fawn Ridge, Carrollwood, Carrollwood Village, Old Carrollwood, Keystone, Odessa, Lutz, New Tampa, Seminole Heights, Wesley Chapel, Land O Lakes, Avila, Lake Magdalene, North Dale, North Lakes, Lake Ellen and Forrest Hills. Zip codes: 33613, 33604, 33603, 33614, 33612, 33624, 33618, 33556, 33558, 33559, 33625, 33626, 33635, 33634, 33544, 33543, 33549, 33548, 34639.