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Relocating to Colorado Springs, it’s all about the schools
Are you relocating to Colorado Springs?
For a Free Colorado Springs Relocation Guide, Email Kathy Torline at KTorline@msn.com
One of the most important elements to look at these days when buying a home is school districts according to a study by Trulia.com. Some studies have also found that despite the overall downturn in residential real estate, homes in highly rated school districts have kept their value better. And in many cities, home buyers are willing
to pay a premium for areas that schools considered better than average.
Most people agree that home buyers are attracted to neighborhoods with good schools, but not everyone agrees on what makes a good school. Some families want schools with high teacher-student ratios, others look for schools with good sports programs, others look at the testing information, and others may look for smaller schools with less students. And some home buyers may focus on the high school graduation rate, or whether they have an honors program, or a program for disabled children, or the dollar amount expenditure per pupil, or teacher salary. If you ask 10 perspective home buyers what makes a good school district, you may get10 different answers.
Why can’t my Colorado Springs Realtor tell me which school district is best?
Many potential home buyers look to their Realtor for information about school districts; but there are some pieces of information that an agent simply can’t speak about due to fair-housing laws, including demographic statistics. Agents are forbidden from giving information that could be considered “steering,” directing a client toward or away from a particular property in a discriminatory manner. If a violation is filed against an agent and if the agent is found guilty of “steering”, the penalty can be severe.
The Fair Housing Act was passed in 1968 and amended in 1988; and prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, handicap, and familial status. This law specifically covers residential property. Colorado and Colorado Springs also gave its own statute and has added ancestry, marital status, and creed.
Home Buyers need to do their due diligence
Since schools are highly important considerations in the buying process, Realtors suggest that home buyers do their due diligence when relocating. And with the amount of Internet information available, it is easily done.
- Wealth of information for families with school-age children (test scores, ethnic information, student/teacher ratios and other metrics).
- Schools are ranked by a number of criteria, which enables parents to compare and contrast the nearby schools, locally as well as on a state level.
- Has the ability to search for the schools within a certain distance of a particular address.
- Another popular site that can help compare schools as well as to find schools in specific communities
- Both private and public schools are listed at all grade levels.
- There is also information regarding getting prepared for college, tutoring and homework help, and much more.
National Center for Education Statistics
- Click on the “School, College, & Library Search” tab at the top in order to view data including a particular school’s student-to-teacher ratio or enrollment by race and ethnicity.
- A national database of school demographic information
- A useful site for researching schools and comparing them.
- You can also read reviews by parents about the schools, and if you wish, write a review about your child’s school.
- You can view performance, spending and demographic information for any state,
- Check out links to state education departments, investigate individual schools and more.
Once a potential home buyer has done some research, they can also contact the schools or district offices to learn even more. They’ll be able to get answers to specific questions about the schools and the school district. They could also make appointments to visit the schools of interest.
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