Monthly Archives: September 2013

Tips for Evaluating Schools Before you Move

15 Sunday Sep 2013

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Schools are a contributing factor for anyone buying a home. Even if you donʼt have kids yourself, your next buyer might, and they might base their decision to buy on the school district which serves your home.

The question remains: How do you evaluate schools? Whatʼs the best approach for understanding if your local schools will score your property an “A” or relegate it to the land of “D-”?

Luckily, there are some excellent resources out there for vetting schools online. Here are a few weʼve come across which provide a good place to start:

HanleyHomeTeam.com: Our website has a link for Duval County parents who can enter their address (or potential new address) and find the school associated with that home. Quick link is http://www.kevinhanleyhomes.com/school_reports.shtml

Education.com: A major portal site for education everywhere, youʼll want to pay particular attention to the schools section, found here: http://www.education.com/topic/school-and-academics/

GreatSchools.org: A good search engine for researching schools, you can do zip code based searches and learn lots about the public and private institutions in the area.

ProjectAppleseed.com: A website dedicated to improving public schools, you can learn a lot here about the crucial elements of what makes a local school and excellent local school.

Finally, here are a handful of questions to ask yourself if youʼre doing research:

How comprehensive is the schoolʼs safety policy?
What social/support services are available at the school?
How does the school handle discipline?
Are people involved in a parent/teacher organization?
How healthy is the school districtʼs annual report?

Finally, be sure to ask your agent! Looking for neighborhoods with great schools? We can help! Kevin and Jennifer Hanley, REALTORS 904-422-7626 http://www.HanleyHomeTeam.com