Can find a good home in CP/Round Rock for $285K or less? (Austin: HOA, houses)

[centralaustinite]

I would hesitate to rely too heavily on Greatschools! It is backwards looking, evaluating the past while you are focused on the future and it tends to be riddled with inaccuracies. Setting a blanket policy of only looking at schools with an 8 or above is a sure way to miss out on schools that are up and coming, have only been open a short period of time as well as keeping you from visiting schools, talking to current parents, and digging through TEA data which is the only real way to evaluate specific schools.

Leander schools are generally well-regarded, I'm surprised to see you ruling them out altogether.

[mark311]

Originally Posted by centralaustinite

Leander schools are generally well-regarded, I'm surprised to see you ruling them out altogether.

I thought he meant that he was ruling out schools that were physically located in the city of Leander (and even that doesn't quite make sense for Vista Oaks). Even Vista Oaks which he listed as his frontrunner neighborhood feeds into Leander ISD and almost all of Cedar Park does as well. And of course the LISD elementary school for Vista Oaks is located in the city of Georgetown while both the Middle School and High Schools are located in the city of Leander while the neighborhood of Vista Oaks itself has a Round Rock address.

[AustinDude360]

Originally Posted by mark311

I thought he meant that he was ruling out schools that were physically located in the city of Leander (and even that doesn't quite make sense for Vista Oaks). Even Vista Oaks which he listed as his frontrunner neighborhood feeds into Leander ISD and almost all of Cedar Park does as well. And of course the LISD elementary school for Vista Oaks is located in the city of Georgetown while both the Middle School and High Schools are located in the city of Leander while the neighborhood of Vista Oaks itself has a Round Rock address.

I was just ruling out the city of Leander itself...not the ISD.

Vista Oaks' school - Parkside Elementary...appears to have very favorable demographics...that's mostly why it stood out. The HS was the downside.

[riaelise]

there are several neighborhoods east of 35 that zone to elementary schools that are 8 and up. Ridgeview Middle is an 8 as well. Though Great Schools should never be a sole barometer when it comes to assessing a school, in my opinion. A school can be rated a 9 and be a total fail for your kid.

[sojourner77]

Originally Posted by AustinDude360

I was just ruling out the city of Leander itself...not the ISD.

I would think twice about LISD as a property owner and taxpayer. The debt obligation of LISD from use of Capital Appreciation Bonds is sobering:

[AustinDude360]

Originally Posted by sojourner77

I would think twice about LISD as a property owner and taxpayer. The debt obligation of LISD from use of Capital Appreciation Bonds is sobering:

Where did you find that and how is Round Rock ISD in comparison?

[sojourner77]

Originally Posted by AustinDude360

Where did you find that and how is Round Rock ISD in comparison?

Local Government Services Database Search

Leander ISD has about 1.1B worth of bonds outstanding with 2.36B in interest (the chart above only shows the CAB)
Round Rock ISD has about 622M worth of bonds outstanding with 290M in interest.
Austin ISD has about 791M worth of bonds outstanding with about 375M in interest.

The shrinking enrollment in AISD means that the average parent will pay less for their kids schooling even after robin-hood recapture because an army of childless hipsters and empty nesters will subsidize them. The pie is bigger in places like LISD and it's tempting on the surface, but there will be a lot of mouths to feed over the coming decade.

[scm53]

Leander will never pay anything near the projected interest.

Some of Leander’s CAB-related debt does not require a payment for nearly 30 years, but the district plans to pay off much of it well before those bonds mature, Skoviera said. While the district will ultimately pay more than if it had used more traditional bonds, it will not pay interest anywhere near 10 times the amount borrowed, as some critics have claimed.

Such is the reality of fast growing districts and the .50 cap in our school financing laws. Leander had 7,200 students in 1994, and over 36,000 last year. Projections are over 50,000 in ten years. What are they supposed to do?

Oh, that Austin had such a problem instead of just the opposite.

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by sojourner77

I would think twice about LISD as a property owner and taxpayer. The debt obligation of LISD from use of Capital Appreciation Bonds is sobering:

Not so sure the real-world tax impact on a sub-$285k home is all that 'sobering'; especially if living in LISD cuts down on commute times and costs. Heck, an energy efficient home within a decent commuting distance would be well worth the slight extra taxes paid, IMO. Do I want all that debt? Nope. Am I going to move because of it(after 7 years in LISD)? Nope

[sojourner77]

Originally Posted by scm53

Leander will never pay anything near the projected interest.

so how much will it cost? They plan on paying the bonds early?
How early?
How much?


I see that LISD doesn't want to put any numbers in writing.