Garnet Valley, Great Valley West Chester Henderson school districts (Downingtown: 2015, renting)

[buffalobrat]

We're relocating to the Philly area. Originally we focused our search in Media, Devon, Wayne area and realized that we could not find what we wanted. Our budget for a house is roughly $650K, and we want the following: decent sized yard (big enough for kids to run around in the backyard and not be forced to play on the street), minimum of 2700 sq ft, 4 bedrooms and newer construction (20 years old'ish). We were drawn to the areas above for commute purposes as they seemed a bit central to where we are working (KOP, Radnor) and good school districts. After looking at 15+ houses, we're starting to rule these areas out and are going further out. We're starting to look at West Chester Henderson West, Great Valley and Garnet Valley. Could anyone speak to the quality of these school districts? Any other suburb options for good school district/ 'decent' commute time?

[PhillyPhan95]

All those school districts are fine for a motivated student. Based on their purported "reputations" however, people would probably order it Great Valley, Henderson, then Garnet Valley, but again like I said, they're all just fine. In terms of commute time to KOP and Radnor, I'm not 100% sure but based on what I know, I'd say it's probably be the same order, Great Valley, West Chester, then Garnet Valley. Not sure where you'd get the biggest bang for your buck though.

[LibraGirl123]

Originally Posted by buffalobrat

We're starting to look at West Chester Henderson West, Great Valley and Garnet Valley. Could anyone speak to the quality of these school districts? Any other suburb options for good school district/ 'decent' commute time?

West Chester Henderson West is not a school district. The West Chester Area School District is comprised of three high schools... B. Reed Henderson is one of those schools.

http://home.wcasd.net/pages/West_Chester_Area_SD

[cpomp]

All areas are similarly priced, and very desirable and great schools.

I would say Great Valley and Garnet Valley schools are ranked slightly higher than West Chester Schools.

You may also want to check out the Newtown Square and Media areas due to their proximity to your job locations.

[Pezzalini]

I've been looking in similar areas, basically the same price range, and for me taxes were a big factor along with the schools. The two go hand-in-hand. WCASD has the lowest millage rate in Chester County, maybe DelCo also, but still has good schools. Garnet Valley has great schools, but the taxes are crazy...I bypassed houses I really liked for that reason only. Same goes for Downingtown...good schools, but a significantly higher millage rate.

I've been renting a really nice home in the West Chester Borough for the past year, and finally found a house with the right combination of what I was looking for - great lot, character, size, neighborhood, etc., and while it's a few minutes outside of the borough, my kids will be going to the same schools.

One thing to keep in mind is that you can always appeal your home's assessment. When you buy a home, the HUD statement basically establishes its value, and there are two thresholds to keep in mind - 57.7% in ChesCo, ~68% in DelCo. If the assessed value is higher as a percentage of the purchase price than those thresholds, you should be able to successfully appeal the assessed value and lower the taxes.

These tables are really interesting to check out:

Chester County Tax Rates for 2014: http://www.chesco.org/DocumentCenter/View/18829
Delaware County Tax Rates for 2015: http://www.co.delaware.pa.us/treasurer/TaxRate2015.pdf

There'a quite a bit of variation, especially in DelCo...check out the total millage in Thornbury township. A nice house there won't stay on the market more than a week. Something to consider when you're house shopping...(relatively) reasonable taxes make a house much more appealing for everyone.

[mls128]

In terms of reputation I would say the schools probably rank Great Valley> Garnet Valley>Henderson. But, they are all great school districts. In terms of personal preference, i'd go with Great Valley>Henderson> Garnet Valley. They're all upper middle to upper class areas, so you shouldn't have to worry. It seems like you are more fixated on the house than the area, so if that is the case I understand looking further out to find exactly what you want. But, if you're willing to compromise on the age of the house, I would highly recommend radnor township, Zip codes fall within (19087, 19010, and a small portion of 19073). It's a lot of older homes and the new construction would most likely be out of your budget. But, it is an amazing area and it's expensive for a reason. Great schools and great community. Plus, if you're already working there.