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Besides, if the market is as hot as you say it is, you will be able to resell the home in the future no matter what school district you choose. Good luck!
Not necessarily. A common mistake people make when compromising on the schools/location is to not downsize their budget to be in line with the lower average. Let's say OP is looking at $750K fixers and decides they're not willing to deal with something like that so instead they move to a $400K neighborhood and buy a $750K turn-key house. That house is going to be difficult to sell since it's priced almost double what the average buyer in that area is willing to spend. Unless that $400K neighborhood is 'up and coming' it's going to be passed over by the majority of buyers looking in the upper price range.
A neighborhood we lived in used to be just like you describe. One house sold for an insane amount over asking, the market crashed. These people will never, ever get the money back.
... Also, I don't understand people being so hung up on school districts. I get that schools are really important for educating your children, but active, involved parenting is even more so. (Sometimes parents forget that, unfortunately). So as long as you've got the great parenting angle covered, you're in good stead. Besides, if the market is as hot as you say it is, you will be able to resell the home in the future no matter what school district you choose. Good luck!
I totally agree that parents have to be involved, but it's not always true that a school district isn't important. While your kids will do well, if the school district is under-performing, the district is more worried about bringing up test scores for the under-performing kids than anything. The better students are left on their own, unchallenged and sometimes given the burden of helping other students instead of given more challenging work.
I will also agree with you where parents who aren't involved and believe the magic bullet to their uninterested and under-performing child is a private school or a better school district. It just doesn't work that way, but a lot of parents believe that.
On the other hand, if your current school district is fine, but isn't as highly rated as the town you're looking at, then I would agree that it doesn't make sense to move just for a slightly better rating of the school system, especially if you're involved with your children's learning.
It is all in how you percieve a house to be. I see it as a place to live, create memories for our familty, have a place to entertain friends, Spend time in, build a life together. What I don't see is a way to create wealth. Our home is not a piggy bank to fund our lifestyle. It is not a place to borrow money from. Our home is not going to create our wealth. We plan on living in it for years to come and letting our kids have it when we don't need it anymore. I don't see it as a way to fund our retirement.
The reason this matters is with that idea in mind, buy the home that you want in the area that you want to live in. Have the idea that you will be there forever. Build your life around that home. Create lasting memories around that home. If it is not all that you want then make it what you want it to be. Realize that any changes you make are for your enjoyment. Not everyone will want what you want. Have a way to pay off your home. Make a plan to pay it off quicker than your loan term. Oh and never look back. Once you sign on the dotted line forget about everything else. Forget market swings. Forget about making or losing money.
I watched people that had bougth homes prior to 2006 - 2007. As prices jumped up they thought that they were rich. People took loans on their homes and bought new cars. I remember dropping off my kids at school and saw a row of Hummers, Bimmers, and Benz's all funded by increases in home prices. I saw many of these people lose their homes when the market fell apart. I hope that people don't repeat the same mistake but I am fearing that people forget too soon or think that history does not apply to them. Funny thing is I recently joined a company and they offer a car allowance for a luxury car. You do need to qualify for the car bonus and I plan on doing that by May of this year. Just wondering how many people will think I did the same thing as those people did in the days of the bubble. LOL
i live in a hot real estate market. prices literally go up every week on homes and the inventory is super low. every open house i go to there are literally hundreds of people and multiple offers. i desperately want to live in a very specific area b/c of location/schools. last week a home went on the market, we put a bid, and found there were 5 other offers and the seller went w/ an all cash buyer. one week later another home in that neighborhood (literally across the street) comes on the market but it's 2 br, not 3 like we are looking for. they have listed it even higher than the 3 br last week (it's a bit more updated). my agent says it is overpriced. i know it is but we really want it. we want to escalate up to $30K more than asking price. are we nuts? this is a very hot area right now and most likely will continue to stay very desirable.
Do you have kids who are school-age or about to be school-age? If not, calm down and stay somewhere more reasonable.
These bidding wars are the way it is in the Silicon Valley. The listed price is not what the sellers expect. Typically they have the home inspected prior to listing, provide a copy of the inspection. The bidders accept the house as is, make the best offer of $ they can, some buyers include a personal story as to why the house is important to them. Sometimes the highest offer is not the one accepted because the buyers evaluate the probability of the sale closing in the time frame they want.
Is this a sellers market? Yes, if they don't need to buy a home in the same area.
It is crazy? Keep in mind the fact that home prices are pure supply and demand. Lots of highly paid professionals are moving to the Silicon Valley and want a single family dwelling on a suburban sized lot. Land is not increasing.
DD lives in the SV so I have watched her buy a home and observe her neighborhood. I live in Portland and notice that technology employers are setting up offices here because their employees can afford to live here. I am not implying that Portland housing costs are low, they are lower only by SV (and Seattle) measures.
I don't think I'd offer $30,000 over asking price on an already overpriced house, but what I would do, if I had $30,000 laying around, is I would take a careful look at that 2 bedroom house and see if my $30,000 could be used to add a third bedroom.
Competition for a two bedroom house should not be as fierce as it is for a three bedroom house. With lots of competition, if you rally want that house, make a full price offer plus a couple thousand extra. Not $30,000 extra.
The two bedroom might not be overpriced. If the thee bedroom that just sold had multiple offers immediately, then I would say that the list price for the three bedroom was under the market.
Are there any vacant lots in that area? If there are, sometimes the lots don't keep up with the house prices and you can buy a lot and build your own. You have to price out every possible option in a tight market.
Are there any vacant lots in that area? If there are, sometimes the lots don't keep up with the house prices and you can buy a lot and build your own. You have to price out every possible option in a tight market.
Not the case around here. Vacant lots are often worth more than lots with houses on them. Good example, a run down uninhabitable house down the block from me sold for $280K. A developer came in and razed the house, then sold the empty lot for $400K.
Here's another one near me. House sold for $397K, vacant lot with permits is listed at $641K:
we want to be in this school not just b/c it's a good school but b/c this is the school our kids currently attend. we have moved twice in the last two years and they would be heartbroken to have to move yet again. this is why we are trying so hard to stay in this neighborhood.
If your children already go to this school why are you so desperate to throw money away in a housing bubble?
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