Bowie School District (Austin, Shady Hollow, Alto: sales, how much, new home)

[infoseeker2010]

Hi,

I am a potential new home buyer. I was interested in a home Olympic Heights (D. R. Horton Builders) Community.



The sales agent told use that just recently (couple of weeks back) the High School District got changed from Baranoff-Bailey-Akins to Baranoff-Bailey-Bowie. Is that true??

If yes normally after how many years the school boundaries are re-drawn. Sorry if my questions are stupid, but I am new to city and want some basic information before making a decision.

[AGA]

May be true, but I would check with the district office to be sure. There have been some changes down here (I am south also) and I expect more to come. I heard there are facility use meetings coming up over the next few weeks. Check the AISD site to see if you can get details of those.

[neddy]

There is no set time that they redraw lines for schools. It usually happens when a new school is opened. So that could be any time. Good luck!

[jobert]

It really shouldn't matter - both high schools are 'recognized' but if you were looking for something specifically in the Akins area, the Rancho Alto neighborhood across Frate Barker is zoned for Akins, but it more expensive per square foot, and is more expensive overall.

I would also be concerned about future resale. The Olympic heights neighborhood avg sales price dropped from 171K to 167K (-$4K) over the last 3 years, while the Rancho Alto neighborhood avg. sales price rose from 186K to 188K (+$2K) in the same period. I don't know if it s due to schools or not. Anyways, good luck house hunting!

[car957]

There is no such thing as a Bowie HS school district in the AISD system.

[JERiv]

Use the following website to figure out what schools your kids would attend. Lookup is based on home address. I wish there were maps that visually showed this info, but AISD doesn't have any (that I've seen).

https://access.austinisd.org/school_boundaries/?lang=en

Also, keep in mind that there's a new HS planned for south Austin that will likely be built in the next 3-10 years (no one knows when or where yet). So your boundaries may change in the near term.

Good luck in your search!

[infoseeker2010]

Thanks everyone for your informative replies/posts.

One more question : The community has $97/month association fee since it is a gated community with swimming pool and other amenities. I don't mind $97/month but it can always increase.. some of my friends back in california had started with $100/month and within 10 yrs they are now paying close to $400/month.. does it happen in austin also?? I understand it is a very subjective thing.. but i just want to know in general how much it increases..

[jobert]

Originally Posted by infoseeker2010

Thanks everyone for your informative replies/posts.

One more question : The community has $97/month association fee since it is a gated community with swimming pool and other amenities...

Olympic Heights is not a gated community, if that matters to you.

[austin-steve]

Originally Posted by infoseeker2010

Thanks everyone for your informative replies/posts.

One more question : The community has $97/month association fee since it is a gated community with swimming pool and other amenities. I don't mind $97/month but it can always increase.. some of my friends back in california had started with $100/month and within 10 yrs they are now paying close to $400/month.. does it happen in austin also?? I understand it is a very subjective thing.. but i just want to know in general how much it increases..

Are you sure about the gated section? I know there was an additional section planned, on the western edge of OH that would connect into Shady Hollow, is that where the gated section is that your looking at. OH is nowhere near the price point or lot sizes that would justify a gated section so it would seem bizarre to me if that was indeed planned.

Steve

[jobert]

Well, there is a gate around the pool that requires an access card. The pool is nice, I've swum in it.