buyin a home in ftw (Fort Worth, Keller: house, school district, college)

[eugirlintx]

i got a few questions for you ft worthers dh and i are looking and we have found a home we really like. i found the tarrant county tax caluculator but i don't have the details to get a proper estimate. what is the average percentage in ftw? my second question is, is this School District Keller (Elementary: Bluebonnet; Middle: Hillwood; Intermediate: Parkwood; High: CENTRAL) any good? where do i find good info about these schools? i tried google but i just come up with ratings that aren't very helpful. thanks!

[5stones]

Keller isd was rated Recognised this year.

The elem school BLUEBONNET is a very good school it is rated exemplary.
Int. Parkewood (5&6th) is rated recognised.
Hillwood MS (7&8) is a concern it's rated acceptable
Central HS is rated acceptable (but it's a good school with good staff, I won't be surprised to see it jump up next year)

so yes I'd say they are GOOD schools esp up to grade 6. and Good for HS, my concern would be the middle school. It's not terrrible, but there are better MS in the district.

ALSO look on the new boundry map for HS some that go to central now will go to the new HS and some to Fossil ridge in the fall of 09.
DO NOT trust the realtor listings for schools as most are not updated yet... check the district boundry map. http://www.kellerisd.net/kellerisd/dmdocuments/downloads/New_High_School_Boundary_Map_01-08-08.pdf (broken link)

here another useful map for Keller ISD...it shows where all the schools are located.
http://www.kellerisd.net/kellerisd/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_view&gid=878 (broken link)

LOOK on Keller ISD - Home the Keller ISD page
LOOK on Great schools or school digger
Look on the TEA website as well for school info.

[loves2read]

you can tell from the tax appraisal site what % tax rate and the valuation for the home--if it is one that is a couple of years old--they are listed by address for each house in the county...

[VictorBurek]

This is not exact, but assume the tax rate is 2.5% of the tax appraised value. If you know what county, for example, if in Tarrant county, go to www.tad.org, click the link for property data search, then input location address. This will give you the tax value and multiply by 2.5% for approximate tax value. If property is in a different county, do a google search of tax appraisal district (name of county)

[nsumner]

Originally Posted by eugirlintx

i got a few questions for you ft worthers dh and i are looking and we have found a home we really like. i found the tarrant county tax caluculator but i don't have the details to get a proper estimate. what is the average percentage in ftw? my second question is, is this School District Keller (Elementary: Bluebonnet; Middle: Hillwood; Intermediate: Parkwood; High: CENTRAL) any good? where do i find good info about these schools? i tried google but i just come up with ratings that aren't very helpful. thanks!

You go also go to www.greatschools.net and find reviews from parents.

The area of Fort Worth with Keller ISD where all these schools falls has a tax rate of 2.86 with the following breakdown:

County Tax 0.266500
County Hospital 0.230390
County College 0.139380
City Fort Worth 0.855000
School Keller 1.357400
County water dt. 0.020000

Remember that in Texas you get a homestead exemption when the home is your primary residence. That will give you a significant discount on your taxes.

I hope this info helps.

Naima

[beowulf7]

Originally Posted by VictorBurek

This is not exact, but assume the tax rate is 2.5% of the tax appraised value. If you know what county, for example, if in Tarrant county, go to www.tad.org, click the link for property data search, then input location address. This will give you the tax value and multiply by 2.5% for approximate tax value. If property is in a different county, do a google search of tax appraisal district (name of county)

I thought it's more like 3%.

[loves2read]

the tax rate varies by entity and county--Tarrant Co hospital district has one rate, Tarrant county, Keller ISD and FTW city have different tax rates as well...so you have to look at each one's rate and the valuation to get the overall tax total...