[rocks/salt]

Hello!

Just looking for some feedback on this scenario....

I have friends moving to the area and would like to purchase a house or condo/townhouse with a budget of max 160k. From what I've heard and read, a single family is a much better investment and better/easier for resale. However, with schools definitely being a factor is it better to purchase a single family zoned a "lesser" high school or a condo/townhouse zoned for a better-rated high school? For instance a single family zoned for Cimmaron versus a condo zoned for Palo Verde.

[airics]

Condo yes. House not at that price.. You're too late

[usnftcret]

I would check out townhouses before a condo. There are many in the 150-160k price range throughout the valley.

[Cold Warrior]

Originally Posted by usnftcret

I would check out townhouses before a condo. There are many in the 150-160k price range throughout the valley.

Isn't every townhouse a condo?

[KingpinLasVegas]

Originally Posted by Cold Warrior

Isn't every townhouse a condo?

No. Huge difference between the two. With a condo you're buying one particular unit that is on a common piece of property co owned by all the other condo owners. You're purchasing the individual condo as well as a portion of the land, property, and amenities. A condo owner also shares ownership of just about everything located on the property with others, including the roof and staircases and a lot of times any private roads that the building is on as well pool, tennis courts and other amenities. With a townhouse, you alone own the home and the land that it's on. Most townhouse's usually have their own driveways, yards and garages. Also, condos are more like apartments while townhouse's more closely resemble homes. I'm sure I left something out but hope this helps.

[08grad]

Originally Posted by rocks/salt

Hello!

Just looking for some feedback on this scenario....

I have friends moving to the area and would like to purchase a house or condo/townhouse with a budget of max 160k. From what I've heard and read, a single family is a much better investment and better/easier for resale. However, with schools definitely being a factor is it better to purchase a single family zoned a "lesser" high school or a condo/townhouse zoned for a better-rated high school? For instance a single family zoned for Cimmaron versus a condo zoned for Palo Verde.

airics is correct. 160k isn't getting you into a zone for any of the top schools, unless you're wanting a 2 bedroom condo.

People here don't value education nearly as much as other areas I lived. You won't find the SF Bay Area Asians that won't consider a house unless it's zoned for the top school district, or make concessions to get into a top school district. The residents are predominantly middle class ex-Californians whose list of priorities consists of (1) a nice new Truck/SUV (depending on gender), (2) a big house with a big garage to store their "stuff" because it obviously makes no sense to park a car there, (3) Starbucks/Bars ... then a long way down they're concerned about what high school their child attends.

As someone who bought a property 3 years ago making sure it was zoned for a top school, I haven't got more appreciation on my property than similar properties that are zoned for lower schools. I wish I would have bought a bigger, nicer property back then but I do love my location (especially since the crappy renters next door moved out). The metro area goes up and down together based on the health of the economy, there's no immune areas.

Palo Verde isn't that good, most of the top students in that area either apply to West Career and Technical Academy or go to Faith Lutheran/Bishop Gorman if their parents are wealthy. Cimarron is crappy now but when re-zoning happens next year they're dropping all the neighborhoods east of the 95 (low income areas) and stealing some of Palo Verde/Centennial's students. It should improve.

Henderson doesn't face that issue since there isn't a top notch Career/Technical Academy out here and you don't have large established private high schools. This is why Coronado does better than Palo Verde. There's also less of a difference in home values between Coronado and neighboring Green Valley or Foothill, as those schools are all part of the Henderson community whereas Palo Verde (Summerlin) has a completely different community than Cimarron.

Buy the house, it's more important that the kids are in the advanced classes at their school than at a particular school. The top high schools (Magnets and Career/Technical Academies) are all application-based anyways, so high school zoning is even less important.

[CGarrett]

Originally Posted by 08grad

airics is correct. 160k isn't getting you into a zone for any of the top schools, unless you're wanting a 2 bedroom condo.

People here don't value education nearly as much as other areas I lived. You won't find the SF Bay Area Asians that won't consider a house unless it's zoned for the top school district, or make concessions to get into a top school district. The residents are predominantly middle class ex-Californians whose list of priorities consists of (1) a nice new Truck/SUV (depending on gender), (2) a big house with a big garage to store their "stuff" because it obviously makes no sense to park a car there, (3) Starbucks/Bars ... then a long way down they're concerned about what high school their child attends.

As someone who bought a property 3 years ago making sure it was zoned for a top school, I haven't got more appreciation on my property than similar properties that are zoned for lower schools. I wish I would have bought a bigger, nicer property back then but I do love my location (especially since the crappy renters next door moved out). The metro area goes up and down together based on the health of the economy, there's no immune areas.

Palo Verde isn't that good, most of the top students in that area either apply to West Career and Technical Academy or go to Faith Lutheran/Bishop Gorman if their parents are wealthy. Cimarron is crappy now but when re-zoning happens next year they're dropping all the neighborhoods east of the 95 (low income areas) and stealing some of Palo Verde/Centennial's students. It should improve.

Henderson doesn't face that issue since there isn't a top notch Career/Technical Academy out here and you don't have large established private high schools. This is why Coronado does better than Palo Verde. There's also less of a difference in home values between Coronado and neighboring Green Valley or Foothill, as those schools are all part of the Henderson community whereas Palo Verde (Summerlin) has a completely different community than Cimarron.

Buy the house, it's more important that the kids are in the advanced classes at their school than at a particular school. The top high schools (Magnets and Career/Technical Academies) are all application-based anyways, so high school zoning is even less important.

Good post and very informative! I'm totally one of those CA guys who l plan to move out there so I can have a huge house, 3 car garage and pool in the yard etc. My lady keeps shutting me down on houses I get excited about because she says 'it's in a bad school district', and my first reaction is to say "who cares?"...but she's totally right. While I believe parent involvement is the biggest key to a child's ability to be successfully educated, the schools still do matter.

[rocks/salt]

Thanks so much for the feedback! I have passed it on to my friends. I first gave them the advice to hold off at least six months before purchasing, but they're dead-set on buying immediately. So they've decided they are going to determine which they think is the best high school and buy the best they can afford--be it house, townhouse, or condo--in that school's zone.

[Cold Warrior]

Originally Posted by KingpinLasVegas

No. Huge difference between the two. With a condo you're buying one particular unit that is on a common piece of property co owned by all the other condo owners. You're purchasing the individual condo as well as a portion of the land, property, and amenities. A condo owner also shares ownership of just about everything located on the property with others, including the roof and staircases and a lot of times any private roads that the building is on as well pool, tennis courts and other amenities. With a townhouse, you alone own the home and the land that it's on. Most townhouse's usually have their own driveways, yards and garages. Also, condos are more like apartments while townhouse's more closely resemble homes. I'm sure I left something out but hope this helps.

A condominium is actually a form of ownership, not a particular type of dwelling. A townhouse is a type of dwelling, usually with 2 or more stories and shared walls with the townhouses next door.

[Daddys///M3]

Bought my house last year for $171,000. It's in an older centrally located area but there is no HOA and I have a pool. My son goes to an online charter high school so the neighborhood was a non-issue with regards to school zoning. I'm not into the idea of paying a much higher amount for housing so my kid can go to school that for all intents and purposes has the same or similar curriculum, class sizes, and employee pool as every other school out here.