Moving close to a good public school

for your offpsring/s sake, would you move to a suburb where there is a good public school even if you'll need to buy a more expensive house or stay put where you are and sent him to a good private school?

we are planning for our son as in which one is a better option. he won't be schooling till a couple of years later but thought we should consider his schooling needs soon as this may affect plans to buy one or two IPs in the next 3 to 5 years.

constructive comments much appreciated :)
 
My thinking is if you can afford to pay a very high price for a house just to get into a public school then you might as well pay the private school fees for the education.
 
I have seen somebody buy an IP in a particular school area, just to be eligible to have their child attend the school.

They were able to show rate notices etc, and had an arrangement with the tenant to collect any mail for them. I believe this worked well for them as they did a major reno and lived in the place for a period of time.

It may also be possible to rent a house for a period of time.
 
If it is only one child then it may not be worth selling the current house and then buying again. However, if you are going to buy a house anyway then why not closer to the good public school?
 
Happens in my area a lot. People move, or at least buy an investment property and pretend to live there for a while to get into those schools. My kids primary similarly has people move in to the area. 1 parent this year even rented a house nearby and left it vacant, just to get in.

Similarly the parents who scrape, save borrow or otherwise make sacrifices to get their kids into private schools also contribute to a great environment. But just a school has high fees doesn't make for supportive parents and a great environment, it is just there are not the dodgy private schools like there are with public schools.

I think that the most important thing in a kids education is the expectation of their parents.

A good public school is just as good, or better than some of the top private schools and vice versa. A good public school can be selective about who they accept from outside their catchment area. A parents ability to pay does not necessarily reflect their parenting ability.

Don't get me wrong, a lot of kids thrive in a good private school and will really appreciate their parents sending them there. But it is the parents, not the school (dodgy schools aside) that make the difference.

My kids are going to go to a great public high school, the year each one enrol I am going to buy a house in its own trust and when they are mature enough, probably as a wedding present, maybe at 25 ish they are going to get control of that trust. They will not be told about this as I want them to make their own money and do things for themselves. I grew up really poor and think it is important that you do not feel entitled to anything and I do struggle with the concept of helping with spoiling etc. This is what my wife and I have discussed as our resolution to the issue. I think that this investment will give them more benefit then sending them to a private school.

However, if I could not get them into a good public school, there is no way they would go to the local dodgy one and private school it would be.

my 2 cents, and some

D
 
We just moved and are in the process of looking for a place to rent - armed with maps of the home areas of two great public schools. If it's not within the school zone, it doesn't make it on our list.
We had a PPOR but will choose to rent now that we've moved because it's far cheaper than buying in our chosen area. If we lived near a crappy public school, I would choose to send my son to private school but that's plan B.

RPI, I really like your idea of buying a house in trust without telling the kids, mine's a few years off going to highschool but I'd be very keen to do something similar when the time comes.
 
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Buying at super inflated prices JUST to get into a local school's catchment is all the rage with the asian and indian families in my area. Just on the weekend i went to an open home for a property that is in the catchment for a public school that the asian community sees as "top quality"....... 90% of the people attending were asian families, 5% indian, and myself and one other family were euro/anglo.

I walked away from the property as i knew the price would be driven up well beyond the true value, just because of the school catchment.

Its at the point now that REA's advertise a property as being in this school's catchment, and they sell fast.



EDIT: i should add that in no way am i saying this in a derogatory manner, nor suggest that this kind of activity is bad. I am simply passing on my personal experience and observations of a particular type of buyer in my local area.
 
they are only good public schools because the people that give a dam all make a decision to go there, so it's self fulfilling. the resources of that school are still very much public. having said that, the money spent on a relevant house shoul dbe retained. But (and showing my age here) I remember when willetton was considered very very rough, so schools can change and thus catchment area houses. I sold a RSHS zoned villa some time ago - idiot! it tripled in value since I sold it in 2004.
 
Don't feel bad Ausprop. I know an accountant who has a bit of vintage on me but his experience is delightful.

When him and his wife were first married they could only afford to buy a house in one place, rough as guts it was. Full of scary buggers. But it gets worse.

The poor bugger could only find a terrace house that had another terrace has attached to it on the same title. So they had to rent it out to some dodgy characters. No end of problem it was, and him and the missus worked really hard and saved their pennies so that they could move out of there and buy a nice house in the suburbs, which after a number of years they did.

Was a place in the Rocks in Sydney, maybe you might of heard of it by chance. Only tells that story when he knows you well or he has had a few, doesn't want new clients thinking he is a moron.
 
for your offpsring/s sake, would you move to a suburb where there is a good public school even if you'll need to buy a more expensive house or stay put where you are and sent him to a good private school?

we are planning for our son as in which one is a better option. he won't be schooling till a couple of years later but thought we should consider his schooling needs soon as this may affect plans to buy one or two IPs in the next 3 to 5 years.

constructive comments much appreciated :)

I always wondered if I would make the decision as a parent to move to a zone so my kids could go there.
Some thoughts for you:
- does the increased price of the listing equal the cost of a private school
- if you have a very intelligent child they might be able to get 'out of zone' placement at that school. This of course causes a chain of events where the school then gets better results which makes parents think that the school is better so they move to the zone etc etc
- if you have a child who is more trades focused then you really want a school which has a good relationship with a Tafe which might not be a school which is all about University entrance scores.

Whilst you don't want to send your kid to a school which teaches Boosting Cars 101, Methlab 102, Graffiti 103 and Dole System 104 - your options are wide and varied for schooling.

Choosing the right schooling system is really hard and one that many parents struggle with. My 2 pieces of advice would be
- successful schooling is a triumverate - the school, the parents and the child. All 3 need to support and work together for a success. Generally none of them by themselves makes it.
- out of the 14 years of schooling there will be teachers who you don't like and who your child doesn't like. Those years will be hard but things should improve the next year.
 
I think it is a stupid idea and is just ignorant parenting - trying to outsource their education to a school.
I'm not sure if you are being sarcastic or not. As a father of three, would rather outsource as much as possible and spend more fun time with kids.
 
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IIRC SMH ran an article about a year ago re going private vs just your pleb public vs buying in an area within a decent school's catchment area. I've done the sum 6-7 years ago, if I deposit school fees from kindy to year 12, it adds up to about $400k with compound interest. With 2 kids, a $800k property would've breakeven.

Buying at super inflated prices JUST to get into a local school's catchment is all the rage with the asian and indian families in my area. Just on the weekend i went to an open home for a property that is in the catchment for a public school that the asian community sees as "top quality"....... 90% of the people attending were asian families, 5% indian, and myself and one other family were euro/anglo.

I walked away from the property as i knew the price would be driven up well beyond the true value, just because of the school catchment.

Its at the point now that REA's advertise a property as being in this school's catchment, and they sell fast.

EDIT: i should add that in no way am i saying this in a derogatory manner, nor suggest that this kind of activity is bad. I am simply passing on my personal experience and observations of a particular type of buyer in my local area.

Let me guess, Carlingford/WPH?

If the ad doesn't mention catchment area for school blah then they won't turn up or at least less of them. Then again one of the better schools in that area doesn't advertise the catchment area map while the other do.
 
i have found across all suburbs that typically mainland chinese and continental indian families tend to pay more for a quality family home located close to a public high school and public transport - often higher than the market rent.

this is just something i've noticed in the areas is mainly deal with though, it may not be true within the areas you're looking.

if you're thinking rossmoyne catchment then you're already at the back of a 2000+ strong queue of people.

that said, most of the time a place close to a public high school will rent for more regardless of who is applying.
 
I'm in the process of doing this. My plan is to rent out my ex-reno in Melville and pick up a reno in Riverton (RSHS zone). Cashflow-wise I should be slightly infront (as long as interest rates remain low) and I should be able to pick up an increase in the valuation on the reno. Fingers crossed.
 
he won't be schooling till a couple of years later but thought we should consider his schooling needs soon as this may affect plans to buy one or two IPs in the next 3 to 5 years.
Have you thought of investing the same money somewhere which has good CG potential?
As long as that property increases by about 35K a year, you can afford to pay for the private school fees (35 * 80% = 28K) using the equity. 7% CG on a 500K property is about 35K.

This way at least you will have ‘choices’ compared to be stuck with only one school.

Personally, we are sending our oldest to a private pre-school (to give a bit of head-start and also teach good manners) and then going to send her to the local average primary. Our local high schools are slightly above the average. There is a benefit in being the top student in an avearge school than being an average student in a top school. We will think about our options when she reaches high-school.

Initially we thought, if all goes to private or none. Just to give them equal chance. However, I'm slowly changing that view after observing our second child (2.5 years old). He learns everything from his big sister! That means that we may need to focus more on the oldest child then hopefully her siblings will follow her path.
 
I think it is a stupid idea and is just ignorant parenting - trying to outsource their education to a school.

So you homeschool your kids?

Some points raised.

The increased cost would not equal 12 years of private school fees.
Yes certain school are desirable because parents assume if they are in the school their child has a better chance of getting into the OC class (doesn't happen).
The schools results look good BECAUSE they have the OC class (look at the Yr3 results to see if there is a hike from Year 3-5. Look at YR3 results from surrounding school and compare.
Numbers aren't everything. Does the school have what suits you AND your child (music, sport etc).
I've heard of people knocking on doors of parents at my school , offering to pay their electricity bill so they can have the bill in their name so as to get access to the school. :eek:

And so it goes. Our first PPOR was in a not wonderful area. The plan was to upgrade in 5 years. If we couldn't afford it we would rent the house out and rent in a better area. We moved in 7 years (all good). Schooling is very important, as is peer pressure. The local high school had special classes for pregnant teenagers:eek: No way was my daughter being exposed to those peers. Even though you provide a solid moral code there are still outside infuences.

Tough decision.
 
Just got enrolements and 2 families had the same address.:confused:Principal calls the familes in to explain.

One is the tenant, one is the owner. OOPS!!!:eek:
 
Parent strategies for schooling are going to vary depending on budget, scholastic outcomes desired, and other lifestyle factors (such as proximity to parents' employment locations etc). I'd argue that the best strategy is to invest in property anywhere in Australia that you perceive to be a good investment, then rent in the catchment zone of the school you'd like your children to attend.
 
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