A Lesson In Choosing Property Near Schools

A Lesson In Choosing Property Near Schools

Ensuring your child receives the best education possible is one of the key aims of any parent. Simon Bradbury of Fine & Country Cambridgeshire reveals what to consider when moving house to get into a good school.

“When you are researching schools as well as results and facilities two vital pieces of information that you will need to know about are its admissions criteria and catchment area – the area surrounding the school from which it will accept pupils. If, as part of your application, you discover you need to move in order to reside in a school’s catchment area you will have some important issues to consider. 

As with any move, you will need to add up estate agents and solicitors’ fees, stamp duty, moving costs and any penalties if you are required to change your mortgage. You may well be required to increase your borrowing as houses known to be in catchment areas for popular schools are markedly more expensive than those outside, around 20 per cent more. As property is a long-term investment and if the school maintains its reputation this could be a worthwhile option for the future but there are no guarantees.

Make sure you complete all your research in plenty of time. Application deadlines vary from local authority to local authority so ensure you know when the dates are. They are often in the autumn term the year before your child is due to start school. This autumn deadline is worth bearing in mind if you decide you are willing to relocate to satisfy the catchment area criteria for your chosen school.

The optimum time to move to be in a new house for the autumn is the previous spring. This prime period is fuelled by families looking to complete their purchase in time for the school holidays. This also explains why high summer from mid July to the beginning of September is one of the poorest times of the year in terms of trying to sell your home so the advice is the earlier the better.

Do remember that places for high achieving and popular schools are often very over subscribed and merely residing in a catchment area is no guarantee of receiving a place so make sure you are happy with and are able to satisfy conditions for back-up options.”

For advice on buying or selling a property, please contact Fine & Country Cambridgeshire on 0845 6032825 or visit www.fineandcountry.com