School Catchments
One of the most important decisions for families with young children when moving home is the proximity to a good state school. With the minimum cost of a private education running at around £8000 per annum the attraction of obtaining a place for your child in a top performing state school is obvious.
According to the latest RICS figures (2006) the average premium for a house in a good school catchments area is around £16,000 or 8% of its value. A good local state school can cause mayhem in the local property market as many parents now pay closer attention to the school league tablesthan the property particulars.
Buying a property in a good school catchment area may seem like a wise move as you should be able to achieve a similar premium when you come to sell but there are risks involved. As a school becomes more popular the catchments area shrinks so while your children may get a place there is no guarantee that your property will still be in the catchment area in 5 years time. There is also evidence that parents are being priced out of the best catchment areas with premiums paid declining in recent years.
An alternative plan would be to move in to a rental property in the catchment area of your desired school to ensure a place while you search for a property to buy. Having secured a place for the oldest of your children you would then have the option to buy a property a little further away from the school as your other children will be given priority places in future years. Were the school to become fully subscribed with siblings distance to the school would become relevant again.
You may feel that going into a rental property is a risk as the market may rise during that period and leave you behind. This is a possibility although you should be able to recoup some of the loss with the extra bargaining power that you gain by becoming a chain free seller on you existing house and an unencumbered buyer when you find something to buy.
A parent’s desire to get their children into their school of choice will sometimes make them think about breaking the rules by buying an investment property as a means of securing an address in the catchment area. As well as the moral issue of depriving another local child a place there is also a good chance that you will get caught.
You will be asked to provide proof of residence such as utility and council tax bills that would normally be in your tenant’s names and many schools now routinely carry out home visits prior to the child starting school. If all is not as stated on the application form the child’s place will be withdrawn leaving you scrambling to find an alternative school just before the start of term.