Written by Jim the Realtor

October 29, 2010

In the end we’ll have a series of videos on what to look out for when buying a home – the focus in this segment is living near a school:

16 Comments

  1. Keith

    Jtr,

    Great tip about the cell phone reception. I have recently rid myself of the extra bill for home phone. I am acutely aware of that with my customers, and it is so easy to check.

    Loved seeing the Google Maps Car at the end. You will have to search that out and find yourself, wonder what the lapse is between taping and being on the map?

  2. Susie

    Stellar advice as always, Jim! What I admire the most about you (beyond your absolute integrity) is your role as a trusted adviser and not just a guy going for the quick commission in real estate land. Keep up the good work!

    Um, has the Google Map Car replaced the ol’ ice cream truck?

  3. GameAgent

    At what cross streets did you drive by the Google car? We’ll look for you on the next Google map update.

  4. joe

    The cell phone reception issue is interesting.Arent they constantly adding new towers in areas to make reception better?

  5. pat b

    Jim

    Maybe Google Maps could have a cell phone reception overlay?

  6. GameAgent

    joe,
    I live in Rose Canyon (NW Clairemont). There’s a cell phone antenna farm on the other side of the canyon on Soledad Mtn. My cell phone coverage sucks in my house. I get one bar with Verizon and no sevice with AT&T. No one plans to add any towers around me.

  7. IRE

    The cell phone companies are slowly coming out with femtocells. These are devices that plug into your home internet router and cover your house with cell phone reception. Verizon’s product is called the Network Extender and it works reasonably well. With these products available cell phone coverage isn’t such a big issue.

  8. eag

    Good video Jim. Living near a school is a plus for me (but I’ll always take a 5% discount)! Carlsbad High looks like a beautiful schoool. I love the open space and the energy of the kids, fall football, band practice, etc. I never fail to be able to root through the trash and pick out a big gulp cup to rinse in the water fountain and give my dog a drink. And although I don’t really mind a busier street (as kids are grown now) the freeway is a dealbreaker.

  9. Jeeman

    I used to live on Roan Rd. Coming home, I would always warn people that I would be disconnected. I thought it was just Sprint, but it was all the phone services.

    Inside our house, we were doing better, since it was on top of the hill, but we still had disconnects because we were roughly equidistant between two towers. Our signal would hop between the two until an eventual disconnect.

    Besides that, I liked Park Village. The houses were about 2100 sqft, basic layouts, and the neighbors kept to themselves. Alot of investment property there, as for rent signs continually popped up.

  10. Geotpf

    I live between a high school and a elementary school. The high school is a problem not due to parking, but mainly with trash thrown in my yard (and some graffiti, although that may not be directly high school related). The elementary school is a problem due to traffic issues-there’s a complete traffic jam at 8:30 in the morning when parents drop their kids off. Fortuantly, I’m already out of the house by that time, but if I needed to leave at that time, it would be extremely annoying. (The main car entrance to the high school is on another street, so that’s not a problem, although there is a little problem on nights with football games.)

  11. Dan Tanner

    My wife and I happened to buy a home close enough to easily walk to the elementary school (but not on the same street as the school so as to avoid traffic). Not having children at the time we bought, we didn’t know how convenient it would be for not only everyday school, but for after school activities as well (parent/teacher conferences, science night, PTA, movie night, Halloween parade, etc.)

    Also many of the weekday sports practices and weekend games are scheduled at the nearby park, also at walking distance across from the school.

    It’s been a huge bonus that I had no idea about when we first bought our home.

  12. Kingside

    T.J,

    I am always skeptical of AG’s who put out press releases about the law without citing the language of the law they are talking about. Press releases are not enforcement actions, and even if they begin an enforcement action, if they are disputed they are decided by judges, not AGs.

    Do we happen to be in a political season? Naw, couldn’t be.

  13. NKC

    My son just finished CHS, yes the traffic there in the morning and afternoon is an absolute nightmare. It was a pain to drop him off pick him up from school.

    Also, I heard from people who have housing facing canyons insurance is a big problem, since canyons attract fires.

  14. Kathy

    Yes, it is getting increasingly difficult to buy house insurance living on a canyon.

    Jim, what do you think of homes near a freeway but that don’t get the noise themselves. Thinking specifically of ones along the 56 freeway in CV (Palacio, off Carmel Country road). Would all the homes have a depressed price, since the comps include ones that get the noise and if so, would it be a good deal to buy one in that development if it doesn’t get the noise itself?

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