For families with children in school, schools are often an important part of the home buying process. On Friday I started searching for a new home for a lesbian couple in Palatine. They want to keep their 8 year old son in the same elementary school, but with another child soon to be on the way they need more space than their current apartment provides.
I setup a search for homes that meet their criteria including their son’s elementary school. They emailed me back wondering why a few homes they saw online didn’t come up in my search. I found that the listing agents for those homes didn’t bother to enter the name of the schools for their listings. They only entered the school district. There is only one elementary school district for Palatine (District 15) and it includes all 15 elementary schools that serve Palatine and all or part of 6 surrounding suburbs.
So I setup a second search using a map that approximates the school’s boundaries to find those listings that meet the women’s search criteria, but don’t specifically mention their son’s school. This type of search isn’t perfect, but should pick up most of the listings missing the school.
If they decide to make an offer on one of these houses, I’ll recommend they call the school to confirm that the address is served by that school. Until the Multiple Listing System of Northern Illinois (MLSNI) requires schools to be specified, I’ll continue to use both types of search.
Similar Posts:
- Home Searching in Chicago Area School Districts
- What to do when Chicago homes for sale details don’t include schools
- How to Find Public Schools for Chicago Homes
- Why Sellers Should Confirm Their School Districts
- 2009 Illinois school report cards & rankings released today
