Encinitas, California
An informational source for people who are relocating, with a particular focus on moving to the Carlsbad area of North County San Diego (and nearby coastal communities), with advice, guidance and true stories to help you on your way and make it a great journey, from a REALTOR� with plenty of personal (4 major moves, most recently from Boston to Carlsbad, California) and professional relocation experience. Are you running into problems selling your home? Need to find a new one quickly? Never moved before and haven't a clue? You'll find some great tips on how to solve your relocation issues here. Or ask me a question any time and I'll share some solutions or tell you where to get more information.
CA DRE License #01490977
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Mar. 31, 2009
Check out my recent post on Carlsbad Real Estate News for information how to research schools, communities, crime statistics and the housing market reports.
Internet Aids for Helping You in Your Relocation to Carlsbad
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If I can provide more information about Carlsbad and surrounding areas, or the housing market in general, or otherwise assist you in your homes search, please contact me by phone or text at (760) 840-1360 or email me at JDowler@remax.net.
    
All content copyright © 2009 Jeff Dowler
Mar. 13, 2009
For many buyers who are relocating, checking out the schools is a critical part of the process in their move.
It can impact where they move to (i.e., the specific neighborhood) as well as the timing (in some school districts you must be a resident for a period of time before registering AND provide proof of occupancy), so doing the research in advance is smart.
Here are several sites that buyer clients have recommended from their own research. I have looked at all of them and find School Digger to be my favorite becuase of the amount of information and the functionality, but make you own decisions.
School Digger
Great Schools
School Matters
Private Schools
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If I can provide more information about Carlsbad and surrounding areas, or the housing market in general, or otherwise assist you in your homes search, please contact me by phone or text at (760) 840-1360 or email me at JDowler@remax.net.
All content copyright © 2009 Jeff Dowler
Mar. 31, 2008
 Area schools are often one of the major criteria buyers are concerned about when searching for a new Carlsbad home (and elsewhere), and it’s not only those with school-age children.
This is particularly important for those who are relocating and are not familiar with the schools in the community. So how do you find out about the schools in the communities you are thinking about for your new home?
You can read more here about School Digger, School Matters, School Data Direct, and Great Schools.
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If I can provide more information about this community or the housing market in general, or otherwise assist you in your homes search, please contact me by phone or text at (760) 840-1360
or email me at JDowler@remax.net.
Feb. 26, 2007
 As you surf the Internet you are likely with focusing on specific sites you are aware of for your real estate information, but probably also stumbling around as well. The more research you do, the more you will learn – about the buying and selling process, about the inventory, and about the person you feel comfortable enough with to ask them to help you in that process. The majority of buyers and sellers-to-be are spending significant time doing some sort of research – this makes them better at buying and selling.
Here are a few suggestions. Certainly, plugging in keywords, for topics of interest, into Google or other search engines will do the trick. And you will find numerous sites where you can obtain all kinds of information. But here are some specific sites I think are useful.
American Towns has a wealth of information about communities all over the country. This may be especially helpful if you are pondering relocation and want some general information about a particular town.
Property Shark is a good site for finding all sorts of details about individual properties – my guess is it does not have everything you might want to know, but it's a good start (they do not have data on ALL the states yet). You can also check out the property records for individual towns using the search engines (e.g., do a search for the assessor’s database in town X ).
Looking for demographics in a particular town? One place to gather information on national, regional and local demographics is the IRS – keep in mind these may be a few years old depending on when the census data were obtained.
.gif) Are schools important to you? You can research individual school districts on-line with ease. School Matters is one national directory with all sorts of details on schools. OnBoard Navigator is another site that provide national school information. You can conduct a search for each state's Department of Education on Google or other search engines. You might also simply do a search in the town(s) you are interested in for the local school district.
I’ll add to this list from time to time as I run across other useful sites.
Feb. 21, 2007
Categorized in: Due Diligence
 Are you considering a relocation but are not sure where you want to move?
How about making the decision based on the best opportunity for jobs?
Forbes published a list of the best cities for jobs in 2007 (link is to a table) and an interesting article. I would not personally recommend a decision based only on that factor, but if some of these cities are on your possibles list, this is good information to have.
Then, while you're at it, why not check out Neighboroo.com to obtain detailed information on the cost of living, housing, schools, crime and more in the city or cities that appeal to you.
Dec. 8, 2006
If you are researching schools in the new community where you are hoping or planning to move, you might want to check out Great Schools. Good info here, and you can do comparisons between schools.
If your destination is California, I would look at the California Department of Education site. There are lots or statistics on test scores, and a myriad of other details, perhaps more than you need or want.
Nov. 18, 2006
 For many buyers, getting into the neighborhood where the "best" schools are is important. So when you are moving from another part of the state or another part of the country, how do you find out about the schools as part of evaluating where you want to live. Fortunately, much research can be done on-line.
First, I would recommend making a list of the questions you want to have answered (perhaps things like % of kids who graduate; % going on to 4 -year colleges; amount of money spent per student; student/teacher ratio, information about the PTA; test scores; types of programs including after-school, athletic, art, music, gifted/advanced placement, foreign language/bilingual). Some things may be more important you than others, particularly depending on the age of your children. You may also be interested in private, preparatory, boarding, religious, or Montessori schools.
Second, get on the Internet and do your research. You can look at a directory of school districts around the country as a starting point. You can also choose to look up information on the website for the towns you are interested in or use the school district websites (her are few for Southern California:
Carlsbad Unified School District
San Dieguito Union High School District
Rancho Santa Fe School District
Oceanside Unified School District
Del Mar Union School District
Solana Beach School District
San Marcos Unified School District
Finally, I encourage you to actually talk to the school district itself to ask questions and obtain more information. In particular you want to know what school you children will go to based on where you live - sometimes the boundaries change or may not be clear in the school district website. You can probably also get the names of some parents who are willing to talk to new arrivals. If you have time and schools are in session when you are in town on a house hunting trip, you can also set up an appointment to visit the schools in your prospective area.
Oct. 13, 2006
Categorized in: Due Diligence
 In a relocation, the role YOU have is a critical one, perhaps more so than when you are moving a short distance to a new home. Unless you are very familiar with the area you are moving to, there is much that you need to learn so that you can make an informed decision about where to live. The more time you can spend researching the area and obtaining information, the more comfortable you will feel about settling in your new location; this will help alleviate the stress also, since much of the tension will be caused by unfamiliarity and unsettled issues.
1. Use your agent's website and access to the MLS to understand the housing as much as possible - type of homes, neighborhoods, size of homes, lot sizes, age, proximity to school and shopping, etc. Keep careful notes on areas that interest you so you can research these more. There is a wealth of information on the Internet.
2. Review the Chamber of Commerce websites for the towns that interest you. These typically have lots of information about the community - services, housing, shopping, parks, schools, events, etc. You will gain a good understanding and feel for the community. The URLs for these sites will vary, so a Google search will likely lead you to the right URL. If you are moving to my area, you can search Carlsbad, Oceanside, Solana Beach, Del Mar, Vista, San Marcos, Encinitas, Cardiff. There are other nearby communities as well.
3. If schools are important, there are a number of resources on-line. You can link to my website where there is a national search site for school districts around the country. If there are particular school districts that interest you, research these on the Internet by doing a google search for that particular school district and review their site. I also suggest contacting school districts directly and perhaps getting more updated info, as well as the names of some parents to talk with. You should verify what school(s) are in you area so you know in advance, but check again once you have decided on some homes that are of interest - you might find that they are tied to different schools, and if that makes a difference to you knowing this will be important before you make an offer. While your agent may know, it is best for YOU to check this out. You will find that some information on the school district websites may be outdated, and boundaries for schools can change.
4. Crime may also be of concern, and if so you should check on this yourself. A Realtor cannot guide you to or away from an area based on crime statistics. One source is the police department for the town of interest (sometime the chamber website will have this information). You can also research this on the Internet. California also has a database of sexual offenders you can search.
I'll talk some more about due diligence in a later post. Any questions, please feel free to ask me directly if you wish.
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