Finding Homes by Las Vegas School Zones

Choosing the right school for your children goes hand in hand with buying a home in Las Vegas for your family; Both of which are very important decisions.

You’ve found the perfect real estate agent who found you the perfect house, but what is the neighborhood school? Will my child be able to take the school bus? How many students are there per class? Add these things to the long, yet wonderful, list of "Things Parents Need To Know!" I’ll share some of my short cuts with you hoping this information will make your home buying and school search easier.  

There are specific zones within the school district that designate which schools service specific neighborhoods. This information is found on the MLS Listings (Elementary, Middle, Junior HS, and High School), but that information is not guaranteed to be accurate. When a school district changes its ‘zoning’ it does not automatically update the school information on a property that is listed for sale or rent. 

For example, when I was looking to purchase a home in Las Vegas,  I found the perfect house…. but it wasn’t in the same zone so my children would have to change schools. Not good, so I kept looking. From that point on I personally double-checked every address I was interested in so I knew exactly which schools my children would attend if we purchased that particular house.  

A little background information: The Clark County School District, as of 2012, is the fifth largest school district in the United States. It serves all of Clark County, Nevada, including the cities of Las Vegas, Henderson, North Las Vegas, and Boulder City.

I wanted to learn more about the schools in Clark County, so I did some research. I found these types of reports to be very helpful in the school choice for my children: Annual Reports of Accountability, State of Nevada and Specific Schools – Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), Test Scores on Assessments, and many levels of Demographics. I found all this information at this website: http://www.nevadareportcard.com/   

 

You can find out what schools a property is currently zoned for by visiting the Clark County School website by going to: http://ccsd.net/schools/zoning/search/ 

 

This specific link will bring you to the School Zoning Search by Property Address. When you get to this page, simply type in the Street Number and Street Name. The school results will show you exactly which schools that particular address is zoned for and the Transportation Department’s contact information is found on that page. (Keep in mind, almost ALL school personnel are on vacation during the summer and you probably won't be able to contact them.)

What happens if you find "The Perfect House" but it’s not zoned for the school you want your child to attend? There is a process called "Open Enrollment" you can go through with the school district requesting special permission. There is no guarantee your request to change your neighborhood school will be honored and you cannot even make the request until you can show proof of residence (copy of utility bill in your name at that address, for example). 

If you don't have already have an address, but you have selected a school, you can search homes for sale located in specific school zones by going to: Vegas Homes for Sale by High School or Vegas Homes for Sale by Middle School

 

Do the research in advance and make an educated decision to avoid headaches and/or heartbreaks down the road.

by Lisa Albarian - guest blogger and mother

When Old Becomes New Again in Las Vegas

Whether it’s old houses being renovated or old movies being restored, Las Vegas residents are certainly attracted to both.  Over the past ten years I’ve seen dozens of Home Depots and Lowes stores spring up all over the Las Vegas Valley which includes Henderson and North Las Vegas.  All in very convenient locations for the everyday handy man and/or woman that recently bought a fixer upper house with the desire of turning it into a home…….a classic home to enjoy living in.  Many homebuyers are even purposefully seeking out "old Vegas" homes from the 60s and carefully updating the plumbing and electrical systems while retaining that "old Vegas" retro look in neighborhoods like Rancho Bel Air, Rancho Circle or the Scotch 80s.

A similar scenario has also recently been occurring with vintage classic films.  Digitally restored movies such as “Casa Blanca” and Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds” have been brought to our local move theatres throughout the Valley.  And for "one night and one night only" each month, our local residents have thoroughly enjoyed them.  I for one had the pleasure of seeing both of these classics on the big screen with big sound in a theatre packed full of excited movie afficionados.  Young and old alike piled in to fill most of the seats.  It reminded me of the opening night for one of the new blockbusters such as “Transformers”, “Batman”, or “The Twilight  Series”. 

 

These vintage classics have been brought back to the big screen by fanthomevents.com.  I’m looking forward to December when an solid gold classic I’ve never seen will be on the big screen.  I don’t know how I’ve lived to be as old as I am and have never seen “To Kill a Mockingbird,” but I’m looking forward to this vintage film that will be brand new to me.

Patty Annis

Team Manager

The Tonnesen Team

Homeowner Help from Nevada Energy!

Tips from a Las Vegas Homeowner about what to do with old appliances 

What do we do with our old appliances? My old frig wouldn’t fit in the backseat of my sedan, so I really needed to figure out what to do. After asking a number of local appliance companies about "Delivery Of The New and Haul Away The Old" fees, I ran across a little known secret about Nevada Energy. Nevada Energy has a rebate program where they will not only come pick up the refrigerator, but they will mail you a rebate check for $50!!! 

If your refrigerator still gets cold and is between 10-30 cubic feet in size, you can call 1-877-289-8260 to schedule a pick up. You need to have it plugged in so they can verify at time of pick up that it still gets cold, and they will mail a check for $50 to you in about four weeks. And since they have a 4 hour window for pick-up, I was told I can simply run an extension cord to the Refrigerator, set it out on the driveway with a note giving them permission to haul it away, and when I get home from work – it will be gone! I love it! And it worked like a charm.

 

Now I need to find out what to do with an old stove and microwave….. I’ll let you know.

 

by Lisa Alberian
Tonnesen Team Administrator Extraordinaire