Schools

The Best Schools of the Miami Metropolitan Area

For any parent, the selection of the best schools for their children is essential. Southern Florida has some of the best public schools in the nation. At this time there are 1976 elementary schools, 807 middle schools and 555 high schools. From these, the following are the best. All test results listed are for the 2013 school year.

All these schools are within the metropolitan area around the city of Miami, which covers the counties of Palm Beach, Broward and Dade.

This information has been selected to help the process of evaluating the best area to buy a second home in the United States. Of course, we suggest to complement your research with additional sources of information. The goal is to find the best for your family.

Elementary Schools

From 1976 elementary schools in Florida, these are the 12 best in the greater metropolitan area near Miami covering Palm Beach, Broward and Dade counties. Click each school for additional information.

• Binks Forest Elementary School, Wellington
• Morikami Park Elementary School, Delray Beach
• Beacon Cove Intermediate School, Jupiter
• Waters Edge Elementary School, Boca Raton
• Equestrian Trails Elementary, Wellington
• Bayview Elementary School, Fort Lauderdale
• Imagine Charter School At Weston, Weston
• Everglades Elementary School, Weston
• Sunset Elementary School, South Miami
• Henry S. West Laboratory School, Coral Gables
• Pinecrest Elementary School, Miami
• Ada Merritt K-8 Center, Miami

Middle Schools

From 807 middles schools in Florida, these are the 9 best in the greater metropolitan area near Miami covering Palm Beach, Broward and Dade counties. Click each school for additional information.

• Bak Middle School Of The Arts, West Palm Beach
• Don Estridge High Tech Middle School, Boca Raton
• Western Academy Charter School, Royal Palm Beach
• Beachside Montessori Village, Hollywood
• Falcon Cove Middle School, Weston
• City/Pembroke Pines Charter Middle School, Pembroke Pines
• Broward Virtual Education, Davie
• Ada Merritt K-8 Center, Miami
• Aventura City Of Excellence School, Aventura

  

High-Schools

From 555 high schools in Florida, these are the 11 best in the greater metropolitan area near Miami covering Palm Beach, Broward and Dade counties.  lick each school for additional information.

• Suncoast Community High School, Riviera Beach
• Boca Raton Community High School, Boca Raton
• Somerset Arts Conservatory, Pembroke Pines
• Pompano Beach High School, Pompano Beach
• Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Parkland
• Broward Virtual Education, Davie
• Cypress Bay High School, Weston
• Terra Environmental Research Institute, Miami
• Mast Academy, Key Biscayne
• New World School Of The Arts, Miami
• Alexander W Dreyfoos Junior School Of The Arts, West Palm Beach

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Profitable Investment - Second Home in Florida

If you buy in Florida, make your investment pay. 

If you are buying a second home, this will be a significant personal achievement. Your second home is the family retreat from the noise and bustle at work.
But did you know that, as well as being a vacation home, this property could also be a source of income? During the long periods of absence, your second home can be rented to one of the thousands of families who visit Florida every month. In this way, your investment will create higher returns far above any appreciation in value that may result from being in such desirable location.
The process is easy. Before buying, look for an agent specializing in finding the best houses at the lowest prices but with the highest rental potential. In this way, you will find a second home to your liking that also produces for you.
After the purchase, the agent will handle the lease without any inconvenience to you. The key here is that the right agent will make herself immediately responsible for any problems that tenants may have immediately. This agent will become the president of your business in Florida. Because the plans available vary, it's very easy to find something that suits your family's travel plans. After all, this house will also welcome you and your family during your Florida visits.
Here is a list of agents in Florida I recommend:

Andrea Reyes
Área de Miami 
(Speaks English and Spanish)
Realty Elite
9144 Forest Hill Blvd, Wellington, FL 33414
941-266-4189


Joe Manausa
Área Noroeste 
(Only Speaks English)
Century 21 Manausa and Associates
1140 Capital Circle SE, #12A, Tallahassee, FL 32301
(850) 366-8917


Brad Officer
Área Noreste 
(Only Speaks English)
RE/MAX
12646 San Jose Blvd, Jacksonville, FL 32223
904.234.5196

A well-executed transaction can easily become the first step to a real estate empire in the United States. As they say, the sky is the limit.

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Internet - Powerful Tool to Buy You House

9 out of 10 people use the internet as their main tool. 
The real estate industry has changed. Now, buyers are not limited to studying only those properties that are in their immediate area. The internet has given the modern buyer direct access to any property in areas of high levels of luxury and prestige in Florida.
Just created, a new collaborative study between Google and the National Association of Realtors confirms that 90% of those who invest in homes in Florida use the internet to select the area, type of property and its representative agent.
With easier search, buyers save time finding the perfect place. The study showed that 40% of buyers take as long as 120 days, or four months, to evaluate properties.

The internet as a tool

In addition, 93% of foreign buyers look for the type of home rather than by the area. This means that most are ocean front or private golf club homes, for example.
Finally, 88% of buyers used a licensed Realtor®. This is because the web is good to get a general idea, but when you have found the ideal characteristics, most people still use an agent with access to official and updated Florida listings.
Have a great search.

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Possible Unknowns; Protecting Your Home

What would happen if something unexpected happened to you? Who would take care of the mortgage? 
You have worked hard to purchase your home. You qualified for the best mortgage rate because of your excellent credit rating, income level and financial history. But what if the unexpected happened?
Besides the emotional stress, a surviving spouse may experience a significant decrease in household income that could lead to foreclosure. That’s why many banks and mortgage companies encourage homeowners to purchase mortgage life insurance. Essentially, you purchase mortgage life insurance so that in the event of a sudden death, funds are available to meet any outstanding mortgage balance.

Who will take care of the mortgage?

Perhaps you already knew this, but were you aware that the type of insurance you purchase can greatly affect your surviving family members’ options? Let’s look at some options.
You could buy life insurance from a either the lender or an insurance company. When you purchase insurance from a bank or mortgage company, in most cases you pay the premiums but the lender receives the proceeds at the insured’s death, and your family receives the deed to the house.
However, sometimes surviving families may not want to keep their homes. They may want to move closer to other family members or relocate for different reasons like a new job.
This is when personally owned life insurance offers more choices and control because the surviving beneficiaries, not the lender, receives the insurance proceeds. They can then decide what to do with the money; whether to pay off the mortgage in one lump sum, to continue to pay it down periodically, or to sell the house.
Besides, personally owned life insurance is portable, which means, if you move in a few years, you won’t have to replace your insurance, which could be costly. Remember that, with most insurance policies where part of the premium is set aside for growth, the cash value is almost minuscule before ten years. Buying a policy that is not portable would be too costly as time is not as readily available as money could be.
Furthermore, even after the mortgage is paid, personally owned life insurance can provide other valuable benefits.

Protecting your new home and your family's future

Whether you decide to purchase mortgage life insurance through a bank or insurance agent, the key is to be prepared for the possible unknowns. There is a real chance that someday one person will be completely responsible for your family’s finances. Taking the necessary steps today can ensure your family’s financial future tomorrow.

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Free Mortgage Payment

A Free Monthly Payment Through Mathematics

Free Money

Who does not like free money? To understand this trick that banks do not share with customers, you have to see an example. Let's say that the value of the house is $312.500. The deposit is 20%, ie. $62,500. So if we deduct payment off of the value of the house, the home loan is $250,000.
If the interest is 6% and payments are to 30 years, then the monthly payments will be $1,500.48.
This means that the value of total payments of interest that will accrue during this time will be $289,772.52. If we add the value of the house to this amount, it gives us a total of $602,272.52. In short, once you consider interest, the total amount paid for the house is almost twice the initial value, and that's despite the fact that the interest in this example is low.
If the interest rate was 8%, the total payments would be $722,691.15 including interest, which is much more than before. In fact, there is an additional difference of $120,418.63 for only two percent of additional interest. No doubt that having a good credit history is important to be able to save lots of money all the time.
Returning to the example with the 6% interest, look at what happens if instead of making full payments, as usual, we make half payments every half month. The total monthly payments remain the same. But instead of paying $1,500.48 every 30 days, we pay $750.24 every 15 days.
Almost magically and without any extra money, you would save one and a half months of payments by only changing payment times.
Rather than paying off the house in 360 months, you would in 358.5 months. In addition, total interest payments will be $287,891.60, resulting in a savings of $1,880.92 without having to pay a dollar more.

Save Money

It is very important that the first payment is sent complete because only half the payment may result in a notice of nonpayment. Once the first payment is complete, start making half payments every two weeks.
Banks do not like you to make partial payments because it costs them more to process the additional payments, all for a lower yield. At least in the United States, banks have to accept and record payments when they arrive. To be sure if this can work or not, you just have to read the contract to verify that there is no penalty for making additional payments before the due date.
As we saw earlier, buying a home means paying nearly double thanks to the interest that accrues. For this we must try to save wherever possible. With this trick, you can save a monthly payment and a little more.
This trick saves you money without costing any more. And if at the end of all, you do not want the $1,880.92, then tell me and I will accept it for you.

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