[ngrome]

Making plans to move back up north this year. While the house in FL isn't sold yet in this crappy market, I was thinking about renting it, but it has an in-ground pool. Are there things like liability, etc., I need to worry about with renting a house with a pool? I was thinking of just emptying it out, or filling it in, or spending the money just to get rid of the pool if I'm going to rent this house for the long term, but all expensive options. But I'm concerned about the risks of renting out a house that has a pool in it, maybe someone is aware of additional clauses in the rental contract I need to consider? I know, probably should consult a lawyer...

[vtallison]

Where is the house located? We are relocating to FL.

[ra1007]

where's the house? post link or pm us. South for us. leaving north!

[Ken E]

In the long run you might be better off to just fill it in.

[ngrome]

Originally Posted by vtallison

Where is the house located? We are relocating to FL.

Originally Posted by ra1007

where's the house? post link or pm us. South for us. leaving north!

May not be available until July at the earliest though, possibly later. It's about 20-30 mins. east of downtown Orlando. I won't post it for rent until then, if we don't put it up for sale.

[Sgt. Buzzcut]

Once, I at the last minute went along with a friend of mine to help him finish a residential window tinting job. The customer was very uneasy about me showing up and getting hurt on her property. After some bickering back an forth about liability issues she went and printed up what she called a "hold harmless" agreement, basically stating if I got hurt on her property it's on my dime. I signed it and we completed the job.

She was a former insurance agent, later executive and pretty high up for a major well known insurance company, so I suppose she knew what she was doing.

[Vinny Vuckovich]

now way . fill in the pool , no worries .

[TXRyan23]

You may want to get the homeowners approval of your getting rid of the pool or damaging it while you're renting their property.. That would be my first assumption..

[Rabflmom]

Originally Posted by ngrome

Making plans to move back up north this year. While the house in FL isn't sold yet in this crappy market, I was thinking about renting it, but it has an in-ground pool. Are there things like liability, etc., I need to worry about with renting a house with a pool? I was thinking of just emptying it out, or filling it in, or spending the money just to get rid of the pool if I'm going to rent this house for the long term, but all expensive options. But I'm concerned about the risks of renting out a house that has a pool in it, maybe someone is aware of additional clauses in the rental contract I need to consider? I know, probably should consult a lawyer...

Owning a pool is always a liability question. Renting out your home with a pool, you will still be liable for any injuries or death by drowning on your property. People sue more today than in the past even when they know the owner was not at fault because of the high cost of medical and funeral expenses so even if someone says they won't sue, you have to be prepared just in case. Putting up signs- swim at own risk or making someone sign a paper saying they won't sue in case of accident etc. really doesn't hold up in court.
First thing you need to do when you move out of your home whether you rent or not is change your insurance. No longer need regular homeowners because you won't be covering the contents because no furniture. 2nd thing if you haven't already done it as a pool owner is get an umbrella policy to cover the liability.

Make sure the renter( by making it a clause in the renters contract) shows proof of buying a renters policy that includes liability on the property too.

Also make sure you have a fence around the pool with alarms on the gate and on the sliding doors out to the pool. By law you probably have the fence around the yard, but you might want to invest in one of the ones that are between the house and the pool specifically put up to keep little ones from playing near the pool and falling in. Make sure latches for fence are higher than younger kids can reach.

Living out of state you will need a local company to oversee the rental and you might want them to hire someone to mow and clean pool, because renters don't always hold up their end of the bargain.

Our NY neighbor had to take her renters to court just to get them out of her house after they were behind a few months. Then she had to redo the inside from the damage their dogs and kids did. So then she moved down and rented out her home in NY because she had sons in 1 apartment in her home. Didn't work either...the upstairs renter burned the top 2 floors of the house when they left the stove on.....and then they left everything and ran......Renting can be a big hassle.

[sware2cod]

Dont fill in the pool.

You will get an extra $200/month (plus or minus) for rent when you have a pool.

There are MANY MANY MANY rental homes in Florida with a pool. I had a rental home with a pool.

You buy a homeowner's insurance policy that is specific for you renting out the home. It has a built-in liability policy. I think you can increase the liability porition. You can also buy a separate liability policy called an umbrella policy. Talk to your insurance agent about liability related to renting out the home with a pool.

I did not have a pool alarm on the sliders. This was not required because the home was built before that rule went into effect.

Are you going to use a property mgt firm (realtor) to manage the rental property? They should have a lease and you can discuss the pool with them. They usually have attorneys write up their standard leases and make sure they cover you as much as possible with the pool. Renting out pool homes is common in Florida and this is not something for you to worry about.

Bottom line, you would be sued only for things that you would be negligent for and this applies for the entire property-not just the pool. If someone was allowing a 2 year old to swim and then they got engrossed in their newspaper reading while sitting poolside and the toddler drowned, I dont see how you could be liable. However, if you had a faulty pool ladder with a broken rung and someone cut their foot on the pool ladder, then you would be liable.

This pool is going to net you more money when you sell the home - maybe $10k-$20k. Plus with the extra monthly rent for the pool, you would be foolish to fill-in the pool.

Get legal advice before you consider filling in the pool.

Your biggest issue about the pool/renting is this: Do you hire a pool company for weekly pool service (clean filter, check chemicals, add chlorine) or do you allow renters to do this? If you hire a service, you charge more rent to cover the svc. Same as landscaping - if you hire someone to cut the grass you charge more for rent.