In-Ground Pool Yearly Expense (Cape Coral: how much, month-to-month, houses)

[Continental]

A family member is insisting the yearly operating expense of a heated single-family in-ground pool (of moderate size) in Florida should be factored in when considering a home. While certainly not "free" I maintain the yearly expense should not be a deal-breaker, but I have no clue as to the actual dollar cost.

In my example, I'm speaking of a screened-in pool commonly found within, or next to, the liani...not a free-standing pool located in the back yard some distance from the home.

Does anyone have dollar figures?

Thanks!

[121804]

Have you ever owned a home?

I think they are logically telling you to budget for a pool.

It costs money. Plain & simple.

[whippersnapper]

I gotta say it, but dang. The person posted with a valid question and you come back with sarcasm. If you don't have any information, then don't post. No need to be snarky. I'm sure the person gets that it cost money, they just want an idea of how much.

That being said, I'm sorry but I have no figures for you. You could get a start by checking out some of the pool companies in the area. I always saw the Pool Doctor in my old neighborhood. Why not get an estimate from them?

[121804]

Originally Posted by whippersnapper

I gotta say it, but dang. The person posted with a valid question and you come back with sarcasm. If you don't have any information, then don't post. No need to be snarky. I'm sure the person gets that it cost money, they just want an idea of how much.

That being said, I'm sorry but I have no figures for you. You could get a start by checking out some of the pool companies in the area. I always saw the Pool Doctor in my old neighborhood. Why not get an estimate from them?

Nope, not sarcasm; reality.

Responsible homeowners understand that many times what may appear to be the least amount of money or upkept turns out to be a lot more work & money than they expected.

A pool was a deal breaker with us when we were looking in SWFL. Didn't want the expense, no matter how little it was, nor the responsibility of taking care of a pool & the liability.

And to put the sugar on the answer: most of our friends paid in the area of $50-$100/mn depending on service.

When you buy a home, you should have a line by line budget of monthly expenses. The $50-$100 expenses start to make a impact.

If you don't need to budget, then the question probably wouldn't even be asked.

[Angelala]

Good question, I can afford the expense but I would still like to have an idea what the monthly cost would be. We are going to be installing one this year.

[cj1]

I am glad to find this topic. I did a search onb pools to find it. Continental, I hope you don't mind if I add to the question.
I am looking at a home with inground pool in New Jersey. I have always wondered why houses with inground pools don't sell that fast even when they are so beautifuul. At some point I started thinking it might be the cost of maintaining the pool. Seems I am right.
I like the house I am looking at and the seller keeps saying he will clean it and that the pool is in good shape. I could see the pool is running and it seems to be okay but I am still skeptical since I don't know much about inground pools.
I noted 121804 suggests it could take $50-100 a month. In New Jersey where we have about 4 months of summer that could be managed, or is the monthly expenses applicable even through fall, winter, and spring when most pools are covered in this part of the country (New Jersey)
Are there any specific questions I should be asking or specific things I should be looking for?
Thanks

[Continental]

Looks like Senior Member 121804 is very close to nailing this question. From what I have been able to learn from folks in the business, an unheated pool can run you $40 to $50 per month of operation. This expense is generated by routine cleaning and maintaining water balance. If you have a heated pool you can double that sum. Solar heat has up-front costs but, with no mving parts, the month-to-month operation expense is about zilch. On the otherhand, electric heating has obvious pay-as-you-go features, but could be more costly in the long run...especially if you buy a pump on the cheap. So there are folks, and thanks to each for your valued input.

[mhoward48]

Originally Posted by Angelala

Good question, I can afford the expense but I would still like to have an idea what the monthly cost would be. We are going to be installing one this year.

My husband did the maintenance on ours in Calif. So, it would depend on what type of products your pool used. Chlorine was not very exp. then we bought DE. and sometimes pool shock treatments. If it does not bother you doing it yourself, you could look into this.

[Eric Taubert]

I live in Cape Coral and have a pool on my screened in lanai.

The pool guy I have right now costs $65 a month.

I just switched to this guy from The Pool Doctor (a popular local pool maintenance company). They were charging $85 a month.

I have a gas heater for the pool, but the cost to keep it heated year round would be prohibitive...so we don't really use the heater.

If you are on city water, you will also have to pay for all the water you put in the pool to replace for any evaporation. This cost could mount up. In Cape Coral you pay for all water you use twice...once when it comes into the house and once when it leaves...they only use the water meter reading to determine both - so even though you haven't put any pool water down the sewer, you still have to pay as if you did.

We kept our well hooked up for both replenishing the pool and for lawn irrigation.

Other than these - there are no other pool related costs - barring any repairs you may incur on pool equipment - pumps, filters, heater, leaks, etc.

Hope I've been helpful.

[Donna-50]

I have a pool and it probably avgs about $50 a month to run, chlorine, etc. As far as heating a pool I did have solar before hurricane but my panels were facing west so it didn't do a very good job as I didn't keep the cover on it everyday. Heating with electirc or gas can be expensive. If your backyard is facing south it will heat up faster. Mine is in the north/west corner and takes longer to heat but is nice when it gets really hot because the pool isn't that hot yet.