private pool vs community pool

[Susyq25]

thank you TGM, your info. gave me chills, but it's reality

and thank you marksanders we need to consider the costs in addition to preference.

[Eastside11]

Originally Posted by Susyq25

although i'm posting this under the houston link i know many of you, just like i do, read on all the cities so the question applies to houston, dallas, SA and austin.

my husband and i have different opinions on whether buying a house with a pool is better than living in a nice community with a public pool or vice versa.

he grew up in so. cal. in a home w/a pool and insists on this when we move to tx. I, on the other hand, think that a community pool is just fine, we don't have to pay to maintain it, will probably have to pay HOA fees anyway and the weather will not be like in so. cal. where he used the pool 6 months out of the yr.

what does everyone think? locals and recent "transplants" especially those from so.cal.

thanks

We live in Houston,Tx and have a pool. I don't know how people get along without one especially June-Aug. My spouse uses the pool all year round, I use it 4 mos.

[supper]

If you dont mind me asking, which pool company is that where you can get something for $25k including pebbletech, heater, built-in spa, aqualink, decking, etc? We are looking to put in a pool in a couple of month and the cost is in the order of what we are looking for....thanks!

Originally Posted by momof2dfw

Susyq,

When we bought our house in 2002 the pool was already here. It was put in back in 1999. A landscape architect built the house and pool so the backyard looks like a tropical paradise and I figured out he planted certain trees in certain spots to block all of the neighbors views into the backyard. But I did contact the pool company that put it in and got the info on the pool and cost. He did not skimp on pool equipment which is something I recommend also. Get the best and most reliable equipment you can afford. This helps keep your costs and repairs down. The cost for ours was around $25K w/ the pebbletech, heater, built-in spa, Aqualink system (which I LOVE!!!!!), decking, tied into the sprinkler system, etc. When you have your pool put in have the local gas company put in a larger meter!!!!!!!!! This was not done and we had to have it done and it is free. If not if you have gas for your cooking, heating, water heater, fireplace, etc and then add on the pool the meter is not large enough to handle the load. The only thing we have had go out was the switch plate for the heater and that part was around $30 bucks. Just find a VERY reliable pool company and repair company. My husband thought we might be needing a new pump this year when it was acting up and he told them that. They checked everything out and found it was just a very small inexpensive part that had warn out. They very easily could have said we needed a new pump knowing he already had it on his mind. They said even though ours is from 99 it is still in great shape. We do all of the cleaning ourselves and it is not that hard at all. As for the expense of heating the pool, we don't do it that often and it really does not add that much to our gas bill. Not enough to even notice really. But I think it is well worth it since we can take advantage of having a pool in our backyard more often than if it was not heated. Who wants to spend $25-30K for something you can only use 3-4 months out of they year? So the heater really helps there.

I totally understand your concerns w/ the pool and little ones. Ours were 3 and 7 when we moved in. My oldest could swim like a fish but my youngest up until last summer was not a very good swimmer. She still has a "healthy fear" of the water. We have also taught them to NOT go into the pool if someone else needs help but to stand there and SCREAM at the top of your lungs till help arrives. Even at our other house w/o a pool they knew not to go out into the backyard w/o an adult so that was easy. I did put the chain on the top of the backdoor. Most cities now have VERY STRINGENT codes for pools. Where we live you must have an alarm that goes off for 30 seconds if the backdoor is opened. Even though our alarm system monitors the doors and chirps when doors & windows are opened it does not go off for a full 30 seconds so they require an additional alarm. If your yard is set up and you put the pool in your yard in certain ways you can fence off the pool from the rest of the yard. I have seen several do this and one house we looked at did. That was my concern when we moved here but I like that I can see the pool from just about every room in this house that I could not in the other. Then the fences. The cities now want the horizontal cross members of wood fences on the inside of the yard and not facing out. They feel that someone can use it as a ladder and climb into your yard. We also have locks on our gates (always did even w/o a pool).

Good luck.

[TDE]

community...

[Topaz]

I grew up in a home with a pool and my memories are about 5% enjoying the pool and 95% the pain of constantly having to take care of it. I vowed I'd never buy a house with a pool and I haven't.

[KerrTown]

Originally Posted by momof2dfw

I still pay the dues for the pool but I just overlook it since I do use the clubhouse for events and it is free (well, sort of).

You just reminded me about the clubhouse. I don't think we have one in Cinco Ranch. In a questionnaire asking about amenities that should be added to the development, a clubhouse was one of the choices. We have pool houses, but I don't remember the location for the clubhouse. In my old neighborhood in Alief, the clubhouse was next to the pool house.

[Mom2Feebs]

Originally Posted by Susyq25

although i'm posting this under the houston link i know many of you, just like i do, read on all the cities so the question applies to houston, dallas, SA and austin.

my husband and i have different opinions on whether buying a house with a pool is better than living in a nice community with a public pool or vice versa.

he grew up in so. cal. in a home w/a pool and insists on this when we move to tx. I, on the other hand, think that a community pool is just fine, we don't have to pay to maintain it, will probably have to pay HOA fees anyway and the weather will not be like in so. cal. where he used the pool 6 months out of the yr.

what does everyone think? locals and recent "transplants" especially those from so.cal.

thanks

Oh, you pay for it all right (the community pool) and some HOA's don't even cover a "pool membership". Master planned communities generally do but the smaller ones don't necessarily.

We had pools in two of our houses when I was growing up. I absolutely ADORED it, but I was a big time swimmer. My dad took care of them. It was a pain, but he always said it was worth it. He loved to swim too.

[lvmycj]

Thank you all for the great answers.

Me too, having the same issues as Susyq25. We are currently looking for a house and my husband wants one with a pool, while I would prefer to find a nicer community with pool. We also have a small child.

We have a pool in our current home and since my husband travels for work a lot, I am the one who ended up maintaining it and as such, I don't enjoy having my own pool any more. What's more, I can't let my child play on his own on the deck, even with gate.

[MSJones]

Originally Posted by Topaz

I grew up in a home with a pool and my memories are about 5% enjoying the pool and 95% the pain of constantly having to take care of it. I vowed I'd never buy a house with a pool and I haven't.

You sound exactly like my husband. He says the same thing. LOL!

[texas7]

Much prefer a private pool - I don't have one and have gone to our community pool maybe twice - and as soon as I see those parents get in with the diaper wearing baby -- it's over for me -- I'm out of there.