Cost of putting in a pool? (Nassau: how much, houses, neighborhood)

[totallyfrazzled]

We're house hunting on LI and want an inground pool. All the houses we've liked that already have pools, have been above our price range comfort zone, so we're curious to know how much it costs nowadays to have one installed. We've never owned a pool and don't know anyone at all who has had one put in anytime during the past 10 years so I have no clue. I called a few companies but they all brushed me off as soon as they learned that we don't even have a house yet! So I thought of asking here because surely someone has put in a pool during the last few years, I hope :-) It would be a vinyl pool, either 18x36 or 20x40, with a good filter system (Hayward is the one we've seen most often), and a diving board. The fancy shaped ones look nice but I'm sure that drives the price way up, so rectangular would be fine. We most liked the pools with either cement or pavers around them but realize that's probably a lot more expensive than using wood or Trex. So any input on the cost of your pool, including size, decking, etc is much appreciated! Oh I almost forgot, I did find out online that new pools nowadays need to have a chainlink fence surrounding them, and a locking gate, so if you had one of those installed also, it would be great to know the ballpark cost. I realize that will depend on the size of the pool surround. Basically we'd like to know how much we should 'add to' the selling price of a non-pool house, budgetwise, for having to put one in. My totally uneducated guess was 20K but I have no idea if that's anywhere near reality. Thanks for your help!!

[maisy123]

We put in a 18 by 36 kidney shape w/ vinyl liner and no diving board 4 years ago. With the paver patio around the perimeter total cost was 25k. The pool was 18k alone. Well worth the money.

[ClarkStreetKid]

Just for my own curiosity, do pools add value to a home in regards to being a plus for buyers or does it hurt a seller?

[Kbinspections]

Originally Posted by ClarkStreetKid

Just for my own curiosity, do pools add value to a home in regards to being a plus for buyers or does it hurt a seller?

They tend to increase taxes but do not increase reasle of the house. It may help a home if its July and its open and looking nice.

Many clients want an estimate on how much it will cost to remove it.

[OhBeeHave]

As kb mentioned, your taxes will go up. You're electric usage will increase, if you heat it you'll increase the cost of whatever you use to heat it with. If you go with a solar heater (not sure the actual term) you have to add the cost of that to the install, too. Don't forget the fence and proper locks in the house (if necessary) to meet all safety code. Then there's the cost of maintenance.

My personal preference is a pool free yard and to answer ClarkStreetKid's post: for me a pool in the yard is NOT a selling point and detracts from the home. I don't want to be 'pool mom' of the neighborhood, I don't want to worry about some errant child wandering in and drowning while I am away, I don't want to deal with chemicals, do-dads and accessories, opening and closing it. But that's just me and for the people who love pools -- more power to them

[okaydorothy]

Originally Posted by OhBeeHave

As kb mentioned, your taxes will go up. You're electric usage will increase, if you heat it you'll increase the cost of whatever you use to heat it with. If you go with a solar heater (not sure the actual term) you have to add the cost of that to the install, too. Don't forget the fence and proper locks in the house (if necessary) to meet all safety code. Then there's the cost of maintenance.

My personal preference is a pool free yard and to answer ClarkStreetKid's post: for me a pool in the yard is NOT a selling point and detracts from the home. I don't want to be 'pool mom' of the neighborhood, I don't want to worry about some errant child wandering in and drowning while I am away, I don't want to deal with chemicals, do-dads and accessories, opening and closing it. But that's just me and for the people who love pools -- more power to them

We have plenty of room for a pool but we wouldnt get one in a heartbeat. Way to many children falling into one. Two of our friends that have pools say they would take them out as they are just too much work and not worth it.

I woudlnt let a pool or no pool cloud your judgement. Get into the house first ; maybe look at a property with room for a pool, but dont let it be the total deciding factor.

d

[totallyfrazzled]

We don't (and won't ever) have children, so being the neighborhood pool-mom won't happen in our case. We just want the pool for our own enjoyment and that of any adult guests we may have. My SO gets physical therapy and water exercises/swimming is one of the things that helps him the most. We're aware of the maintenance expenses and that for lots of people a pool is a negative but for us it's a selling point. The areas we're looking in have lower taxes (for LI anyway!) to begin with, so we can afford a tax hike of $2000/yr or more if that's what having an inground pool would cause. It's just been frustrating that ALL the houses we've liked best within our price range, had no pool. And all the ones we've liked that HAVE a pool, have been at least 30K above the highest we can afford to pay. My SO keeps asking 'If we buy a no-pool one, will we end up spending as much in total after we put in a pool? If so, maybe it's best to bite the bullet and buy one that's already there?' ... So that's why my question here. Trying to find out. Whether we buy one already there, or put one in, the ongoing expenses will be the same, so that makes no difference really. Nobody except Maisy123 has put in a pool lately? :-( Darn.

[TomMoser]

Originally Posted by ClarkStreetKid

Just for my own curiosity, do pools add value to a home in regards to being a plus for buyers or does it hurt a seller?

There is no middle ground on this one. People either love pools or hate them. I would not count on a pool increasing the value of your home.

[maisy123]

Our taxes increased 500 and we live in an incorporated village. The heater cost an additional 4000 to buy and the electric is a consideration. My power bill is hefty but we leave it on 85 and never turn it down unless on vacation. We have a robot that we use to vacuum every other day for about 3-4 hours and my husband has the chemical thing down pat thanks to a friend who maintained all Nassau County pools. The biggest hassle is getting all the pool toys out at the end of the day but that won't be a concern for you. If your SO benefits from having a pool it's a no brainer but I would rather design my own than pay up to purchase an existing one.

[totallyfrazzled]

We don't want/need a heater, and if we buy a house with a heated pool we'll probably never turn it on; neither of us think that the couple of extra weeks worth of pool use in May is worth what using a heater would cost in electricity! We usually go on vacation in May anyhow (before the 'rush') so we aren't even home during the 4 weeks before Memorial Day Weekend, after which is when we'd come back home and open the pool. And once the leaves start falling (in October) we'd cover the pool up to save cleanup work! So no need/desire for a HEATED pool.