In-ground pools in Minnesota (Minneapolis, Minnetonka: insurance, how much, buying a home)

[Globe199]

My wife and I are looking at houses to buy. We've recently seen a fairly nice house. It's overpriced (what isn't these days?) but it has an in-ground pool in the back yard. I've always avoided listings with pools, but it's sort of intrigued me now. Here are some thoughts, and I would really welcome more advice!

Pluses:
- I love swimming
- Having our own pool would be convenient
- Maybe our social life would become more active if our friends knew they could swim at our place
- Less lawn to mow (I hate mowing lawn and my wife says she won't do it because of asthma)
- Could teach our future kids to swim, a valuable skill in MN
- ???

Minuses:
- Can only use it five months of year, max (May-Sep at best)
- Expensive to maintain (is this true?)
- Possible liability in terms of safety of children and higher insurance costs (is this true?)
- Neighbors possibly always wanting to use our pool
- ???

The conventional wisdom is that they are more trouble than they're worth in Minnesota. But would it really be all bad? I realise there'd be additional costs, but hopefully I could work that into the purchase price; I've noticed that many listings with pools take longer to sell, presumably because very few people want the pool.

What do you think?

[MnMomma]

We don't have a pool, but our neighbors do and we've talked to them about it quite a bit. My in-laws also have a pool in their current home and were looking for a home in our area with one but ended up finding a house without...but they may add one.

If the pool is in very good condition it shouldn't cost much to maintain at all (a pool service is not needed). The expense of pools comes when something is wrong. If you put an offer in on the home be sure to have a pool inspector come--don't rely on a general inspector.

Our neighbors use their pool from early May through mid-September. Their pool is heavily shaded so they use a heater quite a bit.

I would call a local insurance agent to find out the actual increase in insurance costs and make sure the pool area is adequately fenced-off to meet current code requirements.

As for neighbors---a lot of how they act toward your pool will depend on how much they used it with the current owners so you may want to ask. Then, just set the "ground rules" when you move in. We have never asked to swim at our neighbor's but I don't think we've ever said no when they offered.

[ozzie679]

I grew up with an in-ground pool. Value wise, nobody gets the money out of it that was put into it. But it was fun growing up being able to swim whenever I wanted. Maintenance is more expensive in cold weather states. You will get premature cracking and tiles popping off in the spring. Plus you have to drain 1/3 of the water, blow out the lines, and anti-freeze, when you winterize. We used a solar cover rather and a small amount of gas heat. The covers work very well. In fact, the pool can get too warm. Your kids will love it. But it is not a smart financial move.

[nick is rulz]

I always laugh when driving around Lake Minnetonka at the number of beachfront properties with pools....you're 200 feet from a huge body of water.

Pools in MN arent a wise investment. Swim in lakes in the summer and at the Y in the winter and save the money.

[Globe199]

Originally Posted by nick is rulz

I always laugh when driving around Lake Minnetonka at the number of beachfront properties with pools....you're 200 feet from a huge body of water.

Pools in MN arent a wise investment. Swim in lakes in the summer and at the Y in the winter and save the money.

I'm not under any illusions that owning a pool would save me any money. Of course it's a money pit (almost literally). I'm just wondering . . . if we like the house, would having the pool be such a major liability -- 5, 10, 15 years from now -- that we would regret it?

[K-Luv]

Originally Posted by nick is rulz

I always laugh when driving around Lake Minnetonka at the number of beachfront properties with pools....you're 200 feet from a huge body of water.

Pools in MN arent a wise investment. Swim in lakes in the summer and at the Y in the winter and save the money.

One of the reasons that I never really considered buying a home around the TC was because of the lack of homes with pools. Just because there is a lake near-by does not mean squat to me. Great, I get to enjoy an overcrowded beach looking at fat people and hairy hippies while someone's dog keeps running over my towel, among other things. Not to mention that what ever pollutants are in the water get on you. I have yet to swim in a lake around Minneapolis where I did not leave feeling slimy. Then you have to worry about the cops, well, maybe not you, but you know.

The Y. A Y membership can be expensive and in my estimates probably more expensive then what you would pay to maintain your own pool. Regardless, come summer you'll be glad that you have one in your own back yard.

I am not sure about the insurance, but keep in mind that this is something that is supposed to be private and enjoyed by the owners. Of course your friends and occasional neighbors will enjoy it but you are not opening it up to the entire neighborhood. I would advise, however, to look into this matter discretely. There is a saying that goes asking for permission is just giving somebody a reason to say no. Not an exact corollary, but in this case your insurance company may sell you insurance that you do not need if you give them the idea that you think you may need it.

Don't expect to get much information out of this forum; Minnesota and pools go together like oil and water. It's definitely lake culture country.

[golfgal]

Most people I know enjoy their pools. They are expensive to heat, most spend in the neighborhood of $300/month to heat. If the pool has a passive heat system (solar) that helps the costs. It is just one more thing to take care of around the house so do you mind that or not?

Insurance--does it raise your rates, not necessarily however some companies simply won't insure you if you have a pool. Most others require a fence or a hard cover. If you choose to go with the hard cover it MUST be placed on the pool when not in use. If you get inspected and your cover is off, you will be dropped and then good luck finding another company that will insure you since you were dropped.

If our house had a pool I would enjoy using it in the summer as would our kids. I would not add a pool to our yard. I would NOT want a pool with small children. Yes, you will become the neighborhood hot spot so that is good or bad depending on if you like to entertain or not. Just make sure you set the ground rules from day one.

[nick is rulz]

^ yeah Ive known people who have had to deal with a lot of nonsense with their insurance companies just to put a trampoline in their yard. I cant imagine having a pool in that regard.

[sarahrose]

Lowdown on MN pools................We built ours in 2005 after our son kept getting sick from the lakes around here........very gross!! Anyhoo, we used Oasis pools, and have been very happy with the quality, and service we have gotten from them. We have an automatic safety cover that cost us an extra 10K, but for safety reasons, it was money WELL spent. Pros: you know how clean it is, because only you use it, easy to maintain once you learn how, no dirty crowded beaches, and no sand in the house!! Cons: very expensive to heat if you do not have a automatic cover, chemicals can be pricey, can usually only be used from may-sept.
Over all.....we love our pool, and it has proven very effective at keeping our son busy in the summer......we do get the occasional mouse, and frogs in the pool, but the chlorine usually kills them before we get them out alive.....one good reason to have a cover, if not, you may be fishing out more than frogs and mice depending on where you live!! Some friends of ours had a small deer in their pool, on top of turtles and rabbits.

PS.....we do not allow any of the neighbors in the pool, and never will......huge liability there!! you also need to have a fence around it.like another poster said, ground rules from day 1 are a MUST when you have a pool in a neighborhood with kids.

[Cruz Azul Guy]

Having lived in Minnesota for the vast majority of my life, I would conclude that in-ground pools, while nice during the months of June-August, are impractical. It will go unused the other 9 months of the year.