Pools (Phoenix, Gilbert: real estate, house, rent)

[bigjdotcom01]

I am looking to move to Phoenix in the next few months and I was looking at homes in Gilbert. Not too many of the new builds have pools. They have community ones, but not private ones. Is this pretty common?

If I was to put in a pool, approximately how much would I be looking to pay to have one put in?

Thanks.

[AksarbeN]

Many new home developments are having smaller lots that can’t fit a pool into them. Also the cost of maintaining a pool is going up. Heating, chemicals, and little extra water for pools are a consideration for not having one. A community pool is pretty nice and has many advantages. This is the desert and water is a problem; most of us enjoy a pool but personally I like to have cloths washed and water to drink. I don’t have a pool and I’m happy not to have the extra costs and work at keeping it looking nice. That’s a personal opinion however. And heating a pool is needed some of the year because it just isn’t warm enough to enjoy. Heating with gas or electric is costly!

I can’t give you the cost for one, but it’s a good idea to use a little more caution when having a pool added. There are many poor pool builders and many scams that go on out here with pools.

[aj661]

I can't imagine life without one. I'm in it every day May through October. The costs can vary widely, depending on size and extras. I've had pools by Paddock and California Pools most recently. Paddock was by far the best. I've heard nothing but good things about Shasta also. The last pool I paid for cost about $22,000 seven years ago. It included an in-floor cleaning system, salt water chlorination, extra cool decking and a waterfall. Paddock has a great in-floor cleaning system. Calif. Pools in-floor system is a waste of money. Monthly costs are negligible for mine. It works out to about $0.25 per month for rock salt, about $5.00 per month for shock, maybe $0.50 a month for acid. The biggest expense is electricity. They all recommend running the pump eight hours per day, but I only run it 4.5 hours/day and don't notice any difference in the pool operation. It adds maybe $5.00 per month to my water bill. It costs more to take my family of four to the movies once than it does for the upkeep of the pool for a month.

[Boatdrinks]

I would not live in AZ without a pool. We didn't have one in our last house and it was miserable. Packing the kids up to schlep to the pool is such a complete pain and not the least bit fun or relaxing when it's jam packed.

Now that we have a pool, it's SO much nicer and summer is SO much more bearable. It's so nice to be able to swim any time you want. And for resale, it's a LOT easier to sell a house WITH a pool, then it is to sell a house without one. More people who move here and buy a house do want a pool, then do not want one. Yes, there are a few who don't, but not as many as who do.

We worked our pool into our mortgage when we built our house. The cost can vary, but I'd say to plan on upwards of 25K, depending on size, bells and whistles, etc.

We have a Shasta salt water which has been great. Salt water is totally the way to go. It's very cheap and easy to maintain and the water is so gentle on your skin. I can't even swim in chlorine pools now - they just feel and smell gross to me. We don't have a pool heater, but I know people who do. If you get a high btu one, I think it costs about $25 for a day of heating, depending on pool size. For us, it wasn't worth the cost, but many people love them and I can see how it'd be an added benefit.

Our electricity and water bill aren't much different from before the pool.

Personally, I think they're well worth the cost. Also, the cost of putting in a pool in a new build is why I always recommend to people that they look at resales first. You will never make back the cost of the pool when you sell your house - most agents say you can add about 10 to 15k for a pool to your list price - so you really lose money by building a pool (ironic thing is that it's harder to sell a house WITHOUT a pool). By buying a resale, you're getting a pool at a discount and you don't have the hassle of building it.

[ajgranda]

Thanks Boatdrinks, we are going out there next month to look at some real estate and werent too sure if we should by a house with a pvt pool vs community pool vs no pool but enough property to build one in the future. It looks like we should stick only with homes that have their own pvt salt water pool.

Originally Posted by Boatdrinks

I would not live in AZ without a pool. We didn't have one in our last house and it was miserable. Packing the kids up to schlep to the pool is such a complete pain and not the least bit fun or relaxing when it's jam packed.

Now that we have a pool, it's SO much nicer and summer is SO much more bearable. It's so nice to be able to swim any time you want. And for resale, it's a LOT easier to sell a house WITH a pool, then it is to sell a house without one. More people who move here and buy a house do want a pool, then do not want one. Yes, there are a few who don't, but not as many as who do.

We worked our pool into our mortgage when we built our house. The cost can vary, but I'd say to plan on upwards of 25K, depending on size, bells and whistles, etc.

We have a Shasta salt water which has been great. Salt water is totally the way to go. It's very cheap and easy to maintain and the water is so gentle on your skin. I can't even swim in chlorine pools now - they just feel and smell gross to me. We don't have a pool heater, but I know people who do. If you get a high btu one, I think it costs about $25 for a day of heating, depending on pool size. For us, it wasn't worth the cost, but many people love them and I can see how it'd be an added benefit.

Our electricity and water bill aren't much different from before the pool.

Personally, I think they're well worth the cost. Also, the cost of putting in a pool in a new build is why I always recommend to people that they look at resales first. You will never make back the cost of the pool when you sell your house - most agents say you can add about 10 to 15k for a pool to your list price - so you really lose money by building a pool (ironic thing is that it's harder to sell a house WITHOUT a pool). By buying a resale, you're getting a pool at a discount and you don't have the hassle of building it.

[MicheleVanDetti]

I agree that you should look at resales first. Putting in a pool is not only costly, it's a stressful ordeal. It can take months. We are in such a buyer's market right now that sellers are aware that they are competing with builders. Some builders offer great incentives to make it worth it, but decide in advance if you have the time and know how to deal with pool companies, landscapers, painters, and blind companies. There are beautiful resale homes that are the closest thing to new that have the work already done for you. I always take my clients to visit resale as well as new homes.

If you are going to build a pool, make sure to do a lot of research. Talk to several people. I've heard that Shasta and Paddock are pretty good, and I've talked to some people who liked the Build-Your-Own-Pool companies. I'd rather physically go out in my yard and dig my own pool in 120 degree heat than work with Blue Haven again. My husband fell for their sales pitch and I've never been more frustrated in my life than when working for 9 months with that joke of a company.

Also, be prepared to spend at lest 25K for a pool that you will enjoy and will be a positive for prospective buyers down the road. A bad cheapie pool job can cost you in the resale market.

[arizonanative]

Terrible supervision. We spent 48,000 on our pool and had to supervise the entire thing ourselves. Right now, we have two leaks, and it has been over two weeks with empty promises.

Stay clear of Excel pools!

[HX_Guy]

Wow pool prices have gone up a lot it seems. My parents had a pool put in our old house around 10 years or so ago and I remember it being around $15,000 or so...now everyone seems to be saying they go for around $25,000.

We currently have a pool at our home, which was a resale house, and it had the pool. It is great to have it and we really are able to enjoy the backyard during the summer. Without the pool, and with as hot as the summers are here, I really don't think we would ever venture into the backyard once it got to 95+ degrees.

Maintainance is really important as well. We didn't do much other then throw a few chlorine tablets into the basket and recently had to pay $300 for an acid wash because of lack of maintainance. We ended up hiring a pool company for weekly service which is really the way to go for $75 a month.

[Dazgaz]

I can't understand why more pools are not solar heated. I got a quote for our pool to be solar heated last year and it was about $4,000. If you want to use your pool all year round and it costs $25 of regular electricity to heat it for the day, you'll have made your money back in just over 5 months with solar heating. I'll be getting mine installed as soon as I've scraped the money together.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by ajgranda

Thanks Boatdrinks, we are going out there next month to look at some real estate and werent too sure if we should by a house with a pvt pool vs community pool vs no pool but enough property to build one in the future. It looks like we should stick only with homes that have their own pvt salt water pool.

If you limit your search to salt water pools you will be missing out on a lot of opportunities. Salt water pools are nice, but most pools here are not salt water pools. It is a simple matter (DIY if you're handy) to convert a regular pool to salt water.

BTW: Thought I saw a post that said they like the salt water because of lack of chlorine. Salt water pools sanitize with chlorine just like non-salt water pools do. The chlorinator produces hypochlorous acid. Adding pool "chlorine" does the same thing. Either way you get hypochlorous acid as the sanitizer. Salt water pools feel much nicer on the skin though (kind of like soft water).