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Pools are great, but they are considered a 'luxury' for a very good reason.
The realtor is feeding you a line of crap saying it only uses 100 gallon of propane.
Pools are generally considered a liability in upkeep, heating and insurance. Make sure your representative drives this point home to lower the price accordingly.
Depending on the pool size, you could be looking at additional 4-5k a year in expenses. And who really needs that kind of 'luxury' when you have kids, tuition....and your wife is declaring it off limits to bikini wearing hotties anyway!
Pools are great, but they are considered a 'luxury' for a very good reason.
The realtor is feeding you a line of crap saying it only uses 100 gallon of propane.
Pools are generally considered a liability in upkeep, heating and insurance. Make sure your representative drives this point home to lower the price accordingly.
Depending on the pool size, you could be looking at additional 4-5k a year in expenses. And who really needs that kind of 'luxury' when you have kids, tuition....and your wife is declaring it off limits to bikini wearing hotties anyway!
good thing is...i've got no kids/tuition!
well...as long as my husband lets in the hunks in their tight speedos...i've no issue at all with him inviting bikini wearing hotties to the pool!! =P it's gonna be hell of a party...everyone is invited!
I'm not a huge 'swimmer' myself but I love to float around with a beer!
just thinking about that makes me wanna jump into it right away i'm a huge beer fan....and drinking beer in a pool in summer...well that sounds like heaven to me
it's sagamore beach area. and yes, i noticed that many houses in the same neighbourhood have pools too. what's your take on this issue?
Annemieke can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the point is that if it's normal and expected in your area to have a pool, then a house with a pool will compare favorably to other similar homes for value. Not having a pool may actually drop your value. For example, in the Phoenix area, pools are very common and add value to a home.
My husband and I will be house hunting in the south and we do not want a pool. We don't want to take the chance that there will be something expensive wrong with it. We are both home most of the time and wouldn't mind a little routine maintenance, but I don't think we'd get our moneys worth out of it.
IF you are planning to rent your house out in the summer months to families, then I think vacationers would pay more for a house with a pool.
This is clearly a case of "local, local, local". I think Mike give good advise, speak with a couple of appraisers. As far as the monthly cost of running it - speak to a couple of pool maint. vendors - get a couple of estimates.
In some areas a pool is the kiss of death - in others it's a big plus - in yet others it's almost standard equipment.
The dirty little secret about pools is that very few people don't regret getting one or having one.
About 1 percent of the population actually uses it all the time and loves every minute of it and has no problem paying for the upkeep.
The other 99% of the population wishes they could just wave a magic wand and make it disappear.
Unless you are 1,000 percent convinced that you want one, are a swimmer/water enthusiast, live in a warm clime, are affluent: don't buy a house with a pool. I have lived in Florida, Arizona and California and I know more people in those supposedly pool-friendly places who have had their pools filled than have a pool (many of them realtors). A lot of people move to those places and fall in love with getting a house with a pool and later regret it big-time. Although with increasing costs of living, fewer people are making this mistake.
If you have it filled, it costs 5k minimum to get the job done right.
Pool benefits:
refreshment on a hot summer day
Pool drawbacks:
fewer people will look at your house at resale time (parents with small kids, older folks, people who don't want the hassle, etc. you have just massively narrowed your buyer 'pool')
upkeep costs
repair costs
waste of natural/unnatural resources
chemicals
leaks
the older the pool the higher likelihood of leaks/problems
homeowners insurance is higher because of the liability (drownings)
When you add up the plusses and the minuses, I think the answer to your question is clear.
it's sagamore beach area. and yes, i noticed that many houses in the same neighbourhood have pools too. what's your take on this issue?
Well and JMO if many of the houses in same area have pools as well, not sure you should take it out for potential resale reasons (plus you researched and it would cost a boat load of money to take out). NOW, if this was like one of the only houses with one, I'd have another opinion - people have suggested solar covers which work great to keep water warm, etc. Maybe talk to some of the neighbors as well about how much they get to use theirs - I know of people in CO who have theirs heated and swim year round (using solar covers when not using).
If on resale a potential buyer didn't want the pool, well that could always be factored into negotiations - but again, you're saying there's quite a few in the area soooooo. That's my 2 cents worth.
on top of the chemicals, maintenance, opening/closing, etc - consider the increase in water/gas/electric (which can be considerable depending on pool size and you local climate) and normal wear and tear on the pumps/filters/sweeper/heater/electrical components.
We just moved into a new home with a pool 6 months ago. We didn't want the pool, but we loved the house. In the past 6 months we've spent about $4000 in repairs to/replacement of the sweeper/heater/electrical components/timers and freezeguards/lighting/new booster pump/new filter grids/new pool fill line. We took over a very old pool and addressed a few issues that could have waited another season, so you wouldn't be spending this money every year, but none of the stuff lasts forever. Also, at some point you will need to replaster/resurface your pool and there's the maintenance of your decking surface, usually there is some additional landscaping too
My suggestion is that if you are unsure now whether you want a pool or not - you probably shouldn't get one.
A friend of our had her pool replastered and needed a new heater. She ended up spending about $10,000 last summer.
Last edited by tyanger; 02-08-2010 at 04:29 PM..
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i'm a huge beer fan....and drinking beer in a pool in summer...well that sounds like heaven to me
