Pool Mania... (Plano, McKinney, Howe: HOA, how much, house)

[sunsoul]

We are interested in a house which has almost everything that we wanted for instance, closer to work, plano ISD, walkable distance to elementary, middle and high school (which I think would be a big plus in long run to pick and drop), big media room that my husband needs for his music band, 4500+ sq ft and a MIL suite at main level however, it doesn't have a POOL :-(

Most probably, this is going to be our last home before we downsize, and I (only me) feel that, I cannot live without a pool. LOL...I'm feeling like a child, who is going to be deprived of her choicest candy. Since, we've already stretched our budget so much that, i don't think we can get a pool anytime soon. Is there anyone who can relate to me about their pool-mania, and share if they survived without a pool in the backyard. Should i just say NO and keep looking? I'm afraid that, there would be no house with everything that we want....especially, pool and good size grassy backyard don't go together.

[MckinneyOwnr]

Oh, you can find everything you want... it just comes at a high price that you need to be willing to pay for.

Last year, we sold our old home with 3600+ sq ft for a bit over $300k, and we really thought we'd be able to buy a house that had everything we wanted in the $400-425k range, because our last home already had most of what we were looking for.

Eventually, we upped our budget to $500-550k, because that's just what it took to find what we wanted, and we still didn't get our ideal location. But, the house has other things going for it that made up for it, but like I said, we had to pay for it.

As far as the pool goes, if there is a community pool, that may work for you if you don't have your own. Depends on how much you use it I suppose, we bought a house with a pool and since we have a toddler, it's so much easier to just hop in the pool rather than having to load up all her baby crap, strap her in the car seat, drive to the pool, etc. But, if you have older kids, it wouldn't be such a big deal.

[Alkonost]

If you can afford a house with a pool, then get one. Keep in mind it's much cheaper to buy a home with a pool than to add one on to a house that doesn't. You may want to see what you're willing to trade down in exchange for a pool if you're already at your max. If the house is in an HOA with a nice community pool if may be nice enough where it will scratch that itch and you'll be able to enjoy your home without a pool in the backyard. A good HOA will have a fantastic pool, nice and clean, plenty of chairs, and access restrictions in place to make sure the riff-raff stays OUT (ex: staff on hand to make sure that people who don't live there don't use the pool, limits on how many "visitors" a resident can bring with them, etc...).

There's also price/size/neighborhood expectations: if you're buying a big, expensive home in a nice neighborhood on a sizable hunk of land it's somewhat expected that when you exceed a certain price point the place BETTER have a damn pool. You may want to price homes in your range with and without pools and see what the numbers tell you.

On the downside, a pool is a pain in the butt to maintain. It downright sucks. We hire a company to clean ours and take care of the chemical levels because we don't have time for all the bullcrap. We're constantly pulling twigs, flowers and junk from the filters, always babysitting the pump on mornings where it decides to be temperamental, the cleaning robots get clogged on a regular basis - not to mention the entire undercarriage needs to be replaced every year and once every 2-3 years you need to drop another $500 on a new robot. Oy vey. then again I suppose it could be worse, but I'm trying to say owning a pool isn't all rainbows and cherry-scented unicorn farts.

[ParkerPal]

Originally Posted by sunsoul

We are interested in a house which has almost everything that we wanted for instance, closer to work, plano ISD, walkable distance to elementary, middle and high school (which I think would be a big plus in long run to pick and drop), big media room that my husband needs for his music band, 4500+ sq ft and a MIL suite at main level however, it doesn't have a POOL :-(

Most probably, this is going to be our last home before we downsize, and I (only me) feel that, I cannot live without a pool. LOL...I'm feeling like a child, who is going to be deprived of her choicest candy. Since, we've already stretched our budget so much that, i don't think we can get a pool anytime soon. Is there anyone who can relate to me about their pool-mania, and share if they survived without a pool in the backyard. Should i just say NO and keep looking? I'm afraid that, there would be no house with everything that we want....especially, pool and good size grassy backyard don't go together.

We love having a private pool and consider upkeep expense is worth the luxury, it wasn't a deal maker/breaker for us to have a pool. If it meets most requirements of most family members then go with it. Prices in Plano are going up so don't be too picky. However, if you have to have a pool, buy a house with an existing pool, installing one is expensive and stressful.

[stan4]

You can have everything you said plus a pool and plus a big grassy yard in Plano near schools, etc. We do.

You just have to pony up the $.

[sunsoul]

Originally Posted by stan4

You can have everything you said plus a pool and plus a big grassy yard in Plano near schools, etc. We do.

You just have to pony up the $.

450K is our max and my inner wisdom doesn't allow me to go beyond that.....we are getting pool in plano in this range but as i said pool takes up all the yard space.

[sunsoul]

Originally Posted by MckinneyOwnr

Oh, you can find everything you want... it just comes at a high price that you need to be willing to pay for.

Last year, we sold our old home with 3600+ sq ft for a bit over $300k, and we really thought we'd be able to buy a house that had everything we wanted in the $400-425k range, because our last home already had most of what we were looking for.

Eventually, we upped our budget to $500-550k, because that's just what it took to find what we wanted, and we still didn't get our ideal location. But, the house has other things going for it that made up for it, but like I said, we had to pay for it.

As far as the pool goes, if there is a community pool, that may work for you if you don't have your own. Depends on how much you use it I suppose, we bought a house with a pool and since we have a toddler, it's so much easier to just hop in the pool rather than having to load up all her baby crap, strap her in the car seat, drive to the pool, etc. But, if you have older kids, it wouldn't be such a big deal.

completely agree with you on the convenience part, though some people are bringing up the safety and maintenance thing to consider too.

[sunsoul]

Originally Posted by ParkerPal

We love having a private pool and consider upkeep expense is worth the luxury, it wasn't a deal maker/breaker for us to have a pool. If it meets most requirements of most family members then go with it. Prices in Plano are going up so don't be too picky. However, if you have to have a pool, buy a house with an existing pool, installing one is expensive and stressful.

I've searched through some of the old posts here and they all prove your point. Just that it is so hard to decide...and let go of something which fits all other needs.

[Beaching]

We have a pool and we love having it. We bought the house with the pool, glad we did. We also have a huge backyard on a culdesac. Yes, had to pony up the $ to get the house with everything we wanted. Pools are way more expensive now to put in.

As far as upkeep, we do not have the issues that McKinneyOnr mentioned. In 13 years we have only replaced the polaris once. Ours is also heated, highly recommend so you that you can enjoy the pool more. We replaced the pump last summer. Pool equipment is something that you do not skimp on. It most def pays to get the best you can. Otherewise, you will spend more in the long run in the maintenance and upkeep.

Not a fan of the HOA pools now. Even with all of the steps in place to keep out the riff-raff, nothing says that the residents are not the ones causing problems or just making it where you can not enjoy. I enjoy just going out in the backyard on nice days and sitting and relaxing for a bit, even if only for 10 minutes. The whole packing up the kids and their crap to trek to the neighborhood pool is a pain. With the pool, if it was a nice day and the kids got home from school, sure, go jump in the pool for a few mintues before/after dinner. Plus, all of the friends will come to your house so you will get to know their friends.

[MckinneyOwnr]

Originally Posted by Alkonost

On the downside, a pool is a pain in the butt to maintain. It downright sucks. We hire a company to clean ours and take care of the chemical levels because we don't have time for all the bullcrap. We're constantly pulling twigs, flowers and junk from the filters, always babysitting the pump on mornings where it decides to be temperamental, the cleaning robots get clogged on a regular basis - not to mention the entire undercarriage needs to be replaced every year and once every 2-3 years you need to drop another $500 on a new robot. Oy vey. then again I suppose it could be worse, but I'm trying to say owning a pool isn't all rainbows and cherry-scented unicorn farts.

Your experience is a lot different than mine. Maintaining a pool has been pretty easy. We pay someone to do the chemicals, and I clean it myself. Next year, we will probably do the chemicals ourselves too. Sounds like you need the pump replaced for starters, and maybe get a different cleaner. We have a robotic one too... Takes it about 2 hours to clean the pool, then you take it out and clean the filters, which is easy. You're not supposed to leave robotic cleaners in the pool like you can with a suction/pressure cleaner.

Originally Posted by Beaching

As far as upkeep, we do not have the issues that McKinneyOnr mentioned.

Wrong poster.