Swimming pool in Mass...Boon or bane? (Beverly: oceanfront, house)

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by Shrewsburried

Another important distinction is most above-ground pools can be disposed of by a motivated homeowner and $600 worth of rented dumpster. Removing an in-ground pool requires thousands of dollars worth of excavation work.

When looking at properties, above-grounds get a shoulder shrug ... in-grounds get low ball offers (because I know a large percentage of buyers aren't interested).

I actually showed a house in Sharon this summer to a buyer and it had an above ground pool that was built into the deck. So, not only would you have to dispose of the pool but you'd have to rebuild the deck as well. Still cheaper than getting rid of an in ground pool though (if done the right way).

[metalmancpa]

I feel here in the Northeast, due to the fact of the very short usage season which at most "could" stretch from Apr-Sep depending on your being OK swimming in cooler weather, it just doesn't seem cost effective to me. To have something with high maintenance that sits idle for such an extended period is tough. I feel the same way about my camping trailer, or even my skateboard. If I was in a warm climate I could use year-round, yet these things are shelved for more than a 1/2 year. A much longer payback period, and not anything I believe helps the value of a house.

[Boston_Burbs]

I much prefer above ground pools. Safer, easier to maintain, and less perminate.

I have had both and in inground is much, much more of a pain. Take the tarp off the above ground and you are ready to swim. The in ground requires gallons of bleach to clear due to the poris safety cover. The above ground pool had all its pipes exposed while the in ground you just need to hope all no water got in over the winter and cracked something.

[parentologist]

When we looked for a house to buy, we ruled out houses with pools, even though we are water people. We were just too afraid of the increased risk of a toddler drowning. I think many, many families feel the same. That being said, there are families with older children who do want a pool - the family that bought our first house from us made sure that the backyard could fit a pool in, and put one in!

[CaseyB]

Originally Posted by MikePRU

I actually showed a house in Sharon this summer to a buyer and it had an above ground pool that was built into the deck. So, not only would you have to dispose of the pool but you'd have to rebuild the deck as well. Still cheaper than getting rid of an in ground pool though (if done the right way).

One of my neighbors has a setup like that. It doesn't look half bad, either.

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by CaseyB

One of my neighbors has a setup like that. It doesn't look half bad, either.

I thought it looked pretty good. Much better than just a normal above ground pool just randomly sitting in the middle of the yard. My customers actually liked it too, but were trying to figure out how they would keep their small children from getting in there.

[scratchie]

Originally Posted by MikePRU

I thought it looked pretty good. Much better than just a normal above ground pool just randomly sitting in the middle of the yard. My customers actually liked it too, but were trying to figure out how they would keep their small children from getting in there.

Add a gate?

[Rick Roma]

Originally Posted by Atomicdoug

I've been looking online for homes in Worcester county, in particular a few in Upton come with a swimming pool. While the pool certainly looks nice in the pictures, I am wondering if a pool in Eastern, Mass. is more of a liability than a benefit?

For example, if a pool is a negative to resale (i.e. lowering value or making the home harder to sell) then I probably do not want one.

How much can you actually use a pool in the summer there? My understanding is that it doesn't get that hot, not enough sunny days etc etc.

And what would be the annual cost of maintaining the pool, i.e. opening up for the season, weekly chemicals and then winterizing the pool?

I had a pool once. It's a waste in MA. It takes up valuable land space and sits doing nothing 9-10 months of the year. The maintenance and expense are also ridiculous. I now belong to a club that has indoor and outdoor pools as well as a full health club.

[Shutout]

I have an above ground pool. My electric bill did not sky-rocket, the maintenance costs weren't that bad, I didn't go over my water limit so my water cost stayed the same.

It really depends on if you are going to use it and how long you plan on staying there. If you're not going to use it, then I would avoid buying a house with one (no point). If you're gonna use it, sure why not, especially if you plan on staying there awhile.

My electric is about $50-60 a month in the winter. In the summer with the pool pump on 8 hours and AC's on roughly every other night, my bill only jumped to a total of roughly $80-100.

[KKay9]

We all love to swim in our household and it would be REALLY nice to have a pool, for about 8 weeks out of the year . The rest of the time? A big PITA. We decided that it just wasn't worth it and ruled out houses with pools when we were shopping for a new house...if we'd come across a SERIOUS bargain we might have bought a house with a pool, but it's something we'd actually pay less, not more, for. As it turned out, the house we bought has a large hot tub (inside no less!) it wasn't any kind of deciding factor, one way or the other, it's just there. I've got to say though, that, given the amount of effort I have to put into maintaining the water quality in the hot tub, I would not want to have to take care of a pool that would be used much, much less over the course of a year. The hot tub will be easy to remove when we are sick of it or it breaks, unlike a pool. Then we'll have that extra room for something else.

Oh, and the big, '80s style hot tub in the house, DID turn off other buyers, for sure. I would remove it before I try to sell this house. It didn't even work and they'd left it in, empty and taking up most of a room! Silly. Fortunately, my husband knows electrics so he repaired it himself and it works fine now, but NO hot tub tech would work on it, it's too old and no one is trained on it and parts are hit or miss to find. It will have to go if I put this house on the market...fine for us, not for a less handy buyer.