1st TIME POOL BUYER (Christmas: houses, neighborhood, maintenance)

[FLHfan]

Originally Posted by Vladi_D

Find a house already built that a builder is trying to move...new house with the pool already installed, otherwise you're going to be get hosed, but these days, a large pool with a big cage for 70 is close to being right - things have become expensive around here - all new construction now is a least 25-30% overpriced - good luck, I wouldn't touch the pricing of these houses right now.

12.5 X 28 is not a large pool.
Unless you're building an above ground pool in Birmingham.

[adjusterjack]

There are as many people who don't want pools as there are who do so I wouldn't be too concerned about resale value if you don't buy the pool.


In fact, resale value shouldn't be a consideration.


YOU buy a pool if YOU want a pool. Keeping in mind that YOU will have to incur the cost and the hassle of maintaining it for years to come.


It takes a lot of time and money to maintain a pool.


I had one at a previous house and I'm happy not to have one now.

[Sunshine Rules]

I've seen pool prices on average of $30,000 - $50,000 in our area for newly constructed pools, depending on how many bells and whistles you want and how difficult it is to access the back yard for installation.

However, what you pay for the pool and how much value it adds to your sales price are two entirely different things.

Appraisers determine the additional value of a pool by finding similar properties that have sold in a neighborhood with pools vs those without pools. Values generally vary by the price range of the homes and by neighborhoods as well.

For example, a pool in a $250k neighborhood might add an additional $12k to a home's value, but that same pool in a $450k neighborhood may add $22k. However, spending $70k on a pool does not typically equate to an additional $70k in resale value.

For resale, some buyers expect homes to have pools in our area (especially in certain neighborhoods where just about every home has a pool), but you'll find quite a few buyers consider a pool a negative because of the additional work and maintenance expenses it creates, the heating costs & additional insurance costs (insurance companies don't like swimming pools because of the additional potential liabilities involved). It is also sometimes viewed as a cause for concern by home buyers if the home is in an area that is sought after by families with young children.



Backyard pools represent an enormous investment – not just of money, but time and maintenance as well. Because backyard pools are permanent additions to your home, it is important to understand all the advantages and disadvantages of backyard pools before "taking the plunge."

[CGab]

Everything always costs more with a builder. As far as getting a return on sale depends on what the buyer is willing to pay. Most people who add a pool never get a full return on the investment.

[Concert D Major]

What the hell on Earth do you people do for a living?

[jrjka]

We did not match our cage to the soffits. IMO the white cage shows more green/dirt and impacts the view. We face west and I wanted the cage to disappear so we went with bronze. We also have travertine, hate pavers. We did not coat because it can increase the chance of being slippery. While soffits/trim and cage matching is a rule of thumb, it is not set in stone. I don’t regret the choice whatsoever. I like others think you are being overcharged for something unless. What is the cost of you just went with pavers? Or how much of the 70k is pool?

[beach43ofus]

Thanks for all the comments/tips. We're reading & taking them all into account.

We bought the home for cash...done deal. We opted for new-build. Ground breaking next week.

Floridian pool owners we spoke to all said we'll spend a lot of time on/in our lanai/pool deck area. They said it becomes an extension of the home. Taking this into account, I want a upscale flooring surface for the "extension". Cement cracks, and pavers feel & look too rough, and they have too many cracks for weeds to exploit. I learned that Coralstone mildews in its' pours, so no Coral.

We nixed the builders' pool company. Too many bad reviews on the web (can't all be bogus..but still). Today, we meet w/ pool co #2. A medium sized regional pool builder that has much better web reviews (I realize some may be bogus). I'm getting 5 referrals from them.... 2 that were built 5+ years ago w/ travertine, and 3 now in process in our area.

We decided to use the dark bronze pool framing due to the exterior colors/roof tiles we had to select. We don't like the way the White cages age (we began our home search looking at older homes)...mildew & screw rust lines. They also pull the eye upwards, away from the pool, meaning they call attention to themselves too much for my taste. I'll stop by the model today to see color of the soffits, and ask the builder if we have a choice, but we're leaning Bronze.

I've spoken to 4 pool companies via phone , and provided the square feet of the salt heat-pump heated pool, deck, and cage to each. I spec'd Diamond Brite & travertine. None have given prelim estimates <$70,000 for pool (without spa).

I was told by them that sandstone and limestone are both more costly than travertine, due to economes of scale issues.

To cut cost, looks like we'll need to reduce the size of the pool, deck, & cage. The rear of the home is 60' wide, and our 1st pool spec called for full 60' width deck/cage, but after the sticker shock, we shrunk it by 18' to 42'. The pool is 28' x 12.5'. The 12.5' is dictated by the lot/home size. All we can do is shrink the width.

Is 3 year warranty on all of this standard? What's 20-20 mesh? I'm guessing a tighter weave? Is that important?

[Restrain]

Warranty is fairly standard. I would suggest you check with JTs Custom Pools in North Port, family owned, did our pool. Very happy with it. As an aside, the normal builder pool allowance is $40K m/l, and don't expect dollar for dollar on the pool for the appraisal or resale.

The tight mesh is for the no-see-ums. They can ease through some meshes.

[jrjka]

We went for the tighter mesh for no-seeums and are glad we did. Also, agree with others who gave you feedback that you’ll consider the lanai and pool as an extension to your living areas, don’t cut back too much. Go back through some model homes with the cut back sizes and what it was originally planned, take time sitting back and relaxing and compare. Travertine can also get the green growth, we’ve pulled up and replaced a few tiles that had tougher surfaces that collected the water. We like the look and feel and made it the pool coping as well. That can drive up the price but for us it was worth it. This was a summer issue, not winter. Also, make sure you have a hose bib in the cage area for adding water to your pool. Try Paul Gaetano pools.

[beach43ofus]

Originally Posted by Concert D Major

What the hell on Earth do you people do for a living?

I don't understand your query. Please elaborate. I don't understand the relavance of people's jobs, and buying a pool.