Questions about adding a pool (Spring Hill, Hernando: for sale, real estate, house)

[Tim Tim Tim]

Me and my family are going to be selling our current house and purchasing another. We are pretty set on wanting a pool but are having a hard time finding a decent home WITH A decent pool in the budget. We are finding plenty of homes well below budget WITHOUT a pool that are very nice so want to explore the option of adding our own pool.

First, when searching online I am seeing prices from 20k to 100k. clearly some pools are over the top but we would just want a regular pool with nothing too fancy. What kind of price point would I be looking at in this area for that?

second, Do any of you have any recommendations on a pool company or people to stay away from??

Thank you!

[The Villages Guy]

$25,000 - $40,000 depending on size and other factors. Get the most efficient pool pump you can, even though it will cost more. It will save you a lot of money running it over the years.

Your last request about who to stay away from cannot be answered openly (only by DM) on this forum for legal reasons.

[jambo101]

Whats your budget for a house and what areas are you interested in living?

[spbbound]

I paid about $40k for a 9800 gallon; i.e. not particularly huge. That was on the high end but my pool is 7 feet deep at the deep end which cost more. They get progressively more expensive the deeper you want them. If you get a salt pool, which is nice because it means less chemical maintenance and no need to add chlorine, it will cost a bit more up front and more to run since you need the pump running a specific number of hours per day to generate enough chlorine from the salt (charged plates are used to break it down as the water flows through the pump system). If you don't required heated spa, that will save you several thousand. If you don't require full automation, i.e. you're okay going out to the pump area and twisting two valves when you want to just pump water through the spa, that will save you money. If you're happy with the standard white spray on finish, that will definitely save you money.

There are numerous places you can cut from if you are willing to do so and that will get the price down.

One final tip; make very sure the seller provides you with a certified survey of the property that was done recently, and then contact that surveyor to ensure they did a search for easements and indicated them on the survey. In the house I'm currently in, this was not done by the surveyor, nor by the title company, and my buying realtor apparently did not have the experience to do her job because she didn't know to raise this concern either. I had a choice of several properties in my neighborhood to build on and chose the one I did specifically for the lot size and layout. About the time my home was 50% finished and the pool company goes to pull a permit to install the pool, well what do you know, Hillsborough County has a drainage easement that slices right through my back yard. A drainage easement is just a swath of land that is "yours" but you're not permitted to place any solid structure on top of it because it's there to let water drain into the ground. So my pool ended up being half the planned size and me being extremely pissed off at everyone involved, but especially the realtor who knew I chose that lot specifically because it was the layout needed to put in the pool I had planned myself. Had this easement been presented to me before closing, I'd have gone with a different lot.

[gulfer]

Originally Posted by spbbound

I paid about $40k for a 9800 gallon; i.e. not particularly huge. That was on the high end but my pool is 7 feet deep at the deep end which cost more. They get progressively more expensive the deeper you want them. If you get a salt pool, which is nice because it means less chemical maintenance and no need to add chlorine, it will cost a bit more up front and more to run since you need the pump running a specific number of hours per day to generate enough chlorine from the salt (charged plates are used to break it down as the water flows through the pump system). If you don't required heated spa, that will save you several thousand. If you don't require full automation, i.e. you're okay going out to the pump area and twisting two valves when you want to just pump water through the spa, that will save you money. If you're happy with the standard white spray on finish, that will definitely save you money.

There are numerous places you can cut from if you are willing to do so and that will get the price down.

One final tip; make very sure the seller provides you with a certified survey of the property that was done recently, and then contact that surveyor to ensure they did a search for easements and indicated them on the survey. In the house I'm currently in, this was not done by the surveyor, nor by the title company, and my buying realtor apparently did not have the experience to do her job because she didn't know to raise this concern either. I had a choice of several properties in my neighborhood to build on and chose the one I did specifically for the lot size and layout. About the time my home was 50% finished and the pool company goes to pull a permit to install the pool, well what do you know, Hillsborough County has a drainage easement that slices right through my back yard. A drainage easement is just a swath of land that is "yours" but you're not permitted to place any solid structure on top of it because it's there to let water drain into the ground. So my pool ended up being half the planned size and me being extremely pissed off at everyone involved, but especially the realtor who knew I chose that lot specifically because it was the layout needed to put in the pool I had planned myself. Had this easement been presented to me before closing, I'd have gone with a different lot.

GREAT INFORMATION HERE!!! The entire post IMO is how to go about it.

Salt Water Pool.

Had a buyer wanting to build a pool on the lot in the future and they were buying new. Took the survey from the builder and went directly to the pool builder to see if it could be built. First lot, No Deal .. could not have a pool put in. Second Lot, different home, YES, could have a pool put in.

The Realtor more than likely won't know, but should (as should the buyer) find out FOR CERTAIN before you buy.

Also, if you are here locally now just go see some Model Homes and you will get a feel for what is available at what cost. Builders typically get somewhat of a price break (but not very much). You would be amazed at what you can get for 50K, but you can also get a very nice, large enough, basic pool for around 30K.

[EngGirl]

I am surprised and kind of not you didn't know about the easement. It's something anyone can do prior to building on the lot/purchasing the house on specific lot - it's all public records. If it's a new community, there is a master plan most likely online and all easements are shown there. Maybe it's just me, but before I even consider a house I do a good research and read legal description as well as look for all known easements. I am not surprised builder's rep didn't concentrate his/her attention on something like that. If your agent knew about your plans regarding the pool, I think he/she must look into the lot, but I don't really expect anything from realtors and suggest double check everything they say or do.
To make you feel better, if you would learn about this easement and wanted to get another lot, you would loose a lot of money. They would do their normal sweet talk about "we cannot change all options you picked and it will be nearly impossible to sell this house... blah blah blah..."
I am glad you brought this point to anyone's attention!

[spbbound]

Originally Posted by EngGirl

I am surprised and kind of not you didn't know about the easement. It's something anyone can do prior to building on the lot/purchasing the house on specific lot - it's all public records. If it's a new community, there is a master plan most likely online and all easements are shown there. Maybe it's just me, but before I even consider a house I do a good research and read legal description as well as look for all known easements. I am not surprised builder's rep didn't concentrate his/her attention on something like that. If your agent knew about your plans regarding the pool, I think he/she must look into the lot, but I don't really expect anything from realtors and suggest double check everything they say or do.
To make you feel better, if you would learn about this easement and wanted to get another lot, you would loose a lot of money. They would do their normal sweet talk about "we cannot change all options you picked and it will be nearly impossible to sell this house... blah blah blah..."
I am glad you brought this point to anyone's attention!

I'm not clear on why that is surprising. It was the first time I built so I'd have had no reason to even know what an easement was having never constructed before. This was not a builder home; I purchased the lot alone and hired a builder separately, so the only person looking out for my interest at the time of closing on the lot was my buying realtor who had found the lot. I shared the plans with her so she could ensure the lot's dimensions fit what I intended to build, including pool, she just either didn't know to look for an easement or intentionally didn't reveal it to me so I'd go through with the closing knowing I wouldn't learn about it until months later; either way, left me not very happy, but at least I know now.

[Tim Tim Tim]

wow, that is a piece of info that I wouldn't have thought of so I appreciate the heads up there. We aren't wanting anything crazy as were on a bit of a budget and will be paying for the pool with cash so the budget will be pretty strict.

For a house were looking to stay in the range of 150k, were open on the areas. We are considering brandon/valrico, wesley chapel, carollwood, northdale, etc.. The IDEAL is northwest hillsborough although our budget doesnt generally allow for it, we are still keeping an eye out incase though

[Pragmaticus]

Originally Posted by Tim Tim Tim

wow, that is a piece of info that I wouldn't have thought of so I appreciate the heads up there. We aren't wanting anything crazy as were on a bit of a budget and will be paying for the pool with cash so the budget will be pretty strict.

For a house were looking to stay in the range of 150k, were open on the areas. We are considering brandon/valrico, wesley chapel, carollwood, northdale, etc.. The IDEAL is northwest hillsborough although our budget doesnt generally allow for it, we are still keeping an eye out incase though

I can see why you would have a problem finding a nice house with a pool in NWH for 180K (if say the house is 150K and 30K would be for the pool). Fortunately, you got a wide area to look at and something will come up. I personally won't pay cash for a pool as it would add only 10 to 20K value. A 30K pool may add probably half to the value of the house. Plus a 3% to 4%, 30 yr finance (with future inflation), I would definitely come out ahead if I put that 30K in a lousy mix of funds. If I were you, I will just wait it out until I get a house with a pool. Given that housing prices are correcting right now, at best it will be flat for next year or two in most area that are not tight with inventory.

Good luck!

[jambo101]

If you look a bit further north you could probably find a suitable home with pool and in your price range in the Springhill area of Hernando county.
Spring Hill Homes for Sale & Spring Hill Real Estate. Spring Hill, Florida