Pool dilemma ? (house, should, love)

[kbrkr]

I love our pool. I'm in it every weekend in the summer. I enjoy looking at it. I enjoy cleaning it. I watch the game floating in it.

My wife, not so much. She wants the temperature at least 89 before she'll go in, which I think is ridiculous. That is why I'm reinstalling our solar panels after we just had the roof replaced.

I have heard many realtors say houses with Pools sell faster; it seems to be more attractive to out of state buyers.

jmtc

[The Villages Guy]

I could not live without our pool. Pool service companies are inexpensive, so no need to worry about taking care of it.

I need the pool to be 88-90 degrees ideally, so we are going to install a heat pump heat recovery pool heater, so I can use it comfortably longer in the year.

[maggiekate]

to me a pool is more money more work and more what next. If you know and wish to work good not me to old

[EngGirl]

Originally Posted by kbrkr

I have heard many realtors say houses with Pools sell faster; it seems to be more attractive to out of state buyers.

Yes, pool is a great selling point for out of state buyers... because before moving here they were dreaming about pool on the backyard and palm trees. This is exactly what I was told by people who moved here long time ago and ended up buying a house with pool. When these people became locals, their next house had no pool I would say most people who live here long enough can care less.

Either way if you looking to buy a house with existing pool, make sure you inspect it properly. I know real life examples about pool that were leaking. Very costly to repair.

[spbbound]

Originally Posted by North_Pinellas_Guy

I could not live without our pool. Pool service companies are inexpensive, so no need to worry about taking care of it.

I need the pool to be 88-90 degrees ideally, so we are going to install a heat pump heat recovery pool heater, so I can use it comfortably longer in the year.

Check out the options from AquaCal if you're going to go the heat pump route; very high quality and I'm happy so far. It's far cheaper even to just heat the spa side of the pool than my old propane-fired heater at the old house. The weird side effect of a heat pump pool heater is the thing pumps out cold air while it's running, so don't place it near where you'll be getting out of the spa, or you'll be jumping into a 50 degree breeze lol.

[engineman]

Originally Posted by Sunnydee

Why not buy a home in a place that has a community pool? That way you can use the pool whenever you want, but don't have all of the work associated with owning a pool. This is what we did and it's been really great. We walk down to the pool whenever we want and are usually the only people there. For us it's the best of both worlds.

Same here.

[tinytrump]

location location- I lived in Clearwater/Oldsmar area and the beach was close by- living in Northdale- community YMCA was very close. I am now in Orlando close to down town and pool life it is- 3 reasons- one far from beach- 2 grands come over and blow pent up energy in the pool and three I'm getting older, not in that bikini shape shape any longer. It is great to even wade in the pool for my legs and cleaning the pool has me outside in the sun moving about and not deep couch sitting- I will get a service one day to clean it - but its not hard- I work in an office so always sitting in a box-- best thing to be outside messing with pool and yard etc. Only preference-- if I could cut neighbors tree- I do no have a screen enclosure- or get one installed. My pc sits looking at the pool peaceful view for sure

[jambo101]

Originally Posted by cjrudy

Since moving here in July my wife and I have been renting a house but are now looking to buy. The house we are renting has a pool which we used a little in the summer, basically I would jump in to cool off occasionally and my wife would dip her feet in. We are more lay in the sun than swim people.

We always assumed when we bought a house we would get one with a pool. But more importantly is a backyard facing south for all day sun. Now that we have started looking we have found a number a really nice homes, in our price range, great back patios, southern facing with amazing views, but no pool.

So now we are questioning a few things

1) Do we even need or want a pool, how much will we use it
2) Should we just install a pool after, but do we want the expense and hassle
3) Should we just get a nice hot tub, for cooling off in the summer and heat it up for the winter.



We are very conflicted, any thoughts or experiences would he much appreciated.

From you description it sounds like the novelty of a pool willould wear off quickly so it would be better to just buy a home with no pool.
But if you think you will use a pool IMO it would be cheaper to buy a home with a pool already installed rather than to have one installed.

[mrviking]

1) Pools are a nice addition visually for most Florida builder sterile backyards.
2) Young family's and new to Florida family's will use the pool more so, and then less as time passes.
3) People in Florida seem to like to entertain by a pool, then actually use a pool.
4) As the children become teenagers they spend more times hanging with their friends and less in the pool.
5) when adults are in the pool, rarely will anyone be swimming. Most will be in the shallow end with drinks in hand yapping with friends.
6) Pools with hot tubs built inside the pool are very uncomfortable the longer you sit in them, concrete enough said.
7) Once the Kids have left the nest, you will be cleaning the pool more then you will swim in it.

Having lived in Florida for 40+ yrs these are a few things I have observed after being around family's with pools and growing up with a pool. Are there some people that don't follow these rules, Of course, but they would be in the minority.
My wife and I entertain quite a bit in our house and backyard. I believe Florida is all about being outside and entertaining with friends and family. This is why for over 30 yrs we have had a fiberglass Jacuzzi. They take up a lot less space, leaving more room for entertaining.
Very low maintenance, 50+ jets to reach any ache or pain, Molded seats for comfort and hours of relaxation. Built in MP3 system for beautiful music. LED lights to set the mood. You can set the water temp for what feels best for you, YEAR ROUND!.
Best part is your investment can move with you as well.
Pools are nice, but other options are out there as well.

[roblu]

For us at least it we would not have a pool if we didn't have kids, it just wouldn't be worth it. However we do have young kids, and they use the pool almost every day when the weather is hot enough. Also depending on your setup pools are also expensive to maintain - we have a heat pump, which is great, and extends the swimming season a lot, but it is expensive to run (and that is even though we have a retractable cover to prevent heat loss) and then you have the electricity costs from the pump, and probably a pool service company too. I think if we lived in a community that had a shared pool then, even with kids, we would not have a pool.