The downsides of a pool?

[bobosensei]

My mom put in a pool when I was 14.  It made our house one of the places to be among my friends.  And part of the higher utility cost is doing loads and loads and loads of towels.  Even if we had a pool party most would show up without a towel.  My mom wasn't anal about things, but people used to drip all over the hardwood floors even though we had a pool house.  Also extended family would often ask to use our home for kids birthday parties.  Our house was also usually the hang out for after prom parties or end of school year parties.  After I graduated there must have been 200 people coming and going that night.

It is a pain to keep them clean- skimming the leaves and even with one of those robot things you still have a good bit of work to do to keep out the dirt and algae.  And depending on where you live they attract snakes and small rodents.  After the second snake was found in the pool we learned to check the filter basket before getting in just to be sure there would be no surprises.

[zibazinski]

Where is the pool? In certain areas not having one reduces the value and sale-ability of your home. In others, having a pool means your home is very hard to sell. In all of them people who trespass and drown in your pool can sue your ass big time. We had a creepy crawly which cleans your pool. Didn't add much to power bill. Chemicals run $40 or so a month. If you want a service which includes chemicals it's around $70 a month. That's in Florida.

[Shooby]

Seems like a bug PIA to use it for just a few short months here in PA. If u can use it year round then maybe.
Of course having your home be the Go To housr can also have drawbacks if u don't really want to feed and entertain everyone.

[marvholly]

you might even NOT be able to get homeowners insurance. Some companies consider a pool an 'attractive nusance" & will NOT insure such homes.

[Shooby]

I wouldn't want to own a pool really. A family had one of their very young toddlers drown in their backyard pool. Mom thought dad was watching the kid and dad thought mom was watching the kid and that quickly, their son was gone.  

[MarleyKeezy78]

We have an above ground pool we put in a couple years ago, I love it! Yes it's a bit of work but hopefully this will be the place to hang out when DS is older. I pay something like $80 extra on our homeowners insurance. Utilities are a bit higher in the summer, but it's worth it to us   To each their own.

[Deleted]

Pool need to be fenced in with secure gate lock. You have kids to do daily skimming. I think you go to Kentucky? Maybe don't want to live there without pool!

[Shooby]

  DD would love to have a pool. I do think it would be a lot of fun for them, especially in the teen years.

[Tiny]

Will the hot tempuratures in AZ make the pool less appealing during some times? I'm imagining 100 degree water to not be particularly refreshing.

[tractor]

I think a lot depends on your location and lifestyle. I never had a pool growing up, my wife had one. Since I never had a pool, I wanted to put one in. Since we live in Michigan, and the season is short, we put in an indoor pool that we can use year around. I figured the kids and their friends would use it often, however we don't live in a neighborhood, so most kids would have to drive, or be driven to get here. Our pool gets used very little, but I always tell myself that I'm going to start using it more.

Cost, other than the construction cost, isn't bad on a monthly basis, electricity and has run about $150/month, even when it's -5 outside. It is fun to go for a swim in the dead of winter, even if I'm by myself most of the time. I keep the water a balmy 86 degrees. If nothing else, maybe my grandkids will want to come and visit is when we get old so they can swim.

[Lizard Queen]

Jan 5, 2015 8:57:54 GMT -5 Tiny said:

Will the hot tempuratures in AZ make the pool less appealing during some times? I'm imagining 100 degree water to not be particularly refreshing.

100 degree water sounds perfect to me!  . 

We almost bought a foreclosure with a pool.  The pool hadn't been taken care of for months, and the house was partly stripped by the owner, so we were planning just to fill in the pool.  I was infatuated with pools when I was a kid, but it just seemed like a pita to me, plus an extra expense, for 2 months of use that it would get if we were to fix it up.  We ended up not getting the house (outbid), which was fine. I didn't like it that much anyway.

[MarleyKeezy78]

Yep, $80 a year! Not bad at all 

[Deleted]

I had one in MD.  It was a PITA, never again.  First there is fishing things that die in the pool out of the pool.  So Gross.

In the expense side.  There is the higher insurance (not really much), higher electric (this was significant), buying water to have the pool topped off due to evaporation, chemicals, and then there were the things that break.  While we had it the filter and the safety cover had to be replaced. 

Next was the worry over the liability.  Whenever I left town in the back of my mind, I would worry about some kid finding the unoccupied pool.  And when DD was little it was a worry.  

[ArchietheDragon]

I prefer renting a pool, but I don't live in a area that gets a ton of pool time.  In AZ that is different.  You could probably swim almost year round. 

[Deleted]

I had a legal class in grad school and a pool was used as an example of "attractive nuisance". The example was even if you had armed guards and eye scanning security to be able to access your pool, if some kid could beat all that and then drowned or got hurt you would still be liable as the pool owner even if you went to amazing lengths to prevent it.

[Shooby]

Well, what about those popup blowup pools? Many of them are 4 ft deep. And NO security around them whatsoever. I think those are far more dangerous than people with inground pools who have gates.

[zibazinski]

In a warm climate Id have one and did. So worth it. But our whole neighborhood did and it was entertainment for 10 out of 12 months a year.

[Deleted]

A pool here would be a huge PIA and houses with them are hard to sell, but I would think in AZ they're pretty common and are more of a plus for resale. 

[zibazinski]

I don't swim in cold weather or cold water.

[Deleted]

Jan 5, 2015 9:17:45 GMT -5 @aj said:

I had a legal class in grad school and a pool was used as an example of "attractive nuisance". The example was even if you had armed guards and eye scanning security to be able to access your pool, if some kid could beat all that and then drowned or got hurt you would still be liable as the pool owner even if you went to amazing lengths to prevent it.

and I find this ridiculous.  I can't understand why lack of personal responsibility would be rewarded.  if parents can't keep their children from trespassing on someone's property and going in their pool, THEY should be responsible, not the neighbor who installed a gate to keep people out.

[Deleted]

I grew up without one but after my divorce in 1997 I decided I was open to the idea of having one when DS and I went looking at houses in NJ. (Every time we toured one with a pool, he'd announce, "We'll take this one".)

Yes, it's work and expense, but when I remarried and moved to the Midwest, we bought another house with a pool.  This one has been a little less work because of the creepy-crawly vacuum and the semi-permeable winter cover that stretches over it and is firm enough to support someone walking on it.  Before we had the crappy heavy plastic one that you weighted down at the sides but corners always fell in and then got frozen in place.  You also had to pump accumulated water off of it.

Insurance:  no problem at all although we do carry a $2 million umbrella.  Selling:  in NJ it was a mixed bag.  Some buyers refused to look at the house because it had a pool but the couple who bought my house was thrilled to have it, so for some it's a big plus.  Expenses:  we paid about $300 twice a year to have it professionally opened and closed and DH did all the chemical balancing during the summer.   You do need to allow for major repairs:  the one in NJ needed a new pump one year and a new filter another year.  Next spring we're having cracks in the cement around the pool filled and everything repainted before we put it on the market.  That's big $$$.

What kind of lining is it?  The one in NJ had vinyl and was always leaking and I'd have to bring someone in to find it and seal it.  Current pool is cement/gunite; MUCH less hassle.

We're introverts and don't have family nearby, so uninvited guests weren't an issue for us. Every year we hosted the church youth group, which we really enjoyed.  I also had a cousin stop by for an overnight as she was driving from CO to OH with her 3 kids one summer; the kids were SO happy to have a pool!

We probably won't have one when we downsize and I'm OK with that.  I'd love to have a community pool, though!

[phil5185]

I prefer renting a pool, but

Me too! An in-ground diving pool is about a $50,000 thing, so it would rent for about $300/m (or it costs about $300/m to own it). And the operating costs - electricity, chemicals, repairs - is probably $150/m. So, $450/m. A 50-family subdivision with a community pool socializes that $450/m among 50, ie $9/m. You can swim daily, weekly, monthly, once a year, only when relatives visit, etc - and never mess with cleaning, fixing.

In Phoenix, some neighborhoods have a pool in about every other backyard. They seem to get used by the family for the first summer, then by the teenagers for about 4 more years, and then not so much. When the temp is over 100, the pools are used at night.

I've seen subdivisions do the KUWTJ thing - someone has a pool put in, then everyone follows. Then 5 to 10 years later those houses are for sale (to get rid of the pools) and they move to new houses.

And some families fill them in - disconnect the plumbing/electric, knock down the top foot of pool, break-up the pool deck, and push it all into the bottom of the pool. And then order several loads of dirt and it in.

As for real estate value - only for the right customer. Newcomers moving to Phoenix will pay for a pool. And many current residents won't look at a house with a pool. And landlords won't buy a house with a pool  (or a fireplace, lol).

[HoneyBBQ]

Jan 5, 2015 8:57:54 GMT -5 Tiny said:

Will the hot tempuratures in AZ make the pool less appealing during some times? I'm imagining 100 degree water to not be particularly refreshing.

Yes! In Houston, during the summer, it was literally TOO HOT to go in our pool.

And it's a PITA to upkeep with cleaning, chemicals, etc.

[Ryan]

I'm in IL and have seen probably 50% of the pool owners let their pools just sit there, unused, for most of the year(s).  The other 50%, over the years, have probably put it to good use...with their kids using it, then their grandkids, hosting parties, etc.  

I'd say in either case, it's probably not worth it.  Even the families that use it (in my eyes) quite a bit, I think it still goes unused for 95% of the summer anyways.  

A pool is kinda like having a bar in your basement, it's really cool when you have people over but there doesn't seem to be a ton of purpose outside of that.  

[Deleted]

In all of them people who trespass and drown in your pool can sue your ass big time.

[NoNamePerson]

The best swimming pool is in your neighbors yard    We had a next door neighbor with one and since I was a SAHM at the time I had full use of it. But I will say that I purchased the chemicals at the beginning of "pool weather" and I did do minor maintenance when I was there - like getting leaves out and such. It was the perfect set up.  Oh and being on Gulf Coast there was lots of "pool weather"

I think my son and I probaby spent more time in their pool than they did. It wasn't used very much by them - never figured that out though!!

[bookkeeper]

I ran an indoor pool of 20,000 gallons in Nebraska for 7 years. Your situation of an outdoor pool in Arizona will be different, however some things are constant.

Cleaning. Even with a creepy crawler, you will have to clean the pool at least once a week. If the yard has trees that drop leaves into the pool, you will be skimming leaves several times a week.

Utilities. We spent a lot on propane in Nebraska, but you won't have the expense in AZ if you choose not to heat with gas. If the pool you are considering has a gas fired heater, you can check with the utility company about what the expense would be with that. Pool heaters last about 5 years and then cost $2500 to $5000 to replace, so consider that. The pump will be electric.  I have received literature from my electric utility in AZ about signing up for a special rate for the pool pumps. They put a control box on your pump so it only runs in the night time during the summer. Many pool owners in AZ have a fountain in the pool hardscape to cool the water overnight when temps are over 100.

Security.  This is where the age of your children plays a big part.  Our pool was indoors, so I could lock the door to the pool room and know that no one would be in the pool if I wasn't around.  Can your kids follow the rules without question, and make their friends follow the rules as well?  Our rule was that no one went into the pool if they were home alone and no guests went into the pool if there wasn't a parent home.

Money.  You will spend money on chemicals, water, electricity, maintenance, furniture, insurance, repairs, and upkeep.  I probably spent about $50/month keeping my pool going, but I did all the work on it myself.

We enjoyed the pool for the years that we had it operational, but an accident happened when a semi truck traveling past our house lost the tire off his trailer.  It did a bunch of damage to the building that housed the pool.  Since the pool was 30 years old and needed another $5000 worth of repairs before the accident, we chose to fill it in and close the pool.  Our house was an easy sell because we remodeled the 1000 sq. ft. room that the pool was located into a large family room.

It costs real money to dismantle a pool as well, so don't underestimate that in your decision.

If I was living year around in AZ, I personally would have a pool.  Just my $.02.

[Sam_2.0]

DH wanted a house with a pool. He grew up with one in NM. But with little kids around I said absolutely not. There's a nice community pool and they are even putting in a second on the other side of the neighborhood with kid-friendly features. We don't need to hassle and I don't want the risk. We are in MO so at best we get 4-5 months of pool weather anyway.

[Bonny]

Jan 5, 2015 8:34:42 GMT -5 Ratchets said:

Thanks for all the inputs. I didn't think about the visitors/friends aspect of it, but feel that would be a downside. I'm sure the kids would view it as an upside though lol!

For the insurance part, that was $80 a year right? That doesn't sound to bad if so. If it was $80 a month that would be like doubling it on this house!

This would be in southern Arizona. The yard has a stone wall around which seems very common here, and then the pool has a fence with gate just surrounding it.

Still trying to figure out if the PITA factor is worth it. The fact that the house is so well priced - it's a short sale though - and that we really like the house layout etc doesn't help! We are looking at a very similar floor plan without the pool though probably tonight. Maybe that will help us decide.

If you buy will your plan be to turn it into a rental? If so I would either not buy a house with a pool or cost out the cost to fill it in.

Our AZ house had a pool that was filled in by the prior owner. While initially we thought we might be re-installing a pool we found the oversized spa (could actually seat about 12!) was fine.

What elevation is this house? You might be stunned to find out how expensive it is to run a pool in the winter. People don't realize that the desert does get cold (as in freezing) once you are at 1000'. At 2500' we often would get down to freezing and occasionally would get snow flurries. Talk to the immediate neighbors.

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

Our house came with an in-ground swimming pool. I use it from April through October.

The pool guy is $115 a month and he deals with the pool and the hot tub ... chemicals, cleaning, etc. He comes weekly.

Both the pool pump and the hot tub add significant cost to our electric bill ... but we pay some of the highest per KwH rates in the country (Arizona's electricity rates are much lower)

In the summer, we have 5 outdoor umbrellas strategically placed to shade about 1/2 the pool in the afternoon which helps keep the pool water pleasant (and I like to read in the shade)

Our gates to our backyard are kept locked due to risk of burglars ~ the added bonus is that it means no one will easily "wander" into our backyard.

In the summer, when I spend a lot of time in the pool, I get all wrinkly. (Is that a downside?)