Total newbie w/questions

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Chrissykr

Chrissykr

0
Jun 8, 2014
621
Rogers, AR
Hi, we are in the process of buying a foreclosed home with a inground pool. The pool is currently empty and covered at this point no one seems to know if it is plaster or a liner. I called the pool company that was on the equipment and they had some history on the pool. They opened/closed the pool and did any repair work that came up. They said the pools was installed in 2006. They didn't have any record on size/gallons of the pool. We have the home inspection this week and I am going to open up the cover and see if it has a liner or not.

I have been reading and want to take care of my pool and will be ordering the TF-100 test kit after we complete inspection and get the all clear. In the meantime I am trying to find out what tools I am going to need to take care of my pool. The former homeowner took everything except the equipment in the ground (filter, pump, etc). I know it is a chlorine pool but other than that I know nothing. Any suggestions on what I need so I can starting shopping around.
 
:wave: Welcome to TFP!!!

You will likely want to have a pole, a brush, a leaf rake, and maybe a vacuum head to help maintain the pool. You may also want some way to automatically clean the pool (suction cleaner, pressure cleaner, or robot), but I would hold off on that until you get the pool up and running and see what provisions exist in the pool for a cleaner.
 
Hi,
I would fanatically recommend the home inspector bring out a pool expert during the inspection. (if he doesnt know about pools himself).

I dont want to scare you, but hoping just to provide you info so you can make the best choice after inspection.

If its a plaster pool and the plaster integrity is compromised, it will cost anywhere from 5K to 7K to replaster it. If structural work on the shell is required, then lots more than that.

A vinyl liner replacement will run you about 3 or 4K installed.
An empty vinyl liner pool is not good. Ifs been empty for long, for sure it will need replaced. Vinyl dries out and becomes brittle fairly quickly.

These certainly would be price negotiating points or requirements to resolve before you close.

As for tools go.
A telescopic pole that you can put different attachments on.
A broom head that fits the pole
a vacuum head that fits the pole. Vacuums are plaster or vinyl specific
a vacuum hose . Be sure to get one where the fitting on one end swivels. You will hate it if you dont.
A leaf rake attachment - a big net for scooping leaves from the bottom
a skimmer net - a small net you use to scoop up floaties from top of the water

http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/117-pool-equipment
 
Thanks for the list. I have talked to two different inspectors and they both said unless the pool is filled there isn't much they can tell us and the bank won't let us fill the pool. We do know it was a builders personal home and he fell on financial hardship. The home was left in mint condition and the pool company said he always fixed stuff in a timely manner and that the pool was always well cared for. They also said the pool was open last year and they closed it last fall so they felt it would just be a normal open and there should be no problem with the pool. In their opinion an inspection was not necessary.

I felt under the cover and I felt real tile and from the photos I have seen it looks like a concrete pool to me because of the color. I will be pulling back a corner of the cover when we do the home inspection so I can see in there.
 
You're buying a pig-in-a poke at best if that thing has been empty going on 8 or 9 months. I'd run screaming if I couldn't inspect the thing. May be a good reason it's empty.
 
Keep in mind that buying a foreclosed home is a little different in the banks normal procedures. If you have already agreed on a price for the home and this is just the "walk through" before closing, you are just checking that everything is there that you already agreed upon. If this is a true "Home Inspection" before making an offer,you should be given the opportunity to thoroughly check the pool to assess its condition. Your first post is not clear where in the process of buying the home you are in. I would look at the pool being empty two ways, there is something terribly wrong with it or the owner got tired of dealing with it and simply emptied it. Regardless, you will not know unless you can pull the cover back, take a good look at it, know what you are looking for and get water in it. I am a Realtor and have dealt with similar circumstances. If you are still in the negotiating stage with the bank, I'd suggest having the offer reflect the "potential" pool problems. Good luck!
 
Just a little update....

I went to the house today and looked through the cover, it is a liner pool and it is a mess to say the least. The deep end is full of water and a swamp which is to be expected. The liner is blowing in the breeze along the sides of the pool and there is a ton of wrinkles everywhere.

I texted my realtor very upset about the whole thing thinking I was going to have to deal with this mess. He said he was just going to call me, he had just gotten off the phone with the listing agent and she apologized to him. We have a home inspection on Friday and the bank was trying to get the pool up and running in time for my inspection but it probably isn't going to happen. They can't get anyone out there in time. The good news is that my home inspector wasn't going to do the pool inspection anyway. When the pool is filled I can get a proper pool inspection done by a pool person. My realtor said the bank wants to make things right for us so the pool will be taken care of and if a new liner is needed they will probably either take the price off the house or replace it. I feel so much better knowing all this.

There is no more negotiating on the price of the house. We are in escrow and I am at their mercy if they want to fix it or we can walk away and lose our escrow. It sounds like they are willing to work with us. They also are getting the irrigation system checked out and up and running which I hadn't even thought about so I feel they are being very fair.
 
jblizzle said:
Hopefully they follow through on all this. I would suggest you get all these things in writing though so they can not back out if repairs are needed.
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The pool will be up and running sometime next week if they can't get it done by Friday. I think they will follow through, it is a small town bank and my realtor has dealt with them before and said they are good about stuff like this. The contract on the home does not say "sold as is" so my realtor said this is good for us.
 

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We purchased our short sale home that had been unoccupied for several years, along with an uncovered IG swamp. We got such a good deal on the property that we accepted we might have issues with the pool moving forward. Lucky for us almost everything turned out fine, and our pool is probably 30 years old and saw times where it was minimally or not at all maintained. If the property is a good investment, I think the fact that the owner was a builder and took good care of things is a great sign! Good luck and post pix!!!!!!
 
Jeniloohoo said:
We purchased our short sale home that had been unoccupied for several years, along with an uncovered IG swamp. We got such a good deal on the property that we accepted we might have issues with the pool moving forward. Lucky for us almost everything turned out fine, and our pool is probably 30 years old and saw times where it was minimally or not at all maintained. If the property is a good investment, I think the fact that the owner was a builder and took good care of things is a great sign! Good luck and post pix!!!!!!
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Thnx, this is a very good buy for us and my dream home! This home is amazing:) and I knew from the moment I saw the pics it was mine. It waited six weeks for me to arrive in Arkansas with no offers and the day before I looked at it they got multiple bids. I threw mine in the hat with a couple of provisions my realtor said would hurt my chances and they accepted our bid! Homes are in high demand in this area and homes with pools go fast. I found a plan B home and it was gone in three days. For whatever reason this home waited for me! I know in my heart it will work out.
 
As we recently bought our home with an IG pool and the pool was closed when we purchased because it was winter, nothing could be inspected. Something I will suggest...

Are you being offered a home warranty as part of the purchase of the home? Being a foreclosure, you may not be but if you are, contact the home warranty company and see if they can add a pool rider to the policy that you are getting. It will typically cover anything above-ground like heaters, filters, plumbing, etc. If the bank is truly trying to make things right for you and they want to give you peace of mind, ask them about adding this to the home purchase. It was less than $200 for the pool rider on the policy. For us, it has already paid for itself. Our heater needed to be replaced and the warranty paid for a new one, including installation. Good luck.
 
Just a little update...the bank tried to have the pool opened this week. The liner is shot so they are replacing it. They said we could pick it out so we did yesterday and it will be installed in 3-4 weeks. They said they want to make everything right so we are more than pleased.
 
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