Need Advice

[tdtall]

Hello,

I am new to this site and am excited to become a regular. My husband and I have decided to look for a home with a pool. We recently came across a house that we really like. However, the pool looks like it is in major disrepair (at least in my inexperienced eyes). We were told that the sellers are not making any negotiations regarding the pool and it has not been used in two years (I am willing to bet it's been longer than that). Before we make any offers on this house we want to know what will be needed to get this pool up and running. I will contact a local company on Tuesday but I would like to get opinions from experienced pool owners. We are outdoor people and really want a pool. If this seems like a lost cause we will walk away from this house. I am not afraid to sink a few g's on repairs. I don't have much information on the pool. The house is 31 years old so I am assuming the pool was installed at the time the home was built. I went out today and took lots of pictures and measurements. Please look at the pics and give any advice you can on what you see. The pool is concrete (?) and is 20 x 40. Some of the tiles have fallen off or will be off soon. Thank you in advance of any input.



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This is a close up of the exposed first step.










If you'd like for me to edit a pic or zoom in on something please let me know.

 

[AimeeH]

Unfortunately I'm no expert in pool renovation but there is surely someone who could give you advise on this site.

From the looks of the pics it looks like some serious surface repair would need to be in your budget along with purchase price. Although.....it also looks like it could be an AWSOME pool.

I hope the pool inspection will give you at least a rough idea of renovation cost.

 

[JasonLion]

The big unknown here is what kind of shape the plaster and plumbing is in underwater.

From what I see, there are a lot of things that could use updating, but could also be left alone for a few more years. For example the water line tile is in rough shape, but probably could be left alone for a couple of years. The equipment and deck look to be like that as well, probably alright to leave alone for a while, but could really use some attention.

Rough guess, I imagine something like $15,000 to get everything looking really nice, but way way less to just get it working. However without seeing the underwater plaster work, there is quite a bit of variability there.

 

[SuzfromTexas]

Welcome to TFP!!! You've come to the right place for sure!

If you guys do buy this house, do you have any idea how long you might stay in it? Do job situations look like you'll be in the area for 10 to 20 years. Is this a house you're in love with, and would it meet your needs for the same amount of time?

Or will ya'll possibly move in 5-10 years? Or do ya'll just enjoy fixing up places and then move on in a couple of years - like a hobby or to make a profit?

I can't help you with technical advice, but I think answers to those questions will help the experts guide you.

There are usually less expensive solutions for short term fixes or more expensive repairs for long term fixes.

If I were planning to live in one house for 10 to 20 years, I think I would look for a house without a pool and build a new pool. I n the last 30 years, there have been so many great improvements in energy savings, structure, equipment, designs, and water features that I would want to take advantage of those. Good luck and take care! Suz.

 

[AimeeH]

Well and to add to this thread........to put in a new pool of that apparent size would be about 25k for vinyl in my area. That pool is not a vinyl pool which I'm thinking would be closer to 50k or more in my market. I've read and read and pool installation prices seem to vary a lot by region in this country.

So suzfromtexas.....you have some good points.

 

[tdtall]

Welcome to TFP!!! You've come to the right place for sure!

If you guys do buy this house, do you have any idea how long you might stay in it? Do job situations look like you'll be in the area for 10 to 20 years. Is this a house you're in love with, and would it meet your needs for the same amount of time?

Or will ya'll possibly move in 5-10 years? Or do ya'll just enjoy fixing up places and then move on in a couple of years - like a hobby or to make a profit?

I can't help you with technical advice, but I think answers to those questions will help the experts guide you.

There are usually less expensive solutions for short term fixes or more expensive repairs for long term fixes.

If I were planning to live in one house for 10 to 20 years, I think I would look for a house without a pool and build a new pool. I n the last 30 years, there have been so many great improvements in energy savings, structure, equipment, designs, and water features that I would want to take advantage of those. Good luck and take care! Suz.

We really like the house and the area it's in (which is hard for us to find some we like). We hope this is the last house we purchase, so we plan on staying here till the end of our time.

 

[tdtall]

Thanks JasonLion. I was thinking between 10-15k myself but I was just guessing. I've spoken with local pool installers here and have been told that a pool with a liner will run me about 25K and concrete will run about 50k (and that's a basic install with no extras), so fixing this up seems like a bargain compared to having one installed. I wish I could drain it and may ask the sellers to do so, but doubt they'd comply. I'm meeting with the realtor tomorrow at the house so hopefully I will get some more information.

 

[AimeeH]

Good luck.

Draining a pool could be dangerous depending on the groundwater level. If you drain it, it could cause groundwater to push everything up. I'm sure your local builders will advise correctly.

 

[SuzfromTexas]

That's good information. Thanks! That would help me with my decision process if I were in your shoes.

I guess my next thought would be to have a dollar amount in mind to set aside for house repairs if needed, and another amount for the pool. From that amount work backwards.

Hopefully the experts can prioritize what needs to be taken care of first and so on. Then the fun part, a wish list of goodies and extras! (I'm better with this side of pool updates!)

This will be fun to see how all of this goes! Have fun and keep us posted! Take care. Suz.

 

[bmoreswim]

Though the repair dollars could get pretty big, I think the bones (i.e. size, setting, shell) appear nice. By shell I'm referring to the concrete shell below the plaster. I say the shell is probably good because it's holding water pretty well. If it has main drain, if it's not working it could be abandoned which is not an unusual thing to do.
The items that could need attention in major reno would be:
Decking ($5-15k)
Plaster of some type ($4-8k)
Waterline tile ($1-2K)
Coping (assuming you don't go with cantilever concrete again) ($1-2K)
Probably most of the equipment ($2-8K depending on automation and heater)
Hopefully the underground piping is not compromised (the pipe diameters could cause inefficiencies but that's just another expense.)
Just some thoughts about what things could cost, not necessarily what needs to be done now or at all. I'm sure others can give you a little better thoughts on dollars but I'll get some out there.

 

[bmoreswim]

One more item, my take on it is if you don't mind the reno, which it sounds like you don't since you like the house/location, in the end the value proposition is pretty clearly in favor of buying a house with a pool already unless you are in an area with pools at every other house.