Buying a bank repo house with a empty pool

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M

moore101

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LifeTime Supporter
Aug 14, 2008
22
Alta Loma, CA
Hi all,
I searched quite a bit but could not find a discussion on this:

I am in the market for purchasing a home with a pool. Since I live in Southern California (Inland Empire) quite a few of the homes we are looking at are bank owned or short sales. This basically means that the pool in these homes will be mostly or completely empty and has been that way for 1 month to 1 year maybe.

Questions:
Is it a bad idea to even consider a home with a gunite/plaster pool that has been empty for who knows how long?

If we decide to take the plunge and buy one of these repo homes say one that has a empty pool but the equipment tests ok and the shell is good and plaster surface is not too bad how would one start up the pool?

Thanks!
Loran
 
Welcome to the forum.

I'll just add my two cents on one of your questions. Call around to some of the pool builders in your area and see if they will do pool inspections. Ask them to check the pool for cracks and other defects; and to pressure test the lines. A pool bad pool pump will cost $300 to $450 or so. A bad filter will cost $350 to $700 or so. A bad line will cost $400 on up depending on what they have to dig up to replace it. A pool that is damaged due to crack(s) must be repaired and then maybe have to be repainted or retiled can be a major project.

I hope you see what I'm trying to say.
 
If everything is working then startup is easy, fill with water balance the levels and go.

The crucial question is cracks in the shell. As long as the shell/walls are intact then the rest is usually not so bad to fix. A professional inspection is a great idea.
 
Hi all,

I'm in the same boat; really want a pool, but in Vegas I'm looking at repos with no pool, with empty pools, or with nasty looking green pools (which I have heard is actually better than an empty pool?).

Just wondering if - worst case scenario - the pool is in need of all the previously discussed repairs, what kind of $$ would I be looking at, ballpark? Cheaper than building a nice new pool? And if it's all repaired, is it as good as a new pool, and likely to last as long?

Thanks for any assistance. This would be my first home and first pool! :)
 
We are considering a bank repo in Virginia. The pool has probably been neglected from at least June,2011 or before. The pool has a vinyl liner with concreate around the edges to walk on. The pool is still full of water. What would be the chance of problems from the water freezing in lines, etc. ? What would be the possible cost of repairs? Thank You!
 
metkae said:
We are considering a bank repo in Virginia. The pool has probably been neglected from at least June,2011 or before. The pool has a vinyl liner with concreate around the edges to walk on. The pool is still full of water. What would be the chance of problems from the water freezing in lines, etc. ? What would be the possible cost of repairs? Thank You!
Click to expand...

You should be in pretty good shape in Virginia this year. It has been a very mild winter and I doubt that the water in the lines would have frozen to the point of causing damage. I am in Lynchburg VA and regret having gone through the trouble of closing mine this year.
 
If you're looking around Rialto or Fontucky, you may find a lot of scale, a lot of algae, maybe they trashed or took the pump & filter, but I doubt you'll see any structural problems. The ground out that way is like concrete, and no high water table pushing up on the pool.
 
I bought a repo with a pool last year. I didn't know anything about pools. The house was such a good deal that I bought it without having the pool inspected, which was probably fool hardy, but I got lucky and there are no major problems with the pool. I had to get a new pump, get a new valve for the filter, get the pool drained, cleaned and refilled, get a leak service to fix some leaks. I have probably spent close to $2K on the pool, but I saved $100K on the house so I'm not complaining. I am just now getting the chemicals balanced after having the pool covered during the winter.

If there had been cracks in the pool, how expensive would they be to fix?
 

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You can never tell how expensive it would have been because you don't know how extensive it would have been. It may have only required a small patch job and it may have required a full replaster with shell repair. Plumbing is another thing. You said you have to buy a pump and valve, which is pretty minor, but you could have had an underground plumbing leak which could have required cutting up and replacing a good chunk of decking.

It almost always a good idea to get an inspection and leak check. Most of the time things are minor but that one time out of a hundred it could be bad.
 
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