Get Loan First or Get Quotes First?

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Gladius Nova

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Dec 29, 2016
389
Fair Oaks Ranch, TX
First I want to say I am learning a lot from reading the forums here. TIA

The wife and I are contemplating on in ground pool for our next house which we should be closing on in about a month. We are clueless on how it works if you aren't rolling in the dough and able to pay cash for your pool...lol Are most pool builders like any other business where they want to see you are approved BEFORE they come out and give you a quote or do they provide quotes/estimates first so at least you can budget and see how much $$ to ask for? I'm sure there are some "shady" pool builders that will quote you on the actual loan amount (if you have to divulge that info) or over. I'm also aware that getting a builder to actually come out and provide an estimate, video rendering, pictures, etc. is a service, not necessarily "free". Just want to be prepared and not get taken advantage off since we are newbies.
 
Here in our area, there are a few builders that should be able to help you. There's no reason for them to not send a rep to your home to evaluate your situation and give you a quote or two. It's certainly worth their time. You need to have a quote so the bank can draw-up the paperwork for the loan (or lien), which in my case had to be endorsed by the builder/installer anyways. There should be no surprises, and everything should be documented in the contract from breaking ground, hauling away dirt, pool install, plumbing, electrical, decking/coping, and clean-up. Start with a couple of the big names here in S.A. and go from there to compare.
 
We did not finance but when we asked for quotes I don't think we had a single builder ask how we were going to pay in order to get a quote. One did offer some literature on a lender I suspect they get a commission. visiting your home and putting together a quote and rendering is just part of doing business for them. Yes it costs them money but it also costs you time they figure if you are willing to setup an appointment you are serious about the project and it is up to them to convince you they are the best outfit for the job.
 
I have received numerous quotes and we do not plan to build until February. We have made that clear to the builders and aside from trying to talk us into building sooner, none seem to have a problem. The 2 we have narrowed it down to communicate with me regularly and answer all of my questions (which are a lot thanks to TFP.) I have talked to a couple banks about financing, so I have a general idea of what my max budget will be and the terms. I'm glad we decided to get the quotes first, because we had a very unrealistic idea of what building a pool would cost and would not have taken out a big enough loan. Now we know exactly what it will take to get what we want and can accurately plan for it instead of cutting corners because we run out of money. It has also given us time to decide what we really want without feeling pressured by the timeframes of the loan. In my area, there are limited builders as they usually specialize in only 1 type of pool and most of them are booked solid for the next few months, so there is really no need to rush. We are waiting for the summer hype to die down as I have been told Jan/Feb is the time they have the shortest wait.
 
Texas Splash said:
Here in our area, there are a few builders that should be able to help you. There's no reason for them to not send a rep to your home to evaluate your situation and give you a quote or two. It's certainly worth their time. You need to have a quote so the bank can draw-up the paperwork for the loan (or lien), which in my case had to be endorsed by the builder/installer anyways. There should be no surprises, and everything should be documented in the contract from breaking ground, hauling away dirt, pool install, plumbing, electrical, decking/coping, and clean-up. Start with a couple of the big names here in S.A. and go from there to compare.
Click to expand...

Thank you Texas Splash! As you probably already know, this is considered "pool country" and there are numerous companies....kinda overwhelming!! We already know the big one here in SA (you probably already know the name) is probably out of the question! They build very nice pools and have mostly positive reviews as far as quality and customer service, but WAYYY over priced IMO! But then again, you get what you pay for, right? We are looking to get 4 builder quotes from within the top 10 companies here.
 
1+ on the idea of waiting. We did an off season build and I think everyone is happier. You won't have any anxiety about when do I get to swim if there is a delay or three. The builder and their crew are generally easier to get along with when they are not stretched thin working on 5 pools at the same time in 100 degree heat. Working with concrete gunite and plaster in cooler weather is generally better. Learning to maintain chemical levels is a bit easier in cooler weather as things tend not to change so much day to day with the exception of pH demand if you go with plaster.

That being said you can sometimes save a little money signing a contract before Jan 1 as that is typically when the builders equipment costs go up for the new model year. Just depends on how they buy pumps filters etc, If they by in lots does not matter so much.
 
We just went through this. Our build starts in Aug 15th. We started getting quotes in April, signed contract first week of May, and that's how far out the builders were scheduling. Some in this area were completely booked for the year already. In May! We chose vinyl, and thankfully the best vinyl guy in our area was only booking 3 months out. We got prices on 3 different types of pools from several builders. They do not charge to come out and give quotes. After we decided what type we wanted, we went to the PB of choice, drew up the estimated contract for the pool, decided what all we wanted to put in the loan (fence, electrical, extra concrete, etc) and then applied for the loan. We have excellent credit and only have our mortgage debt, so we didn't foresee a problem getting approved. It was just a matter of who to go with. We plan to pay ours off in 3 yrs, so we chose not to go through the bank with a home equity or mortgage loan. Once we were approved, we had 2wks to sign the online document and choose our start date. The interest rate went up slightly during that time frame, but we still got the lowest % offered since we had already locked it in. So, having said all that.... keep in mind things like that will occur depending on who you go with, so you may want to be really sure about when you will be starting before applying for the loan. Definitely get the quotes first, decide when you will start (we put a deposit down to get our name on the pool schedule with our builder) and then apply.
 
Every PB we talked to never asked how we were paying. We did a mix of our own money and HELOC, didn't need pool quotes to get that money, just needed to tell them how much and the term. Shopped that too for the best terms.

PB quotes will probably be hard to compare line to line, at least they were up here. Each had their own "package", with other items lined out. For example, one PB included a deep end bench no matter what but charged for pebbletec, the other gave pebble sheen away and charged for deep end benches..
 

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I can make a suggestion.

If you plan to use a Home Equity Line or Loan as a second mortgage, you’ll want to secure financing BEFORE any construction lien is placed on your property. Figure 30-40 days to apply for and have the Line or Loan in place. If you know exactly how much you want to spend, get a Home equity Loan right before. If you aren’t sure how much you want to spend or what your budget is, you can get a Home Equity Line setup now. You won’t pay any interest until you actually use the funds.

Hope this helps.

source- I am a regional lending manager for a large financial institution
disclaimer - these views are of my own and not my employer.
 
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Get a loan first, once you have the money, you can plan how to spend it. But know your approximate costs! When I was in construction, I had to take out a loan not only to build a pool, but also to build a house. As you might think, it's not a small amount of money. I was helped in this by a friend who advised me to go to Kertalaina 100 € - Hae 100e kertaluotto netistä!. I trusted him and did not lose, the rate was small, for this amount of money, it suited me.
 
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Quotes first. And then get more $$ than that. ;-)

Seriously though, in our situation there were considerable costs beyond the pool, such as decking (which can be significant!), replacing the torn up irrigation system in the back yard, landscaping after the fact, privacy fence, etc. These add up very fast and can be considerable.
 
I spoke with 4 pool builders, 3 of them came out to my house and drew up designs for me and gave me "a to the penny" quote. A fourth pool builder would not even talk to me unless I was pre-approved for their finance. It was a soft credit check so I went ahead and did it.. I loved their design but did not like the fact they wouldn't talk unless I got the pre-approval. So I took their design and had the other guys quote me on it, and eventually signed a contract... My credit is good so I started the finance part after we signed a contract so I knew exactly how much to get.
 
Just a thought. Years ago, once my mortgage got fairly low I opened a home equity line of credit and have carried the line for years. The credit line amount increased as my mortgage decreased. It gave us enough flexibility to make major purchases/remodeling/etc. over the years. It was only used for capital expenses and not living expenses. You have to be a disciplined money manager but I really liked knowing the money was available if something unexpected popped up. The unexpected stuff got paid off pretty quickly since the line was intended for planned expenses. It still beat the heck out paying credit card rates.
 
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