Questioning Pool ownership

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rolexamerica

Active member
Jun 22, 2019
41
San Antonio
Hello everyone, new member here, very glad to be part of this community.

I am near the San Antonio Texas Area, just bought beautiful new home, average sized backyard, I was sold on getting an inground pool as soon as we moved in the new home, I feel my kids are great candidates for owning a pool, my two boys are 7 and 9, great swimmers, and high energy, lots of friends.
Now we have a baby girl on the way, due on December and I wonder if I am putting my family at risk with this pool
my question is, what ultimately pushed you over the edge and say yes, let's get the pool

Thank you
 
Hi there Rolexamerica :) Welcome to TFP!

I'd say my biggest regret with the pool is not getting it sooner. Don't wait for your soon-to-be-born daughter to want one, by then your boys may be out of the house!

There are many ways to keep a pool safe, hence keep kids safe. For example, Skippy and I have an autocover that opens and shuts at the turn of a key. Keeps the pool off limits to kids, animals, dirt, etc. Also uses fewer chemicals.
But of course those covers aren't cheap....yet what price for a child's safety?

Other options are barrier fences, some removable some remain stationary. Alarms and such.

Get the pool now while your boys are young enough to really have a blast in it. You'll love it as a family of 5 :)

Maddie :flower:
 
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I agree, get the pool now. With early and often exposure your daughter could be swimming within a couple of years. I think some of the infant water safety classes are never a bad idea for additional peace of mind
 
Well, initial costs were all totaled up to around 50k. That included a LOT of tree removal fees and a retaining wall. The autocover was $7k 8 years ago, and because we have a simple rectangle shape pool. Our build included a salt water chlorine generator which is ideal for pools.

I spend no more than $150 per year on pool testing supplies, liquid chlorine (to supplement my salt water system at times) and a few odd and assorted chemicals. My salt cell is only now hinting that its time for replacement so we got 8 good years and it will be less than $400 I figure to buy a new cell.

As for justifying it....well.. we deserve it. We've worked hard and had the money so why not? We don't have a fancy McMansion, and have a couple of older vehicles (aside from my new BMW, yay!) so we pick and choose our splurges.

Maddie :flower:
 
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Once filled, the water doesn't seem to cost much. All depends on your local water costs. Ours ain't cheap, but my pool is just under 12k gallons. A couple teenagers in the house could use that for showers and you'd never notice (shades of my poor father with 5 teenagers always banging on the bathroom door yelling that 45 minute showers aren't necessary!)

I don't know how much the electricity costs..... it obviously isn't so much that I notice? Energy can be managed by using variable speed pumps and running the pump enough but not more than necessary.

Maddie :flower:
 
We bought a home with a pool 2 years ago. Our twins were 6 months old. Now they are 2 1/2 and my son can almost swim already. We live in FL and they swim every single day. They love it and it’s so worth it for us. As for safety, we have a pool fence and it has been very safe for us. It’s mesh and they can’t climb it or tear it down. We keep it latched at all times. We also have chimes on the doors.
As for costs, it’s about $200 a year. We don’t need to fill it in the winter because we keep a cover on it. And the summer we get lots of rain.
It would be hard to pay for a new build, however I would do it while they are young so you get more use out of it longer term.
 
Pool ownership is a lifestyle decision. You don’t cost justify it on a cost per swim. You have to decide what your priorities are and what makes your family happy.
 
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Rolex,

No one "needs" a pool, they are luxury items and as such require no justification.. No one needs a Rolex watch either, but that does not keep people from buying them..

Sounds to me like you want us to give you an excuse for not buying a pool.. If so, you came to the wrong place... :) We are all rabid pool enthusiast..

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
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You're asking real estate questions now. Check some real estate sites and also your realtor. How much you get back when you sell (never as much as you pay for it) depends on many things--its cost relative to the value of the home is a big one. How many other pools in the neighborhood is another. In some cases, as when yours is the only or one of a very few, a pool could actually be a negative when you're trying to sell. Again, ask real estate questions on a real estate site. Everyone here is already "stuck" with a pool! There is a pretty good chance your county appraisal district will value the pool more than a prospective buyer, so you might want to get professional representation to protest values at least the first year after you get the pool. Also consider insurance. State Farm in Texas will write no more than $1 million in liability on a homeowner's policy. Be sure you comply to the letter with local pool safety laws. Here in Katy (just west of Houston), I think the city gets a large portion of its revenue from permits and inspections. Personally, I go beyond the law, which requires high latches and self closing gates. I have those but keep padlocks on the gates as well--all the time. Through careful study of pump speeds and effect on filtration, I have my electric costs down to about $40 a month. Otherwise, I pretty much overdo everything, so I spend 20-30 minutes a day on pool maintenance; more on the weekend. Using the spa in the winter is a different story. Still have the pump running but in addition before using the spa, we heat the spa water with a gas pool heater. My normal $29 a month gas bill (water heaters, furnace, and cooktop) jumps to $80 or $90, depending on how many times we use the spa. I think chemicals and stuff are probably in the $15-20 a month range. Would be more if we had neighborhood kids swimming. We don't, but if asked, I would require an adult watching for each neighbor's kid in the pool, and the adult could not be swimming or talking on the phone. My attorney friend from California, tells me he's been on both sides of pool injury lawsuits, and he says $1 million is not enough insurance, so find a personal liability policy if you can. He also says if you get a diving board and let neighbor kids in, you might as well prepare to sign over your IRA and 401(k) plus home deed, because someone's parents are going to take your insurance and everything else you have. My friend is a cynic but also a realist.

Still interested? Get an experienced but not too big builder. We gave a young couple a break and never stopped regretting it. Also, I'm sorry I went to 6 ft in the deep end. Should have limited deep end to 5 ft. There are YouTube videos on pool design. Pressure side or suction side pool cleaners are an insult to your intelligence and pocketbook. Just get an electric robotic cleaner yourself after the pool is built. Maytronics is a major brand.

Don't forget to get approval from your HOA.
 
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I have an 8 year old and 5 year old. We have an above ground which has access from our deck through a locking gate. We don’t regret it at all so far. Makes it so we always have something to do outside even on hot days (despite electronics calling us to stay occupied inside). We just emphasize safety and keep the gate locked when we aren’t around. Maintenance has been ridiculously easy due to TFP ( half gallon of bleach a day). I don’t even test my numbers everyday like I used to due to them staying consistent. Costs me about 10 bucks a week in bleach and a little more for my variable speed pump. No regrets here. Go for it!
 
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Jimrahbe said:
Rolex,

No one "needs" a pool, they are luxury items and as such require no justification.. No one needs a Rolex watch either, but that does not keep people from buying them..

Sounds to me like you want us to give you an excuse for not buying a pool.. If so, you came to the wrong place... :) We are all rabid pool enthusiast..

Thanks,

Jim R.
Click to expand...
Just looking for perspectives, thank u
 
rolexamerica said:
Just looking for perspectives, thank u
Click to expand...
I’m completely biased as a pool owner a little north of you but we moved to Tulsa from just north of Ft.Worth and I can’t imagine living in TX without a pool in the summertime. Do you have access to a neighborhood pool? (Friend, family?) With little ones and a budget to consider that may make a difference. For us, it really was a lifestyle decision although we never built a pool we just bought homes with pools already installed. You’ll probably be hard-pressed to hear someone on this site talk you out of it. Definitely talk to some Realtors in your area if you are unsure of resale value. Personally, I looked at a ton of homes in TX and OK before our last two moves and I can’t count the times I said, “They want $? And it doesn’t even have a pool.” ? But I know there are some folks who want nothing to do with them.
 
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A good umbrella policy is suggested. And not terribly expensive at all!

In the South, pools are often desired. In the North, not so much.

No, you probably won't get back what you paid for the pool, but over time you've also enjoyed the pool and those years ought to be of some value to you too.

Maddie :flower:
 
I bought a motorhome. Motorhomes depreciate faster than nearly any manmade object on earth. I bought it because we enjoy it. Same with the pool. Our kids are grown, and we have no grandchildren. It's just for us. If we had kids at home, or grands, I would hesitate even less on putting in a pool.
 
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rolexamerica said:
Hello everyone, new member here, very glad to be part of this community.

I am near the San Antonio Texas Area, just bought beautiful new home, average sized backyard, I was sold on getting an inground pool as soon as we moved in the new home, I feel my kids are great candidates for owning a pool, my two boys are 7 and 9, great swimmers, and high energy, lots of friends.
Now we have a baby girl on the way, due on December and I wonder if I am putting my family at risk with this pool
my question is, what ultimately pushed you over the edge and say yes, let's get the pool

Thank you
Click to expand...
I'm in Houston. Like San Antonio, it's hot here and the summers are long, and with a spa built-in, you have year-round entertainment. With those young kids, you will absolutely get value out of it. Consider that a wake boat is around 70-140K, the maintenance and use costs are high, and suddenly a pool seems to make a lot more sense (and I have a Malibu Wakesetter for sale if anyone is interested ;) ). If most homes near you don't have pools, you'll become the "it" place for your kids and their friends all the way through high school. If there are a lot of pools, then your kids will at least feel on the same level as their peers (and yeah its sad, but the social media generation is what it is). As others have said, it's a luxury. But unlike a car or boat, at least it won't depreciate to zero value, and you'll have years of enjoyment and your kids will have great memories of growing up with it. Our kids are in college/military, and they still bring old and new friends over to hang out in the spa (which now seems far more popular to them than the pool itself). And I haven't even included grandchildren. There are lots of good reasons for a pool.
 
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