Rental Property with a Pool?

[gkw4815]

I've been a small-time landlord (1-2 properties) for most of the past decade, and it's generally been a positive experience. We're considering purchasing an additional single-family rental property within the next 6-12 months.

In the areas where we're looking (Spring Branch, Westchase, and the Energy Corridor in Houston), at least 25% or so of homes have pools, so including homes with pools in the search does open up additional options. Before getting our own pool and learning the TFP best practices, I never would've considered a rental property with a pool. But maintenance-wise, I think I could handle it. I could always go with a pool service, but as long as I added a SWG and got a property within ~10 mins of home or work, I could probably handle weekly maintenance on my own.

I haven't checked into insurance yet...FWIW, a pool made a negligible impact on homeowners insurance for our own house, but don't know if this would be the case for a rental.

Any rental-with-pool owners on the forum? Is this a terrible idea? On the other hand - if you have rentals with and without pools, do you find the properties with pools rent quicker? (our current rental is one of the only houses on its street with no pool, and feedback from prospective buyers and tenants in the past was that they liked the house but wished it had a pool). Of course this last question is something market-specific that I'd discuss with our realtor, but also interested in the experience of those on this forum.

 

[Mdragger88]

Calling @Jimrahbe

 

[Jimrahbe]

gkw,

I have two rent houses that have pools...

Having a pool does not seem to effect the cost of insurance, but none of my pools have diving boards... That said, the insurance rep never asked anything about the pools other than do you have one..

If you have a SWCG, you can get away with doing maintenance once a week. I personally would not have ANY pool that was not a saltwater pool.

All three of my pools have low voltage robots..

I initially tried to use the original equipment that was there when I bought the property, but that was a mistake, as I was constantly having to make repairs. On both of my rent house pools, I replaced the single speed pumps with 3 HP IntelliFlo pumps, added EasyTouch systems with IC40 salt cells.. I should have replaced the DE filters, but did not. I now almost can't wait for them to go bad so they can be replaced with large cartridge filters.

I include "pool service" in the rental price. But.. The tenants are responsible for the normal day to day stuff, like cleaning out the skimmers and netting out any floating stuff. I would say that works out much better in the summer when the pool is in use than it does in the winter, when it is not.

You will get about the same amount of rent for a house with a pool, as for a house without a pool, so I don't see any advantage from a rental point of view. But there is more potential for a loss when thing go wrong if you have a pool. Neither of my two rent house pools were bought with the idea that I was going to rent them. That is just how they turned out.

If I was looking for a rental property, a pool would not be my first choice, unless the house was a heck of deal.

You can ask more questions here or PM me if you wish..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[gkw4815]

Thanks for the detailed response!

I agree that, all things being equal, I'd prefer a property without a pool, but if the maintenance and other issues are manageable, I don't want to rule out a potential better deal (especially as limited as supply is right now).

It definitely comes down to tenants as well...I've had very handy and responsible tenants in the past that I would trust to handle all aspects of pool maintenance, and others who couldn't be counted on to empty skimmers.

Interesting that you mention robots, I had thought that pool robots won't last as long if left in the pool continuously. Do your tenants haul them in/out of the pool, or do you do so during your own maintenance visits?

 

[Jimrahbe]

It definitely comes down to tenants as well...I've had very handy and responsible tenants in the past that I would trust to handle all aspects of pool maintenance, and others who couldn't be counted on to empty skimmers.

gkw,

I had one tenant, for about 7 years, who paid his rent on time, but was not too "handy".. After about 5 years, or so, he let me know the kitchen light would no longer turn on. The light had three or four bulbs, that I assume went bad over time. When the last one went out, he called me. I am not sure he even realized that the light had replaceable bulbs. Nice guy, but wow!!!

At my house the robot only goes in the pool once or twice a week..

At my rent house pools the robots stay in the pools unless the tenants take it out while they swim.

I have been using robots for about 10 years, and I have not really noticed any lifespan difference that I can relate to being left in the pool or not.

My initial robots were Dolphin robots and they were old when I got them used, and they lasted me about 4 or 5 years. The newer designed Dolphin S200 "style" robots seem to only last 3.5 to 5 years. Keep in mind that here in Texas, the pools stay open year round, so the robots work all year. I look at my robots as a business asset. (I don't name them.. ). I hope they last forever, but when they go bad, I repair the simple stuff, but if it can't be fixed, it just gets replaced.

I am currently trying out a EVO robot that I really like, but it would not be a good choice for a rent house pool, because it does not have a weekly timer.

I do clean the robot baskets once a week when I make my visit.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Mdragger88]

I look at my robots as a business asset. (I don't name them.. ).

Paycheck #1 & Paycheck #2 has a nice ring to it