What do you say when your client asks for your advice as a real estate professional whether having a swimming pool makes financial sense? Scrap the visions of them inviting you over to their cool new pool & patio party and tell them the truth! It may increase the value of their house by 6 or 7% but there are other factors to consider such as…
- If your client lives in a “high end” neighborhood, it might be difficult to sell their home without a pool since every other home has one.
- If they live in a warm climate such as Florida, Arizona, Southern/Central California, yes again, it makes sense.
- If your clients lot is large enough to have a pool and an area for gardening/entertaining/etc., why not…but again…there are no guarantees.
Take the time to point out the costs of a pool as well as the benefits in order to help your client make the right decision for them about either installing a pool or buying a home with a pool.
Pools cost money to install, equip and maintain. Likely, a 600 square foot concrete pool without any amenities runs approximately $30,000. to install. Add amenities such as lighting, landscaping, safety walls, a water fall, a spa and it can cost $100,000. A new filtration pump that uses 80% less energy runs about $500. Heating a pool (gas is the least expensive to buy but the most costly to maintain) can run into the thousands of dollars a year depending upon how much and how high you heat the pool throughout the year. Electric heat pumps are more energy efficient but any kind of heating system will be much cheaper if you neighbor uses a solar blanket to trap heat and reduce evaporation throughout the night.
Maintenance costs are required. Water needs to be balanced for pH, alkalinity and calcium levels and the water needs to be sanitized regularly to control germs and bacteria. DIY upkeep costs run approximately $600. per year, robotic cleaning systems run between $500. – $800. annually and professional pool service costs vary. Encourage your client to compare services and prices as this is a competitive market.
Remind your client that pools can increase insurance costs as well. And insurance companies may require fencing around the pool. A pool may also increase property taxes depending upon the company and the state.
All this being said, it may come down to reminding your client that she loves to swim, that she’s dreamed of having a pool her whole life and that she’d love to have her friends over for pool parties instead of being stuck inside with no way to cool off in the sun. There’s no price tag for enhancing the quality of her life, so long as she realizes she’ll never get the full investment back.
