If you’re looking for Palm Coast homes for sale with a pool, or you’re searching for anyone in Florida or the country for a house that comes with a pool, you should consider the pros and cons first.
Having a pool can improve your resale value, especially in a state like Florida, but you also need to know how it can impact things like maintenance, lifestyle, and the additional costs you’ll be responsible for.
The following are some of the big things to know about pool ownership before you dive in.
1. Be Prepared to Keep It Clean
When you buy a home with a pool, you need to make sure you’re maintaining it on a regular basis. This will keep it looking beautiful, extend its life, and it’ll also be safer.
Some of the things that go into cleaning and maintaining a pool include:
- Getting rid of sediment that’s on pool walls. There are bits of debris and algae that often settle on the walls of the pool and also its fixtures, such as slides and ladders. You should brush the pool walls and any fixtures every week to remove this.
- Skimming leaves and debris will be part of your weekly maintenance routine as well. If you leave these things floating on the surface, eventually, they’ll end up making the bottom of your pool dirty, or they’ll clog the filtration system.
- Each week you’ll vacuum your pool, but maybe more if it needs it. There are different types of pool vacuums you’ll have to choose from, including pressure, robotic, and suction vacuums.
- Other types of maintenance you’ll have to do regularly include cleaning your skimmer, keeping your pump running, and checking your filter and backwash. You’ll have to test your pool water and the chemical levels, either daily or weekly, depending on how much you use your pool.
2. Pools Can Increase Your Resale Value
As mentioned above, buying a home with a pool can mean that you will improve your resale value in the future. Just be realistic about how much this is true. For example, having a pool can increase the value of your home by around 7% on average, depending on things like your location and the weather.
A pool in a state like Florida is going to have significantly more value than a place where it’s cold for half the year.
Things that influence how much a pool can add to your home’s value also include the age of the pool, the type, and its condition.
3. Your Homeowners’ Insurance
Your homeowners’ insurance should cover damage to an in-ground pool, and you might pay around $50 more a year for that coverage. However, your insurer will have to consider if your pool is part of your home or if it’s an external structure. The answer affects your replacement cost value or personal property limit.
Your homeowners’ insurance policy may have what’s called replacement cost coverage. This will pay to replace your home with the same or a similar home in the current market. If your home insurance company includes an in-ground pool in your policy’s replacement cost value, the value of your home increases, meaning a higher premium.
Personal property coverage is what will replace or repair belongings and not your actual home. If your insurance company categorizes your pool as an external structure, which is usually the case with an above-ground pool, then you may have to raise your personal property limit.
The liability part of a homeowners insurance policy would pay for lawsuits or medical bills resulting from accidents in or around your pool.
A swimming pool is considered an attractive nuisance by an insurer. That means a property that could attract and be dangerous to a child. You’re liable when you own an attractive nuisance for any incidents, even if the person didn’t have permission to use it.
If you have a pool, you might want to increase your liability protection on your homeowners’ policy or purchase a separate umbrella policy.
4. Costs of Maintenance
The yearly cost to maintain a pool can be upwards of $2,000 in some cases, depending on things like the size of your pool, the materials you use, and whether you do the maintenance yourself or hire someone to do it. You should budget around $3,000 a year to $5,000 a year for utilities and repairs.
Pools can use a lot of electricity because of components like heaters, pumps, filters, and lighting.
There are things you can do to lower these costs, though, like installing automatic timers so the filter will turn off when it’s not being used.
5. Safety Comes First
If you want to commit to an in-ground pool, it can be outstanding for your lifestyle, but you have to remember the first priority is always safety.
If you have kids or grandkids, you can use your pool to teach them water safety, swimming, and CPR.
At the same time, you have to make sure it’s a safe environment. For example, if you seasonally close your pool, ensure you have a safe cover. This protects not only children but also your pets.
6. Reasons to Love a Pool
It can sound like a burden to have a pool, and while there are downsides for most people who have them, the upsides far outweigh anything else.
When you have a pool, it’s a place to entertain, and it expands the livable space around your home. You can spend more time outside, get fresh air, enjoy time with your family, and you can create great memories.
Pools are also good because they’re a place where you can exercise and stay active.
They’re a good investment in terms of your quality of life, even if they do require some planning ahead of time for safety, maintenance, and additional expenses.
If you’re thinking about buying a home with a pool, just make sure you’re ready for the additional commitment, but balance it with all of the good memories you’ll create.