Pool Costs in Chicago Suburbs (Ava: for sale, real estate, insurance)

[nikitakolata]

I was wondering if anyone here knows approximately what it costs to maintain a medium to large pool in the Chicago suburbs. Several of the houses for sale that I like a lot have pools and, in one listing I saw yesterday, it said that it would cost $7,500 to fill the in-ground pool. Can that figure really be accurate? It seems extremely high to me given that my current water bills are less than $30 a month. I was also thinking about those kids who flooded their yard in the winter to make an ice rink; the Tribune article said that the water bill for doing so was about $120. So, while I could see a pool costing about $1000 to fill, maybe I am completely wrong.

The houses I'm looking at have pools that are about 20 by 30 feet and go from 3 feet deep on one end to 7 on the other. Aside from the cost of filling a pool, how much does maintenance cost? I like the idea of a pool and I love swimming, but it may turn out that it simply isn't worth having a pool, even for someone like me who wants one.

[chet everett]

I think you misunderstand the listing. In-ground swimming pools are somewhat notorious deal killers in our climate. Rather than costing $7,500 to fill with water to make swimmable for our short season the listing agent has asked EXCAVATION companies how to fill the pool with dirt and merely have a "normal" backyard. The quote of about $7,500 seems accurate.

The cost of the 10,000 or so gallons of water that most inground swimming pools require along with the chemicals and electricity for pumps rarely costs more than a few hundred dollars for our 3-4 month season. Of course insurance premiums and headaches / worries about unattended toddlers drowning or the house becoming the "freeloaders non-stop cabana club" are the real reason that so many people flat will not consider a home with an inground pool...

[linicx]

The other downside to an inground pool is the eventual structural repair due to ground heave and thaw. It will raise real estate taxes. Quite frankly, it is much cheaper and easier to maintain and replace the above ground pool which can be quite large. The best bet though, is to check with your city, county, township zoning laws before you buy the property.

Also. Some of the members in the suburbs are complaining about huge increase in water bills.

[nikitakolata]

Originally Posted by chet everett

I think you misunderstand the listing. In-ground swimming pools are somewhat notorious deal killers in our climate. Rather than costing $7,500 to fill with water to make swimmable for our short season the listing agent has asked EXCAVATION companies how to fill the pool with dirt and merely have a "normal" backyard. The quote of about $7,500 seems accurate.

The cost of the 10,000 or so gallons of water that most inground swimming pools require along with the chemicals and electricity for pumps rarely costs more than a few hundred dollars for our 3-4 month season. Of course insurance premiums and headaches / worries about unattended toddlers drowning or the house becoming the "freeloaders non-stop cabana club" are the real reason that so many people flat will not consider a home with an inground pool...

Oh, duh! You are totally right... I don't know why I didn't think of that!

I agree that pools can be deal killers. I guess that's why, although I do want to have one, I'd like to buy a house that has it already rather than put one in myself. If it's already there, I think it would help us get a better purchase price. Plus, my house already is the non-stop cabana club. I don't think having a pool would change anything for us in that regard. Luckily, I don't mind that aspect at all. The costs, however, I do think I'd mind if they become too excessive.

[linicx]

If you get a pool company, you don't worry about maintenance. You expense will the filter pump and the guy that does everything else and you'll probably still have to do the PH check and vacuum bugs and leaves.

[JacksonPanther]

Originally Posted by linicx

If you get a pool company, you don't worry about maintenance. You expense will the filter pump and the guy that does everything else and you'll probably still have to do the PH check and vacuum bugs and leaves.

Great, so now in addition to having this pool and paying for the water and chemicals, I have to pay someone's salary for upkeep. I imagine in Chicago, paying for the "pool boy" won't be inexpensive - but I don't know for sure.

Is your wife hot? The pool boy might do it for free...

[chet everett]

In our short season the need for a "pool guy" is pretty questionable. I have sold a handful of homes with outdoor in-ground pools and the folks that have 'em generally have been able to handle maintenance themselves. Modern chemicals are a lot easier to get the pH and various anti-microbial levels in balance. Modern skimmers / filters and "robot" vacuums keep things pretty clean. Like I said, assuming normal water / electric / chemical costs it would be unusual to spend anything over a grand a year on the pool itself.
The bigger issues tend to be the worries about safety AND the attractiveness of the pool to freeloaders -- lots of people assume that the big hole of blue water also means free food, beverages and "child care" for the duration of the swim season.
I've shown a handful of houses with large indoor pools and these concerns are magnified when there is not excuse that "the weather isn't nice enough to take the cover off". Of course the additional issues of moisture and heating / cooling a large structure over / around an indoor pool also tend to narrow the pool of buyers to people with HUGE disposable income and more than few homes with indoor pools don't otherwise warrant much attention from "high end" buyers. The speed with which the decor of "vacation house to call home" becomes "a retro mix of fun and laughs" is pretty shocking...

[sfcambridge]

Make sure you purchase an umbrella insurance policy.

[nikitakolata]

Originally Posted by JacksonPanther

Great, so now in addition to having this pool and paying for the water and chemicals, I have to pay someone's salary for upkeep. I imagine in Chicago, paying for the "pool boy" won't be inexpensive - but I don't know for sure.

Is your wife hot? The pool boy might do it for free...

Well, in my case personally, I am the wife and I'm not hot enough that anyone would do my pool maintenance for free, unfortunately. I do have a sister who is a teacher though, and I expect she'd do a lot of it since she has the summers free. Of course, as Chet said, I'd more likely than not be paying her in food in and drinks. My husband and I pretty much do that as it is though; I can't remember the last time someone gave me money after spending a weekend at our house. We've made it clear to friends that we don't' care though, otherwise I'm sure some would contribute in proportion to their consumption.

[whakru]

I have lived in two houses with in ground pools and I loved it. In fact I can't wait to buy my next house because I will get a pool again (my current house does not have one).

Having said that, there is a fair amount of work to keep a pool in good shape all season. You need to test it every day and add chemicals based on those results. While auto pool vacuums work on a lot of things they don't take care of all the floating things or even worse the creatures that get in there and need to get out. So you will have to manually vacuum about once a month and use the net daily to take care of the floaters. Lastly, when it stays hot for long periods of time you always run the risk of algae no matter how vigilant you are with the chemicals. If your pool is heated then that is an additional cost. At least you can do all the cleaning and stuff while you are outside!

I still think that it is worth all of the maintenance if you really love a pool. It gives your yard a resort feel and there are no crowds and no times that you are told you can't swim. I can't wait to have one again!