Swimming Pool ROI Pearland Tx (Houston, Howe: houses, landscaping, neighborhood)

[axvu]

Hey Guys,

We just built a 4100sqft house in Shadow Creek Ranch and have an opportunity to get a great deal on a all out gunite in-groundpool with all the trimmings (raised Waterfall, travertine, VS Pumps, led lights, 35x15) for $25k. The home currently is appraised for $315k. Out of the 50-60 houses in my neigborhood around 4-5 have pools also.

The question is will it help raise property value if any here down south?

We are 50/50 on getting the pool but if we can retain any of our initial investment we would consider it. Any advice? Thanks!

[ethanw]

$25k for a pool with all option described? Hard to believe.... too good to be true?

[axvu]

My friend is building it for me as a favor at his cost.

[vwgto]

Lots of debate on other strings regarding pool costs/benefits. If you will use it, okay with ongoing maintenance, and they can blend it nicely with lot - - probably worth it, and will add value at that neighborhood price range.

[BrianH]

If somebody is looking for a pool when buying then yeah it would possibly add to the value, but definitely add to the sellability to that buyer. I personally didnt even go look at two very nice houses because they had pools, too much maintenance.

[Failed Engineer]

If you are getting it at cost you'll probably break even or just take a slight loss when you sell. Highly doubtful you will gain. Your bigger issue for resale will be Shadow Creek itself. There's always been high inventory there and it was sort of a telling sign that this summer when a lot of the rest of the Houston area was white hot, that Shadow Creek inventory levels remained high and prices did not move upward.

[dalparadise]

Going strictly by the numbers, a pool is perhaps the least efficient way to add value to your property. In terms of enjoyment of your home, however, it's great. I believe my pool was a break-even proposition when I sold my house in Texas, compared to similar properties on the market at that time. My investment in landscaping, hardscaping and the pool itself definitely made my house more marketable, though, and it sold quickly compared to others in the area.

Some things I learned:

Design either your orientation of the pool or your landscaping to shade at least half of the pool after about 3:00pm. It's the only way to keep the water at a comfortable level. When I first installed my pool, the water was 94 degrees! A couple of big palm trees on the western end of it helped a great deal.

Get a spa. It will extend your enjoyment of the pool year-round. My wife and I would drink champagne under the stars on 40-degree January nights in ours. It was awesome.

Your water chemistry is your own business, but I preferred a very sanitary pool. As such, I learned a lot before going in and didn't trust my water to any "service". I maintained it with household bleach and never saw an algae bloom. My water was always clean and never smelled of chemicals, either. I supplemented the bleach with inline trichlor pucks and did partial drain and refills every other year or so to regulate CYA levels. I chose this method over a salt water generator, because of the amount of sun and heat my pool received. I didn't feel a salt water generator would allow me to maintain the high levels of sanitatizer I wanted, given the extreme conditions. Remember, "chlorine" is only one part of clean water. Balance is the real key--maintaining proper Ph, CYA level, etc. it sounds like a hassle, but once you know what you are doing, it only takes 30 minutes per week or so to take care of everything, plus a brush every now and then and running the automatic cleaner daily. My only algae problems ever were after Ike, when I lost power for two weeks and couldn't run the pump.

The waterfall will be more than decorative. Learn to use it for aeration to raise or lower Ph levels to maintain perfect water balance. I know all of this sounds like a lot of trouble--and it is, at first--but once you learn to "read" your pool's water chemistry, it's practically "set-it-and-forget-it". Seriously, I spent more time making margaritas than maintaining my pool in the summertime.

Run your pump about 8 hours per day during hot months and 5 or so when it gets cooler. I liked to set mine for cooler times of the day, to try to keep my water temperature down as much as possible. By running in the late evening and early morning, I didn't circulate the water in full sun. It helped reduce the temp 2-3 degrees. It also helped maintain chlorine levels. The sun eats chlorine, so running the pump (and thus, chlorinating) in full sunlight is less efficient.

Break down and clean your DE filter twice per year. It's a hassle, but it pays dividends in beautiful water. The first time I tried it, it took me over two hours to do it.after that, it was a 30-minute job. I did mine in early May, at the start of swim season, and late September, at the end.

Build 30-50% more patio than you think you need. I built an arbor and an area for grilling, plus landscaping, outdoor speakers, lighting, dining and lounge furniture, the works. The only drawback was I found I never wanted to leave home in summertime. Sunday rituals of margaritas by the pool and steaks in the evening were like a year-round vacation. That's the real value of having a pool.

[texsn95]

+10k on selling price.

[marksmu]

Pools add value, usually not what they cost to build though. Anyone who says otherwise is 100% wrong. Some families wont consider a home with a pool, some wont consider one without a pool. Either way, its an asset and its worth building if you can get it at cost.

Maintenance is also a breeze. As was said above, once you figure it out, it should be less than 10-15 minutes a week.

[dalparadise]

I still think its a great thing to have, but it's a pretty poor "investment" if we are talking strict dollars. The pool is just a part of the equation. I did thousands in landscaping and construction, too. They returned as much or more than the pool did. When you factor in the expenses of construction, maintenance, landscaping (and remember, in Houston's harsh climate, there will be many dead plants and insect invasions, season-to-season) etc., no one in his right mind would build a pool. You're literally in a hole from day one.

However, the increase in quality of life is immeasurable. Likewise, the marketability of your home, when you're ready to sell, goes way up if you've done it right. That alone can mean thousands of dollars in time-on-market and other bargaining considerations. In the end, factoring all this together, I figure I broke even monetarily...but I had a pool for many years that I loved.