Buying Homes With Swimming Pools

I never thought much about homes with swimming pools until my former husband insisted we buy a home with a pool.

He didn't care where the home was located or how much it cost just as long as it was big, had a pool and we could buy it for no money down. In retrospect, that was one of the worst home purchases I ever made. It cost more than $400 a month in 1980 to heat that pool, and we rarely used it.

The home I own now has a spa, which also requires heating and maintenance. I didn't even notice it when we bought the house because it was tucked away under a gazebo in the back yard. I was a bit astonished when I later realized it had a spa out back. But I use it almost every day. Of course, over the past five years, it has needed a new motor, blower, some sort of electrical panel, and it's probably due to start leaking any day, but I keep fixing it. Today, I would not be a happy camper without a working spa.

Pool owners feel the same way. They either love or hate their pool. Because there are pros and cons to buying a home with a swimming pool. Buyers wonder if swimming pools add value or detract from value. Should you buy a home with a pool? Here are tips to find out: read more

More Articles by Elizabeth Weintraub, click below:

• Buying Your First Home
  
• Making Offers on a Home
  
• Home Buying in Buyer's Markets

_{©2006 Elizabeth Weintraub}

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