How Beneficial is Adding a Pool to your Home?

Guest Blogger #512, Entry #1163, May 10, 2012

Pool envy is worst in summer. While you pack up the kids, their toys and towels to make the hot trek in the car to your community pool, you can hear laughter and the sounds of splashing over at the neighbor’s house. Lucky neighbors. But are they really the lucky ones? Is having a pool worth the cost and time required to maintain it?

Does your home need a pool?

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The Pros and Cons of Adding a Pool

The answer depends on a number of factors. The cost of building a pool averages around $20,000 in the U.S., but that price goes up in certain regions. In Austin, TX, for example, where the hills are solid limestone, the price tag goes up to over $50K when you include the cost of stone excavation. Monthly electric bills for a heating system or cleaning pump will vary according to how many trees you have, local average temperatures and what type of system you install. A salt water pool will save you money in chemicals every month but may ultimately damage your pool’s concrete. And if you live in a drought-prone or desert region where water is more expensive, the cost to your top off your pool can exceed $100 a month. Add to all of that the fact that a pool may increase your homeowners insurance premiums, and a pool starts to look like a big, wet money pit.

Return on your investment?

While all these factors can be measured in dollar amounts, the benefit of a pool is harder to quantify. General consensus is that there is no dollar-for-dollar return on investment for building a pool–it may add a few thousand dollars to your home’s value, but not the $20K plus that you spent to build and maintain it. A pool is all about intangible benefits, first of which is the happiness it can bring you. If you live in a hot climate, there is nothing better than a dip in the pool after a run or a marathon gardening session or even just record temperatures. And yours can be the party house, where your kids and their friends spend all their time splashing and laughing (despite the neighbors’ envy). You don’t have to worry about keeping someone else’s hours or even covering up: it’s your pool, so go ahead and skinny dip at midnight if it makes you happy.

The pros and cons of owing a pool

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There are other, more cost-effective alternatives to building a full, inground pool. If your family wants the water but not the cost, consider the following:

• Hot Tubs  Hot tubs are larger now than ever before. And they can be left cool in summer and heated in winter for year-round enjoyment.

• Above-ground Pool  While the tacky plastic above-ground pools of your childhood still exist, modern versions are more attractive and better constructed. Plus they can be bought at most big box stores for less than $300.

• Join a Club  For the cost of maintaining your own pool, your family could join your local tennis or golf club. These facilities have larger pools, offer a variety of social opportunities, have a lifeguard, and, most importantly, do not have to be maintained by you. And you can pay to be a member only during the months your family wants to swim.

Pool ownership is a personal decision. For some, owning a pool is a dream worth having at any price. For others, the costs outweigh the benefits. If you’re a landlord be sure to get buy to let advice both from a mortgage and insurance perspective as having a pool could increase your risk of liability. If you can’t get past your pool envy and aren’t yet ready to build a pool of your own, invest a little time instead and make the neighbors your new best friends.

Anne Clarke-Westbrook is a freelance author from North Carolina. She had been lucky enough to always rent appartments with a private pool and when she finally owned a house she couldn’t do without one so she got building. You could do the same.

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