Pool or not?
 

Looking at the properties listed, I have found that some have pools and some state that there is room for one. Does anyone know approximately how much it would cost to add a pool? I realize there are a lot of factors involved (accessibility to area, size, etc..) but I'm just curious as to a ball park figure. I would also like to hear from people that have a pool...is the upkeep a pain? I've never had one...I think an inground pool here in Michigan is a waste of money, but I have heard that they are hard to maintain. Thank you for any input!

Sweetie says NO POOL. There are a bunch of pools that other people are maintaining very well.

He wants to golf and not clean the pool...and I want to golf and draw and paint and not clean the pool. Helene is not interested in cleaning the pool.

Plus, I want to take the money that would be spent on pool maintainance and have our couch recovered.

Very personal choice. But either way is right.

Thanks Gracie and you are right. I just looks so tempting when I see the pictures..the reality is, we probably wouldn't use it much..it just looks so cool.. Any idea on how it affects resale value or insurance costs? I'm getting excited..we'll be there for our first visit in 6 days!! Take care.

I do not know the cost of building a pool in the Villages yet, but we are planning to build a swim spa, or a nice large inground spa when we buy next year. We have had two pools in Florida, since 1986, and I couldn't live without something with water in it, in my yard. As there are so many nice neighborhood pools, and no spas except for the country clubs for the most part, we are going in that direction. We feel the neighborhood pools also may be a good social outlet, and wouldn't want to miss that aspect of them, as well. We have not found upkeep on a pool to be a reason to not have one. You buy an automatic pool cleaner that goes around the pool on a regular daily basis which keeps your pool sparkling clean, and if you get the salt system for making chlorine, even the cost of that is much reduced and we really like the feel of the water better. Just make sure you get a "screened pool", i.e., under a birdcage, because without a birdcage over your pool, you will be looking at spending a lot of time cleaning out the pool, even with an automatic pool cleaner. We have had to replace our filter system once since we moved in our present home 8 years ago. I think you would want to look at total cost of running the pool more than maintaining and cleaning it. So, you are probably looking at solar panels as well.

Lee and Richard in Tampa, for now.

I think it might be a good idea to consider the cost as well as the maintenance of the pool.

Just sayin.......

I know there are some past threads about this that you can find in searching; but for my two cents, we had a pool for years in Louisville; we don't have one here and don't ever plan to. I love the freedom from maintaining a pool but also the social aspect of going to the pools here, where we've met neighbors and made new friends. Plus, we love going to the priority pools, especially Orange Blossom and Hacienda Hills, which have more of a resort atmosphere. I can be at our nearby neighborhood pool in the same time it used to take me to walk down our deck stairs and get to the pool we had at our house. I don't think that if I had a pool in my home here I'd be as likely to go to these other pools. Overall I've found it much more fun to not have a pool at my home, and just enjoy the variety of pools we have here.

Couldn't pay me enough to have a pool. We had one for the 20 years we lived in Tampa. Were sooo glad to move here and be rid of it.

This is my first pool and I LOVE it. I think most of the new pools are salt chlorinated. I do my own house cleaning here because it is so easy with a new house. I just feel like I've exchanged pool service that I pay for down here for house cleaning that I paid for up north. During hot weather I'm in almost every day. Fun for parties too. And I like the aesthetics - attractive and relaxing to see and listen to. It is definitely an individual preference.

You may have enjoyed it a little more had you put water in it,,,,,,,,, just a thought ,

dry clean only, fumar

:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

We have an inground pool where we now live in Maryland. It is big as background pools go and we love it, but we will not have one when we build in TV. It could only be about a third of the size we now have, so it would seem like an oversized bath tub and the money spent on a pool would keep us from doing other things we want in the house. As for resale, i don't know about Florida, but in Maryland it doesn't help to have a pool (you don't make any more when you sell your home). It is just a perk! We plan to enjoy the pools and people at the community pools in TV.:pepper2:

We have had four homes in the midwest with pools. In every case we found we used them less and less as time went on (mostly for the kids and grandkids), and the maintenence was relentless. The one we used the most, enjoyed the most, and required the least maintenence was the smallest one, a "sports pool", which was four to five feet deep and made for water volleyball and badminton. The other three were full size pools with a diving board and deep end. Now, in a climate like TV, one may well use and enjoy a pool more.

The other side of the coin is financial - I bought all four homes with the pool already installed, and I paid no more for any of the homes than I would have paid for a comparable home with no pool, and perhaps even less. In other words the $25K plus that the original owner paid for the pool netted them nothing upon resale. Again, that may not be true in Florida as it was in Missouri, but it also limits the market for the home when you sell, as many people want nothing to do with a pool. If you plan on staying a long time and know that a pool will enhance your enjoyment of life, I say go for it. But go for it with your eyes and your checkbook wide open. As someone else stated you would almost have to include the cost of a birdcage in the equation.
__________________

I think I've decided what I'd like to do....probably buy a resale home...I'll look for a house that I love...if it has a pool..cool...if not c'est la vie! good (or bad, depending on how you look at it) thing is..we have a long time to decide!

We have a pool at our home, came with it when we bought, and we really enjoy it. Yes there is a cost of about $5000 a year when you add the pool service, maintenance, and added electric and gas bill. If I didn't have it, I am not sure if I would add one or try to use the community pools. Working in the yard when it's hot, it is a very refreshing reprieve. Also have a solar and gas heater so we use it all year. Great attraction for grand babies and great to have a extra 1100 square foot outside living area. For now I hire T&D to take care of everything so I could cut the cost down to about $3500 if I did the care myself.

Personally if I am living in Florida where you can use a pool most of the year it is a good thing to have. Someday I will probably not use it enough to justify having it and I will sell and move, but for now we really do enjoy it.

pool or not to pool
 

I vote no pool because of the work...but I really love them.