MadMonk
06-06-2019, 11:47 PM
And swimming pools, particularly in-ground ones, are a fading luxury I think. The best lesson I ever learned for *not* getting one was *growing up* with one. They're a nightmare of maintenance and support expense. Chemicals, cleaning, repairing, insuring, fixing, makes the "cost per dive" ridiculous. If I had so much money that I could literally tell a pool co to "make it ready" and throw a bunch of $$$ at it every month, maybe, but even then, the cost-to-benefit is awfully high. Real Estate folks will tell you that pools can actually be a detriment to a home's resale value because people don't want them. You couldn't pay me to put one in now. My mom mothballed her own pool years ago; covered it up and what she saves in chemicals, electricity, and related maintenance more than makes up for the cost of a nice, permanent cover.
I'm not so sure about the fading part. I know several people in my circle that have put in new pools or bought homes with pools recently. But yeah I agree that they can be a PITA. I've had above-ground pools in the past and was at least somewhat familiar with the effort and costs involved before buying a home with a pool. On this in-ground pool, I can say that with it being a salt-water pool, the maintenance is much less of a hassle and I've found that I don't have to spend a ton of time or money on it. A little bit of TLC when opening and closing the pool goes a long way. Some of my friends pay to have their pools opened and closed professionally, but I like doing it myself. It's not difficult and only takes a few hours on a Saturday afternoon to accomplish.
However, the electrical cost was a huge increase for me and was quite the wake-up call the first summer I owned it. When I bought the house my insurance agent, who is also a good friend of the family, gave me some good advice; he said to use the pool as often as you can, or you will begin to resent the time, money and effort it requires from you. He was so right. I curse it when things go wrong, but I really do enjoy it and use it frequently, typically from late May to early October.
Having said that, once I reach retirement, I don't think I will want deal with the hassles of pool ownership in the same way I don't believe I'll want to have a large yard to care for. Downsizing is definitely in the plan for us eventually.
I'm not so sure about the fading part. I know several people in my circle that have put in new pools or bought homes with pools recently. But yeah I agree that they can be a PITA. I've had above-ground pools in the past and was at least somewhat familiar with the effort and costs involved before buying a home with a pool. On this in-ground pool, I can say that with it being a salt-water pool, the maintenance is much less of a hassle and I've found that I don't have to spend a ton of time or money on it. A little bit of TLC when opening and closing the pool goes a long way. Some of my friends pay to have their pools opened and closed professionally, but I like doing it myself. It's not difficult and only takes a few hours on a Saturday afternoon to accomplish.
However, the electrical cost was a huge increase for me and was quite the wake-up call the first summer I owned it. When I bought the house my insurance agent, who is also a good friend of the family, gave me some good advice; he said to use the pool as often as you can, or you will begin to resent the time, money and effort it requires from you. He was so right. I curse it when things go wrong, but I really do enjoy it and use it frequently, typically from late May to early October.
Having said that, once I reach retirement, I don't think I will want deal with the hassles of pool ownership in the same way I don't believe I'll want to have a large yard to care for. Downsizing is definitely in the plan for us eventually.