Plano, TX · Member since 2013 · 77 posts · 19 votes
I'm doing my first flip here in Texas, and I have a pool which all of the investors that I have spoken with say to fill it in. They say it will take about two months longer to sell and I would only get about $2000 more for the house. One of the investors even said that he has flipped homes in this particular subdivision and that he had to fill his pool in because the people over there did not want them. Now all of the realtors that I have spoken with about it say I should keep the pool, it will appraise higher and that it makes no sense to spend money of filling in a working pool. I would appreciate some feedback from you guys on this one please.
@Jon Klaus, it will cost about $3000 to make the pool ready and twice that to fill it in and resod. It looks like less than 10% of the neighborhood have pools. How long did it take you to sell yours with the pool?
I know first impressions mean a lot but is it possible to get the best of both worlds? Can you leave the pool for now and mention in the sales description that pool can stay or go? Get it "showable" without spending much money but be willing to fill it before closing if the buyer so wishes...... (Perhaps use photoshop to create an "after picture" to help the non-pool lovers visualize the end product. I'm sure some would advise against this strategy (and I don't know that I can really defend it all that well) but it is one way to allow your buyer to decide what they want rather than you having to guess. Thinking out loud. Good Luck!
thanks Michael, you know I thought of doing that, my only concern was if some bought it who liked the pool, they would be looking for that fill in money in the form of a price reduction to them.
I'd keep it if it costs double to make it go away. I sold mine in less than a month. It was in Garland in a slow market.
I'm with you. If it's less to fix it, I'd fix it. You have a very specific group of people who will be looking for a pool. When you rehab it, I'd gear it towards a house for entertaining. Maybe a moderate outside kitchen to go with it depending on price point of house and some nice landscaping.
Plus the fact that things are selling so fast around here you might get someone who isnt specifically looking for a pool but will buy if they like the house. Happened to us when we bought our current house.
Good point, Tony. I also bought my home with a pool even though I wasn't looking for a pool. I am in a Laslie's Pool Supply parking lot as I type this now
Bought one house that had an above ground pool, wrote into the buying contract that the seller had to remove prior to settlement. The seller b&c ed about how easy that would be to do and that I was being petty. The house was on a hill and there was no access from the rear, and the pool had to be dismantled by hand and carried by hand to the front street for removal. At settlement, the seller volunteered that it was a much bigger job than he thought.
Another house that bought was a foreclosure, there was an in ground pool with a failed liner. It was partially filled with water and there were cat of nine tails growing in the pool, and I saw a turtle and a snake in the pool. I hired some men to break up the concrete around the pool and throw it into the pool. Then there was excess soil from another remodel job and contractor was putting the soil into a dumpster to take to a landfill. I told him i had the perfect place for the excess soil and he hauled it to the pool in his dump truck, many trips and dumped it right into the pool.
In the Northeast the pool season is about 3 months. I expect you have a longer season in Texas. But with the maintenance and liability, i don't want to have a pool. just my thoughts.
You guys all have many good points and given me a lot to think about, I really appreciate that. I am now strongly considering giving it a try with the pool in place.
Here in Phoenix a nice sparkling pool can easily add 15-20k to the value of the home plus they sell much faster. I would spend the money to make it sparkle. It only takes one buyer to fall in love with the pool and buy the house.