Hi everyone I usually buy foreclosed homes for cash and then rent them, however I just found a foreclosed home (similar to the ones I usually buy) but this one has a nice inground pool in backyard. The backyard where pool is in is nicely landscaped with palm trees, a coy pond and a tiki bar! This would not be something I would rent but I want to know does anyone here have experience on hard it would be to flip this house with a pool. It's in NC so the climate is nice. It last sold in 2006 for than double than the price I can get it for. From the looks of it I shouldn't have to more than 10k into it.

I've done a few pool homes. The big question is, is there water still in the pool? I've been told by a few different pool contractors (and they may have just been trying to get more money out me!) that if it is empty for more than a few weeks, the plaster will have to be redone because it gets baked by the sun. All the pool houses I've bought had empty pools and I intended on sandblasting and replastering them anyway. My cost in CA is around $8-10K for a typical pool with new equipment. Liner pools are a different animal so make sure you know which you are getting.

The more important thing to do is to see if buyers pay a premium for a pool home. Surprisingly, in some neighborhoods, they don't. A typical inground $20k-30K pool won't get you a dime more at the closing table in the wrong market. I've always made good money on the pool houses and wouldn't hesitate to do another. I particularly like to stage that area of the home. The house might be nice, but when they see the pool with the potted palms, lounge chairs, etc. it always sinks the hooks in. The last one I did, I put in a color changing led light. The pool would slowly change from white, blue, green, purple. It was really cool. I especially like doing a pool rehab in the summer. And, if it takes the contractor a few extra weeks, you don't hear many complaints out of me. The challenge is to keep the laborers out of it when they are supposed to be working!

Thank you for your input!