Buying a rental that has a pool - Would you do it?

Question

Part of the lease would be that the tenant pays the pool servicing.   I have a property management company that would pass through this cost to a pool servicing company.

1) would you take on this deal if the numbers worked?

2) would you be concerned about liability?  I'm getting a quote from my insurance agent tomorrow for insurance costs to do a comparison with my other rentals that don't have a pool.

Tyler Ansell · Answer

Several rentals around me with pools and they're all widely known as party houses with rambunctious tenants. Just a thought to keep in mind on what type of tenant you could attract.

Chris Soignier · Answer

A lot of landlords fill them in.    Personally, I'd run the #'s on seller financing to determine if it's a viable alternate strategy.    It's likely you could get the similar or better economics without the liability.

Patrick L. · Answer

I had one that I bought back at the bottom of the market with the plans to rent for a few years and resell.   Never had an issue with insurance since pools are so common in FL.   The first tenant I made the mistake of letting the tenant take care of the pool and I got it back green and full of frogs.   For the next few years I paid for a weekly pool service and built the cost into the rent and never had another issue.   The house appreciated well and I sold it last year for double what I paid for it.....the pool was a great selling point.

Todd Plambeck · Answer

It costs around $6k to correctly fill in a pool in the DFW area.  That would be the other option if you don't want the pool and the deal still works.

John Thedford · Answer

Some people want them and others don't. I carry liability on every property. It doesn't appear the insurance companies make a big deal out of pools in our area. If you make the purchase, make sure and hire a professional company to maintain it. Pass that cost along in the rent. IMO, no big deal if you are getting a deal on the property. The pool MIGHT make your property more desirable to some.

Brian Garlington · Answer

No way man............If you are going to buy it owner occupied that's one thing but.....if a RENTER wants a pool that's what apartment complexes are for. Who's going to take care of the maintenance and cleaning of the pool? Cleaning the leaves out that have blown in from nearby trees....The tenant? Great...and how will you enforce them taking care of it? Finally what sort of deposit will you require when they don't clean it out as well as they should upon moving out? Or how about when they call you asking you to have something related to the pool fixed because....YOU own the place....and lets not forget when they have a pool party with or without alcohol and someone slips on or around the pool? It won't be just the renter that gets sued.....

Ryan Dossey · Answer

It depends if you're in an area where pools are expected or not. Are they common in the neighborhood? Is it a value add? You may be hard pressed to find a tenant willing to pay for the servicing.

Jason Hartley · Answer

If you can get enough liability insurance, and the #'s work out, then I would go for it.  You should also require that your tenants carry liability and include you as an additional insured too so their insurance takes the brunt of any claim if there was one.