Owner Occupied with In-Ground Pool
I'm looking at a two unit house that I will owner occupy. The house has an in-ground pool in the backyard. The yard is totally fenced, I know insurance requires that, but I'm wondering how others have handled having a pool with tenants. Obviously insurance will be higher, but has anyone ever told the tenants they are not allowed to use the pool/back yard? The back yard is small, and the pool area takes up about half of it. Would it be unreasonable to deny tenants access to the back yard? I'm sure fire code dictates that there needs to be at least two entrances/exits, and one of their exits would be into the back yard. Maybe the tenants seem like responsible adults and they could use the pool, but then what if they have a party and one of their guests gets hurt? Seems like I'd be opening myself up to a lot of liability. I'm just looking for thoughts on this situation so I know what to expect. Thanks!
- Rental Property Investor
- Baltimore County Maryland and Tampa Florida
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I think there are too many liability and risk variables. You can have all the rules in the world, but that won't prevent something bad from possibly happening and they still take you to court over it. I would personally say to find a property with no pool.... or see if the numbers work to rid of the pool.
@Nicole A. thank you for your feedback. I want to move forward with this property because it is an awesome find, and would be a great place to move into with my fiance and her son. So unfortunately finding another property isn't an option right now until this one falls through. I do agree with you though, when it comes to investment properties pools are a definite no for me, but I have to figure out how to make this one work.
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Do you think perhaps filling in the pool and of course, making the backyard look nice, would be a realistic option?
I'm trying to keep that a distant last resort. I even told my fiance that I like and hate that there is a pool at the same time. It's great for us, it makes the back yard really nice, and we can have family and friends over, but it opens up a lot of liability with tenants.