House Flip w/ a Pool

Real Estate Agent · Kansas City · Member since 2018 · 4k+ posts · 3k+ votes

1mo

If the pool is a huge selling point then I'd open it up and assess. It's better to have an idea on what's needed. If you can open it up I would and have it including in pictures, it'd catch peoples attention. You can probably have a pool cover when showings are live then remove for inspections.

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Ryan Butler
OP
Member since 2022 · 23 posts · 18 votes
4w
Yes this seems to be the general response I'm getting so I think I'm going to go ahead and get an inspection. Thanks for the advice!
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Diana KhanPro Member

Attorney · 10451 Mill Run Cir #755 Owings Mills, MD 21117 · Member since 2024 · 479 posts · 175 votes

1mo

Quote from @Ryan Butler:

I'm in the middle of flipping a house right now that has an inground pool. I'm a little over budget and really hoping to sell the house at the high end of the comps and the backyard/pool area is a big selling point for this specific property so I'm trying to figure out what I should do with it.

At the moment the pool is closed (with an elephant cover) and has been since I bought the house. I'm trying to decide if I should bother opening it, seeing if everything is working and then closing it. The thought process is that I should have it closed for liability purposes during any showings, so if I do decide to open it I'll have to close it right after. Here are all the pros and cons (of opening it) that I can think of:

Pros:

-can get good pictures

-will know if it works / exactly what is wrong if it doesn't

-can help speed up closing process / less risk of buyer pulling out

-buyer might not bother with pool inspection

Cons:

-more money & already over budget (likely $500-1k to open/close it, $1-2k for new pump, $3-8k for new liner, etc.)

-if I do find issues I have to disclose them during sale

-might be able to find a buyer that doesn't care about condition of pool and is willing to purchase house anyway

For context I'm not sure of the exact state of the pool - it looks like it is in decent condition and the previous owner claims that they replaced the liner a couple of years ago, but it seems as if it hasn't been opened in at least a year or two and I'm not sure I can take the seller's word for granted. On the one hand I bought the home through a wholesaler bc the actual seller was an older woman who seemed to be losing her wits a little bit. On the other hand the woman is the one who told me it was replaced and she had also claimed to have put a new roof on the house, which I was able to confirm, so she has at least some credibility. I was able to peak into the pool a little bit and from what I can see the liner seems to be in good shape.

I would love to hear people's thoughts on what I should do and if anyone has had any experience with this themselves. Also, is there anything I haven't taken into consideration? Finally if anyone knows a good company that could help me take care of the opening and closing please lmk. The house is north of Boston in Chelmsford.

@Ryan Butler, since the pool is one of the reasons you’re hoping to get the higher end of the comps, I would want to know what I’m actually selling before the buyer does.

From working with buyers and sellers, I’ve seen unknown issues become much harder once the property is already under contract. If the buyer opens the pool during inspection and finds a bad pump, liner issue, or something more expensive, now you are dealing with it on their timeline and usually during negotiations.

If it were mine, I would probably have a pool company open it and give me a basic condition report and repair estimate before listing. That does not mean you have to fix everything. It just means you know what you are dealing with and can decide whether to repair it, price around it, or disclose it clearly.

Since the pool is part of the value you are trying to sell, I think the cost of finding out now may be worth more than the surprise later. I would also keep the liability side separate from the inspection side. You can still keep it secured during showings and only open it when needed.

Since you’re in Massachusetts, I would also check with your local agent or attorney about what you need to disclose once you know the condition.

[email protected]240-266-0291

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Ryan Butler
OP
Member since 2022 · 23 posts · 18 votes
4w
Thanks for the insight! After having a few conversations I'm definitely leaning towards doing what you said and getting a diagnostic report to at least see what the condition is.
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Aiden AvtgisBusiness Member

Real Estate Agent · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2024 · 37 posts · 22 votes

4w

Agreed with the others — you really need to know the condition of that pool before you close this out. I wouldn't leave that assessment in the hands of the buyer or a general home inspector who doesn't specialize in pools — most of them will just glance at it and note "unable to verify, recommend buyer have pool inspected by a specialist," which just kicks the can down the road and adds uncertainty during negotiations. Get a pool company out there while you still control the process. If something's wrong, it's way cheaper to deal with it on your terms than to have it come up during the buyer's inspection period, where it can cost you a lot more to fix under pressure or blow up the sale entirely.

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Ashish AcharyaBusiness Member

CPA, CFP®, PFS · FL · Member since 2017 · 5k+ posts · 3k+ votes

4w

Ryan, I’d look at the pool as a sale-risk and disclosure issue first, not just a $500–$1,000 opening expense.

If the pool is a real selling feature for the property, there’s value in knowing exactly what you’re handing to the buyer. Opening it, having the equipment checked, and documenting the condition can reduce uncertainty during inspection and give you cleaner marketing photos. The downside, like you said, is that once you know there’s a defect, you may have to deal with it or disclose it.

What I would not do is assume the previous owner’s statement about the liner is enough. Since the house came through a wholesaler and the pool hasn’t been operating while you’ve owned it, I’d want an actual pool professional to inspect the pump, filter, liner, plumbing, and overall condition before listing if the pool is going to be part of the value proposition.

From the tax side, keep any pool work separated clearly. Routine opening/closing and maintenance are different from replacing a pump, liner, or making a larger capital improvement. Since this is a flip, that cost tracking matters for determining your actual project profit.

If you’re already over budget, I’d compare the cost of opening and inspecting it against the potential cost of a buyer discovering a major issue late in the process and retrading or walking away. Sometimes spending a little upfront buys certainty.

Feel free to DM me, I’d be happy to send over a few resources that might be helpful.

[email protected]941-914-7779

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Michael Eskenasy

Investor · Pacific Northwest · Member since 2026 · 538 posts · 307 votes

4w

I wouldn’t treat this as a pool-maintenance decision. I’d treat it as a sale-risk decision.

If the pool/backyard is part of the reason you expect to sell at the high end of the comps, you can’t simultaneously depend on that value while leaving the pool’s condition completely unknown.

I’d open it once, professionally. Document the liner, equipment, circulation, obvious leaks/issues, and get written repair estimates for anything questionable. Then close it safely again for showings if that’s the right liability call.

The key is this: don’t let the buyer be the first person to discover what you own.

A $2,000 problem discovered now is underwriting. The same problem discovered during inspection can become a $10,000 negotiation because the buyer controls the clock and knows you’re trying to close.

And I definitely wouldn’t build the plan around “maybe the buyer won’t inspect it.” Unknown risk doesn’t disappear because nobody looked yet.

If you want, send me the property address, purchase price, rehab budget, expected ARV/list price and whatever you know about the pool. I’m happy to run the whole decision against the actual comps and tell you whether opening it is likely to create more value than risk.

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Evan Polaski

Cincinnati, OH · Member since 2020 · 4k+ posts · 3k+ votes

4w

@Ryan Butler this seems like a very easy issue. You need pool to get high end of comps. Your buyers will 1000% inspect the pool (unless you are in some booming real estate market). When they inspect and it is bad, you will either be asked to pay top dollar for the "best pool repair co" or, if it was my market, the seller would walk away after sending the inspection report, so you have to disclose at that point anyways.

Nothing should be left to chance in flips, especially in this slower market, and especially if you looking to push price point.

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House Flip w/ a Pool

House Flip w/ a Pool

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