Should I Fill In The Pool Or Not?

Question

So I am looking to purchase a home in Germantown TN and use it as a rental. This home currently has an in-ground pool but I am not sure of the current condition or any potential repairs it might need. If you are familiar with Memphis and some of the suburb areas, Germantown is one of the top areas and is mostly a retail market. Since I plan on turning the home into a rental, do I fill in the pool or not?

I dont want to have the liability that comes with keeping it but also hate to fill it in as it might be a selling point in the future should I decide to sell it retail.

Has anyone else been in this situation and what did you do?

Thanks

I dont want to have the liability that comes with keeping it but also hate to fill it in as it might be a selling point in the future should I decide to sell it retail.

Has anyone else been in this situation and what did you do?

Thanks

Alexander Price · Answer

Question related to this; can homes with pools command more rent?  Insurance premiums may go up as well.

Steve K. · Answer

@Curt Davis , I value a pool. I'd count it an asset, not a liability to be thrown away. A new pool is about $40k.

Elizabeth Wilson · Answer

@Curt Davis - Out of all the posts I've read of yours this might be the first one where you are the one asking the question! :)

1.  I'd find a pool inspector/repair company and find out what/if there are any problems and what it would cost to fix them?  It may not be as bad as you think.

2. I'm not a lawyer, but what kind of liability do you think you'd have with the pool?  A tenant can hurt themselves in many ways in a house regardless of the extra pool.

Unless there is some huge expense or insurance costs, I'd leave it.  You should be able to get a higher rent and higher selling price.

My five cents.

Jason Hirko · Answer

@Curt Davis Remember, you can't just fill in the pool - you are better off removing it or at very least cracking the bottom and sides up as much as possible to let water drain. I thought about filling in a pool once and figured it would be a couple dump trucks of fill and a bobcat for the afternoon, but the bid came back over $10k. Maybe that was just a way high bid, but the maintenance and extra liability insurance ended up being cheaper over the near term, and since you may want to flip it eventually, it may be wise to keep it.