i might be getting a free 30K swimming pool

[97guns]

i rented one of my properties to a couple in their mid 50's just last month, today my property manager calls to tell me that they want to put a 30K in ground swimming pool in. the story is that the wife loves to swim and that they plan to be there for 5 years or more, they sold their expensive home and are sitting on the equity, they want to stay there until their daughter graduates college then buy a 150K class A motorhome and tour the country. the property manager asked why she doesn't go down to the public pool and he was emphatic about her having her own.

at this point i really dont know if he is serious, only a fool would dump 30K into a rental.

[ktmarvels]

Pools are expensive to maintain. If they truly want to purchase the pool, I'd make sure you alter the lease to a longer time committment (2-5 years), and include that maintenance be paid by the renter and either be done by an outside company or have frequent inspections (maybe quarterly). We bought a house with a pool and last winter we did nothing to the pool, and this summer it took quite a while to clear up. We own the place, I shutter to think about what renters could do. If/when we rent out this house, I'm making sure we have a pool company lined up to take care of it.

[disneysteve]

I would echo ktmarvels. Be very careful about approving this. Think about the long term effects like higher utility costs, higher insurance costs, and potentially more difficulty renting it in the future. Most people don't want a pool so once these folks move out, you then have to find new tenants who want a pool and all of the work that comes with having one (or you need to hire a pool service to maintain it and build that price into the rent).

[bjl584]

Check with your insurance company before giving them the green light to proceed. Your rates on the property might skyrocket. Also, there will be more to the construction job than just the pool. You'll also need to pour some type of patio and have a privacy/safety fence with a lockable gate installed around the pool.

[97guns]

i am on the fence on the deal, don't really know what i'd do if the guy is dead serious, i havn't even met the guy yet.

there are tons of legal implications that have already run through my head

[MonkeyMama]

Yeah, I wouldn't even want a pool.

When I lived in Bay Area I had many friends put in significant improvements to rentals. It's just kind of the norm - especially if the trade-off is dirt cheap rent. Definitely a landlord's market.
A $30,000 swimming pool? Well, that is beyond the scope of anything I have seen. Whew!! (I did have several friends put in new floors and appliances and stuff like that).

[mom-from-missouri]

weird.
About the insurance, depends where you live and where the nearest fire hydrant is. We are rural. Our liability rates went up due to the pool. But, our fire coverage went down, due to the fact the nearest fire hydrant is 3 miles away, and the fire dept could draw off the pool. (when we added another pond, it went down even more for the same reason). End result, our insurance is less now with the pool than it was before....go figure.

You city people don't know what rural really is--it is farm land, not a subdivision. I had a guy tell me he was also rural and had fire hydrants.....yeah, he lived in a subdivision with 300 other houses outside of LA. That's not rural.

Nearest neighbor a mile away, is rural.

Also, the preform fiber glass ones are easy to maintain, and can be installed in a matter of 3 days. On the flip side, we were also told they can be easily removed as well as there is no concrete.

[disneysteve]

End result, our insurance is less now with the pool than it was before....go figure.

Interesting. So they saw it as a benefit for fire purposes as opposed to seeing it as a liability for drowning and injury purposes.

[mom-from-missouri]

Interesting. So they saw it as a benefit for fire purposes as opposed to seeing it as a liability for drowning and injury purposes.

Yep, end result was we now pay $34 LESS. However, our agent told us that would NOT have been the case if we lived in town due to a higher population and the close proximity of a fire hydrant and fire department.