We are in the market for an established house.
50-50 when it comes to buy a house with a lap pool or pool that you can make laps in.
Is it worth it?
How much does it cost per month (chemicals, testing, pump etc).
I appreciate all comments and suggestions.
Why?
maintenance, costs and lack of use?
Where do you live? Makes more sense to have a pool in Brisbane than Melbourne for instance
You know Melbourne is still in Australia, right?
I don't understand what relevance this comment has to my reply. What on earth would make you think I don't think Melbourne is in Australia? It should be fairly obvious that a place that is reasonably warm all year would see more use of a pool than a place that has a sharply defined winter.
Because, like all places in mainland Australia, Melbourne too has a long and hot summer.
@[Deactivated]: But the season for swimming is much shorter. It should be fairly obvious that it is less worthwhile having an expensive toy that requires year round regular maintenance if you can only use it for a handful of months a year. And it is more worthwhile having one if you can use it nearly year round.
Here are the average temperatures for both places, with the months where the average person might think it is too cold to swim https://ibb.co/TB9KhTv
@Quantumcat: Dude, this is a stupid argument. Tens, if not hundreds of thousands of houses in Melbourne have pools.
@[Deactivated]: Next you’re going to tell us that pools are heated in Melbourne so that they can be used year-round…
Perth :-)
50-50 when it comes to buy a house
Don't decide because it has a pool or not, make your decision on the location and the actual condition of the house and whether it meets your family's needs. A pool is just a fitting that you can get "installed" afterwards.
imo it's one of those things you will love the first week, occasionally use the first year, and then regret it for the next 5 yrs
YMMW though
I had a pool installed when I built.
I like it - but if I had my time again I probably would have saved my money.
No pool, just go to the nearest beach. True OzB way!
even better, have a house with the backyard connected to the beach. Just like the guy living next to a park using the BBQ.
Too risky with Tsunamis.
A pool is good if you plan to use it everyday, if its just a few times a year its not worth the maintenance and hassle.
A real estate agent will probably say skip the pool, the reason being when the time comes to sell you'll straight away put off a large proportion of potential buyers
That really depends on the market. You'd expect a pool in Toorak.
If you like swimming then yes
Unless you have kids or plan to use the pool frequently, it's not worth it as others have mentioned.
You are likely end up wasting your time and money to keep the water clear for nobody, or abandon and damage the pool.
I love having a pool and use it regularly myself and with my kid. We live close to the beach but it’s a surf beach so conditions are variable for swimming. With an automatic pool cleaner it’s not too bad to maintain (probably about 1-2 hrs / month) or you can pay a company to do it. In terms of real exercise you’d need a pretty decent size or a jet thing to swim against. Personally I just like flopping around to cool off and teaching my kid to swim. I still go to the public pool for laps.
No pool.
Become good friends with someone that has a pool.
In Perth. Get a pool 100% When we visit at Xmas we stay with my Sister who has a pool and in that hot weather it is the best thing ever. We do go to the beach as well but it's not the same as being able to jump in in the afternoon after work or whatever.
Just move to a suburb which is serviced by the Pool-Mobile.
depends on how often will you use it?
kids = yes - try to keep them out of it
daily exercise (via laps / swim tether / current machine / aquarobics) = yes fantastic
weekly soak = maybe. especially if it has heating and spa jets
less than weekly = no not worth it just go to local public pool or beach
but dont pick a house based on the pool
sure make sure there is room for at least a tiny pool if there isn't one
but if there's no pool you can put in exactly what you want / can afford
Thanks for all the replies.
My buying approach will be to select a house that is perfect for my needs (and my family) and budget and if it happens to come with a pool, that will be an added bonus :-)
Always good to have some ozbargain collective brainstorming ha ha ha
Not as rich as you to afford a lap pool but if it was up to me I’d have our pool filled in. I’m over it!