The Money Mustache Community
Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Real Estate and Landlording => Topic started by: m2buke on June 21, 2013, 07:36:23 AM
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Does anyone have any experience with rental properties that have an inground swimming pool? If so, can you share any advice and/or experiences? I recently moved and am considering renting my house out, but am concerned about the pool maintenance and upkeep. It looks as if stipulations can be written into the lease, but I still don't know how comfortable that makes me feel.
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No renter will maintain a pool like you would want it to be, if at all, so you need to check in with pool maintenance companies for quotes to do ALL the maintenance, chemicals, cleaning, etc.
Another option would be to fence it off, install one of those strong covers (the kind that can support body weights if someone gets over the fence, and list it for rent without the pool - if a potential renter wants the pool open it can be an add-on.
That said, the liability factor for a rental with a pool is astronomical......make sure you have the appropriate coverage in your homeowners and absolutely get an umbrella policy.
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All I can say is don't do this. Tenants will not maintain a pool. Pool services do a so-so job and their chemical use wears out the plaster. Something is always breaking - expect another $500 to $600 a year to replace parts in the filter and the sweep. The pool must be fenced and the fence maintained in accordance with state and local laws. The liability is staggering and you can't decline people with small children, because that would be discrimination. Call your insurance company and ask what the rental property premium will be. Pool plastering and tile work has become very expensive, and it has to be done more often because asbestos is no longer used in pool plaster. In the Phoenix area, the incremental rent for a pool is much less than the cost to operate the pool.
I have several pool properties bought many years ago in a different environment, and they will all be sold as prices improve and tenants vacate. Or, if it makes financial sense, the pools will be filled in.
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Early on I ran the numbers. (EDIT: "Early on" meaning when I started buying rental properties years ago.)
It didn't make sense in my area, financially.
Places with a pool did not command enough of a rent premium to cover the extra maintenance costs.
That's with all the liability aside, the fact that the house itself would cost more, etc.
Pass.
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In general, investors should be knowledgeable about maintenance and capital improvement costs going in, as they have risen much faster than rents over the last 15 years. In many markets there is a real bias in favor of new and newer properties as rental investments for exactly that reason. In some markets you have to weigh older construction that's close to jobs and amenities but has high maintenance costs against newer construction that's farther out with lower rents and higher vacancy. Properties that are newer and closer in will command good rents, but will be a lot priced higher because of demand from owner-occupants.
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Thanks all for the feedback. I think I will just wait out the market to sell and start on the rental properties on my own terms. Appreciate the advice!