Should You Buy A Pool Home In Tallahassee, FL?
There’s something fantastic about moving water, bubbling spas and the sight of a sparkling pool in the heat of Tallahassee summers. When shopping for a home in Tallahassee, Florida during the summer months, thoughts of purchasing a home with a swimming pool are often more appealing than not! Often, the warm weather makes people entertain the idea of owning a pool home who might not otherwise have considered this as an option. In ground pools are the most popular in our area and added features of elaborate fountains, spas and pool finishes and borders. Resistance Swim-spas are popular as therapeutic alternatives for some home owners. Some buyers have owned homes with pools, however many may have no experience or knowledge related to maintenance issues involved in owning such a home.
Here are a few tips for those new to pool ownership:
First, is the home buyer purchasing a home using a mortgage, and does the mortgage lender allow financing on homes with swimming pools? Not all loans will allow this type of purchase, so knowing ahead of time is critical. Ask our mortgage lender these questions when you pre-qualify for your mortgage loan
Secondly, the cost of pool insurance, added liability to a home-owner’s policy, in most cases a 1 Million Dollar liability policy, is often required. It’s very important to reveal that the home has a pool to an insurance agent when acquiring insurance quotes. Agents will ask the type of pool, and whether it has a diving board or not. Insurance on homes with diving boards or water slides is not possible in most cases. Fences surrounding the pool area are also requirements both of insurance companies and Leon County permitting building codes.
Third, maintenance costs of pools should be taken into consideration. Knowing the type of pools, saline or chlorinated, heated or non-heated are considerations for maintenance costs as each require different chemicals and pump systems. Life expectancy of pump and cleaning systems is something that should be included in household budgets as well.
Fourth, knowing whether or not a pool contributes to a home value is something that a Realtor can help a home buyer determine. These facts will vary from neighborhood to neighborhood. Home Improvements and Values of pools are sometimes subjective, and what works for one buyer, may not for another.
Fifth, the location of a pool is often a consideration in a home buyer’s mind. Is the pool too close to the home? Is there enough room surrounding the pool for a buyer’s needs?
Lastly, the cost of running a pool pump and maintenance systems can cost as much as $240/year and by utilizing a few energy saving measures such as decreasing to a smaller pump and reducing the hours of operation of the pump, one could expect to reduce the cost of operation by as much as 75% according to the Department of Energy. Heated pool costs are significantly higher and sometimes cost prohibitive especially when using gas heating systems. In our area, solar blankets or heating systems may prolong the swimming season.
In any home purchase, home inspections are a recommendation. Typical home inspectors do not test pool equipment. Licensed pool inspectors are of value to a homeowner to test not only the pool pumping systems, cleaning equipment, copings and decking construction and materials and any connected spa units and their function as well as predicting effective life spans of these systems.
Currently there are over 250 homes with pools actively for sale in the Tallahassee, Florida market. Many are getting a lot of attention. Having a pool already installed is attractive to some buyers while others look for homes while planning for pools to be installed in the future.
Consider time spent at home with your family, the personal enjoyment of outdoor activities and entertaining or simply the enjoyment and solitude of your personal pool or swim spa. Should you decide to purchase a pool home, taking these things into consideration will help you in your decision making process. As your Tallahassee, FL Realtor, we will help you gather the needed information on all the specifics of owning and operating the pool from home sellers before you make your decision on a home purchase.
So now,…time to get ready for a swim! Search for your Tallahassee , Florida pool homes here and save your favorites to your Property Organizer! Then, call us for a showing appointment!