Pros & cons of a swimming pool

[Catherine Javier]

Hello Everyone, 

We are planning to buy a primary Residence in Orlando FL and house hack. We saw a house that we like that has a pool. Do you think it is a good idea to have a swimming pool? Or there will be more legal/ liability implications and additional maintenance cost, especially if we rent it out eventually.


We travel most of the time, probably we will rent the rooms. Thanks in advance everyone!!

[Tyler Gibson]

Quote from @Catherine Javier:

Hello Everyone, 

We are planning to buy a primary Residence in Orlando FL and house hack. We saw a house that we like that has a pool. Do you think it is a good idea to have a swimming pool? Or there will be more legal/ liability implications and additional maintenance cost, especially if we rent it out eventually.


We travel most of the time, probably we will rent the rooms. Thanks in advance everyone!!

 If you plan to rent the home out long-term I would suggest avoiding homes with the pool. When you're living in it and house hacking it might be nice and not that big of a deal but it will have additional maintenance expenses. Although you can probably find a pool maintenance company for around $100 a month. Pools do require larger expenses for maintenance over time such as refinishing the pool or replacing the pool pump. If you're not living in the property it certainly creates some additional liability with tenants that may have children. While this could be a draw for some families I would personally steer away from pools in rental homes unless it is a higher and luxury home. One of the things to remember is that tenants are rarely going to take care of a home like it's their own which means they will not care for the pool like you would. You will need to have a pool maintenance person once the whole home is rented out and it could cause additional expenses for insurance when using it as a long-term rental.