House with a Pool--A Good Rental?

[Katie K.]

We are considering buying a home with a pool as a primary residence and eventually making it a rental.  We would live in the house for 5-10 years and then rent it out.  What are the issues related to renting out a home with a pool?  FYI--the pool is/will be fenced in, but what are the legal ramifications if someone gets hurt or (God forbid) drowns in the pool.

Thanks for your thoughts in advance.

[Jonathan Schwartz]

We own a vacation rental on Cape Cod, with a pool and it gives us a strong point of differentiation over almost all other houses in our price range. I estimate that our exact house without the pool would rent for approximately 30% less per week, which would destroy the ability to be a viable rental. We have to pay additional liability insurance and we have all tenants sign a pool waiver, but after 2 seasons, we have had minimal issues. We spend about $2,000 per year on opening/closing and weekly cleanings but it is well worth that investment. We are starting to look at our next vacation rental purchase and I will definitely purchase another house with a pool.