Should I buy a rental with a pool? What will it cost?

[John Robb]

• Hey Everyone,

I've run into a couple customers that have purchased homes with pools intending to rent them out with little to no idea on what it costs or how to budget for them. Hence this post. My family has been in the pool servicing industry for over 50 years so hopefully this post can give you some information when running your numbers and perhaps save you some headaches down the road. 

• First off should you hire a professional? 

The answer is 100% yes. Think of this like insurance. Having a pro do your pool will ensure that it lasts a long time and that when something does go wrong it will be caught quickly and corrected before that little problem becomes a big problems.

• What will a pool professional cost?

Most commonly they cost around $30/Week for service. This could be more depending on your area but anything less and I would  seriously as myself if you are getting a pool professional or someone that just purchased a pool pole and net. I have many clients that regret going the cheap route in the past to the tune of thousands.

• What will chemicals run me?

If you're using a pool professional it shouldn't be much more than $10/week. This could go up depending on how frequently the pool is used and by how many people.

• What are the major expenses with a pool?

There are 3 main things I would budget for with a pool which are plaster, heater, filters, and pump. First and also the most expense thing to replace on a pool is the plaster. You might say "but my pool is a fiberglass pool", however the timeline will still be the same the costs will just be a bit more when replacing your insert. Plaster if cared for will typically last between 15-25 years. By cared for I mean no one is throwing large rocks or bricks in the pool and the chemistry is kept balanced. When this needs to be replaced you can expect it to cost between $7,000 to $13,000 for 15,000 gallon pool depending on where you live and materials used. Next is the heater if you have one. These will last between 7-10 years and cost around $3000 to $5000 to replace. Again the life of these can be extended by keeping the water chemistry balanced (which is why we hire a pool professional). On to filters, I won't go into to much detail on these as they range widely depending on the type that is used. Suffice it to say they typically will last 15-20 years, will cost between $1000-$3000 to replace, and depending on the type will need to be service every month to every 5 years. Lastly is the pool pump which is broken into 2 items the motor and the pump. Pump motors typically need to be replaced every 5 years and pumps about every 10-15 years. That being said the pump will need to be serviced every 2-3 years to replace seals, gaskets, and possible impellers. Motor replacements typically cost around $500 and pump replacements are between $1500 and $2000.

• How much should I budget every year for my pool?

If it were me an I owned a pool I would be putting at least $3500 every year on my budget for the pool.

I hope this article helps. If you have any questions that I didn't answer feel free to message me here on BP. I will answer them the best I can.