Member-only story
REAL ESTATE/LIFESTYLE
Do You Really Need a Pool to Sell Your Home?
Weighing the Costs, Lifestyle, and Resale Value of Adding a Pool
“The best things in life aren’t things.” — Art Buchwald
There’s a pool craze in my neighborhood. One by one, backyards are turning into shimmering blue retreats. Realtors like to say a pool makes a home easier to sell, however, if you ask people who’ve lived with one, the reality is more complicated.
A pool is a serious investment. Building one can cost close to $100,000, with another $4,000 a year to maintain. Some people see it as worth the price. One neighbor is putting one in right now. She’s planning to sell in a few years and feels the pool will make her home more appealing. Her husband wanted a pool all along and was even more convinced after watching how quickly and efficiently the contractor completed the one next door.
Be that as it may, not everyone sees the same payoff. A friend bought a home with a pool, only to watch her kids lose interest after the first month. What was supposed to be the center of summer turned into little more than a backdrop.
Another couple we know did the opposite. They sold their pool home and bought one without, happy to leave behind the costs and…
