The Effect of Pool Quality on the Value of Property
Your pool as an investment
One of the Most Expensive
purchases
Any swimming pool will probably be the 2nd
or 3rd most expensive thing that you buy and so it is worth while examining
whether it will be a good investment or not. There is a quite comprehensive
article on this in our blog dated May 2008.
Fibre Glass and Modular
Panel Pool Kits are just a Waste of Money
Please bear in mind that if you buy a glass
fibre or modular panel pool kit, and it costs 15 to 20,000 euros and
it has a 10 year guarantee then it will actually be costing 1500 to 2000
euros per annum in depreciation.
Fibre Glass and Modular
Panel Pool Kits will have Negative Values in 10 years
Furthermore such pools will actually have
a negative value because they will need to be removed eventually. This
involves getting a fibre-glass pool out of the ground (a crane will not
do it because of suction from the soil), cutting it up and loading it
into a truck and then backfilling the hole. This will cost at least 5000
euros and possibly 6 or 7. The costs for a modular panel pool may be
a bit less.
Perhaps it is better to
buy a smaller high performance pool?
If you just want a pool to sit by and for
the children to play in we suggest that you consider the installation
of a small high quality pool and spend any further money that you might
have available on labour saving devices like automatic pool chlorination,
automatic PH control, robot cleaners and heat pumps to extend the swimming
season. In most cases the argument that bigger is best does not apply
to swimming pools (this is the exact opposite of what every other pool
installer will tell you)
Think 10 years "Out"
Please remember that we both passionately
believe that the pools that we install are the best value available.
In 10 years time you will still have a pool that enhances the value of
your property and will not be thinking "How much is it going to
cost to get rid of that useless hole in the ground!"
From the Bluepools Blog
Does the installation of
a swimming pool increase the value of a property?
Entry - May 7th, 2008 by willwitt
This is a leading question that
many of our clients are very interested in after we have provided a pool
installation proposal.
So how can you assess whether
the pool that has been offered to you is good value for money?
There is one universal truth
that applies in every country in the world - “If the pool is of
poor quality it will reduce the value of your property”
How can you assess the
quality of a pool proposal from a pool installer?
You need to answer these questions;
1. Is the pool guaranteed for
life or is the guarantee for a fixed period and hedged with weasel words
like “Manufacturers Guarantee”? (this means that only the pool
components are guaranteed - not the pool installation - so if poor soil
conditions cause the walls of your pool to collapse do not expect the
kit supplier to do anything about it)
2. Is the pool filtration equipment equipped with a sand filter and guaranteed
to have the capacity to filter the whole pool in 6 hours or less (This
is the minimum required to ensure that the water is not polluted - the
filtration equipment for many kit pools will take 12 hours or more)
3. Are you absolutely sure that the pool will not float out of the ground
in winter? (Fibreglass and ceramic pools are very prone to this)
4. Does your pool have a heavy structure designed by an engineer - If not
and you have a high water table or clay in your garden the pool will possibly
collapse the first time that it is emptied
5. Is the pool rectangular in shape? - many people only like the classic
lines of rectangular pools
6. Are the pool coping stones attractive and accurately laid with regular
joints that line up with the paving that surrounds them?
7. Are you sure that the paving around your pool will not subside (the
avoidance of susbsidence needs special precautions that cannot be provided
with any panel wall kit)
8. If your pool does not have a liner - are you sure it does not leak?
- the pool must be kept full of water to maintain it in good condition
and this is very difficult and costly if the pool leaks
9. And last but not least - can the pool installer show you other pools
that he has built and introduce you to the owners.
If you can answer yes to the
9 questions above you almost certainly have a proposal for a good quality
or high performance pool - so let’s move on to other considerations.
These factors will all tend to be different depending on the country
or area that the pool is being built in.
The affect on property
value following the installation of a high performance pool
(i) A quality pool will always
add value to an upmarket property but it will be difficult to prove that
the whole investment in the pool will be recouped - hence the better
the value of the pool the higher the return.
(ii) Investment buyers for holiday
lets view a pool as essential because the rates for holiday lets can
normally be increased by between 50% and 100% - but pool heating will
also be essential - especially in the UK.
(iii) Most private buyers of
an upmarket country property want a pool - but they hate the mess and
risk involved in getting one built.
(iv) An up market property
with a pool will sell faster than one without if the properties are more
or less comparable in price.
(v) The pool is valued higher
if it is seen to be an integral part of the house by being close to it
and connected by hard paving - as most can be.
In France where we have been
building pools since 2004 it is our experience that the cost of the pool
will be recouped on the sale of the property if it is a quality installation
in an appropriate property.
The following link seems to
prove it
www.homemove.co.uk
Will Witt
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