Heated Pool Costs

Hi all.

Curious if some of the friendly folks on this board who rent could help me out with some figures. I?m trying get a feel for what the added cost of ownership would be for a medium sized, heated pool. It?s a hard thing to look up on the internet! Houses with pools seem to do better at occupancy, but I have to imagine the maintenance and cost of heating one of those things adds a signifigant amount to your ownership costs. Would anyone mind posting some estimates?

:scratch:

The company I used to work for charged $500 extra per week to heat the pools at houses. It usually went pretty fast with the gas. Electric is a joke for a pool BTW.

i know most of the Pool cleaning a so forth will run you an average of $150+/month not including extra's and power! you can save if you maintain your own...it's tricky for some people.....Me included;-)

Having a pool will definitely help your bookings. Having a heated pool will help with the shoulder seasons, although we found when we added the heater, that it didn't change too much. Although we used to clean the pool ourselves, we found that hiring someone is better. If you don't get the chemicals right, you'll end up having to resurface the pool, which isn't cheap. We have a small pool and pay $100/month for the maintenance, which is a deal.

We have a gas pool heater (the only way to go) and pay about $60/week for gas when the pool is heated. We don't charge extra for the pool to be heated, it's in the rental cost essentially. When the pool isn't being heated, the gas bill is about $11/month. I don't know what the extra cost is for electric and water for running the pool.

Be prepared to buy a new pool pump about every 3-5 years on a rental. (about $250-$300). Be prepared to buy a new filter about every 5-7 years. We are close to the ocean and with renters, it's harder on the equipment. That's our experience, anyway.

There are expenses with a pool, but it is definitely worth it if you want some rental income.

Thanks guys!

We charge extra for pool heat to discourage people from using it. We got tired of arriving and finding the pool heater set to 105 degrees with the house having been vacant for, perhaps, weeks and us footing the bill.

We don't offer pool heat in the summer -- actually, sometimes in the summer renters will run up our water bill because they'll turn on the hose and let the water cool off the pool.

In the cooler months we charge $35 a day for pool heat. That averages out to be what it costs us. Yes, in January it might be more and in March it might be less. But it's just too complicated to charge a variable amount based on the temperature.

We used to lock up the pool heater controller. But a renter this spring who was not paying for pool heat broke the lock, pulled off the cover, and used up $490 worth of heat. They got charged for that plus $250 for installing a new cover. Now when no one is paying for pool heat, the management company turns off the power to the pool heater (the switch for which is locked up) and locks up the gas meter.

Weekly maintenance costs $135 a month.

The pool heater used to go out every spring and that cost about $1000 a year to repair. Then a friend told my husband that what was wrong was that a $30 valve gets rusted and that was probably the problem. Well, this spring the heater went out again. Hubby replaced the valve himself, and bingo! He saved us about $970.

We've been told that as close as we are to the beach, we can't expect our pool heater to last more than five years.

Other expenses include people tearing up the equipment (such as kids playing with the hand-held skimmer and tearing up the net, breaking the weir, etc.). Not expensive, just annoying to have to drive to Destin to buy that kind of stuff every few months.

Our pool heat is controlled by us and our management company. We set it to 86. On occasion, renters have requested that the heat be set a bit higher and we've obliged within reason. The control is locked. We haven't had anyone try to break the lock yet, but we've only had the heater a year. I'm sure it will happen sooner or later. We also don't turn the heater on during the summer.

Pool heaters do tend to need repair. Ours has been good so far. Research which type of pool heater you should get, on the internet. The standard one that is installed around here has reliability issues.

Oh - here's one for you - if your renters throw water balloons in or around your pool, you can expect to have to pay for a new pool pump. Do whatever you can to discourage this behavior.

Oh - here's one for you - if your renters throw water balloons in or around your pool, you can expect to have to pay for a new pool pump. Do whatever you can to discourage this behavior.

I didn't know about the balloons. Thanks.

But I don't know how we can discourage any type of misbehavior. We've had renters diving off the balcony on the second floor into the pool. My neighbors just happened to be staying at their house and called me. The rental company kicked out these people mid-week with no refund and put up a sign saying, "No diving off balconies."

But how much stupid behavior can one anticipate? Daughter joked that maybe we should put a sign on the knife block which says, "Do not run with a knife pointed at your chest. You might trip and kill yourself."

Some renters just do stupid, disrespectful things to the property of others. Thankfully, most don't. I've been told that's the cost of doing business and letting our guests help pay the mortgage.

Just curious, how does having a pool on a rental affect your insurance?

Just curious, how does having a pool on a rental affect your insurance?

I don't know. We're always asked if we have a pool, but I don't know how or if it affects the premium.

I didn't know about the balloons. Thanks.

But I don't know how we can discourage any type of misbehavior. We've had renters diving off the balcony on the second floor into the pool. My neighbors just happened to be staying at their house and called me. The rental company kicked out these people mid-week with no refund and put up a sign saying, "No diving off balconies."

But how much stupid behavior can one anticipate? Daughter joked that maybe we should put a sign on the knife block which says, "Do not run with a knife pointed at your chest. You might trip and kill yourself."

Some renters just do stupid, disrespectful things to the property of others. Thankfully, most don't. I've been told that's the cost of doing business and letting our guests help pay the mortgage.

BR I am wondering if you do any of the following:

-- advertise on VRBO or similar, and then refer your renters to your management company only after having a conversation with them.

-- put pictures of your family in the house

-- find other ways to make things personal, like a packet in the house that is clearly written by you with information on ways to make their stay more fun, more comfortable or easier.

It is my experience that the more personal you get with your renters (observing boundaries of course) the more likely they will see it as less of a "rental" and more as "someone's house." Our house only sleeps 2-3 families and we are just north of 30-A, so our house is different from yours, but these things have worked well for us. (Where is the *knocks on wood* smiley??)

BR I am wondering if you do any of the following:

-- advertise on VRBO or similar, and then refer your renters to your management company only after having a conversation with them.

-- put pictures of your family in the house

-- find other ways to make things personal, like a packet in the house that is clearly written by you with information on ways to make their stay more fun, more comfortable or easier.

It is my experience that the more personal you get with your renters (observing boundaries of course) the more likely they will see it as less of a "rental" and more as "someone's house." Our house only sleeps 2-3 families and we are just north of 30-A, so our house is different from yours, but these things have worked well for us. (Where is the *knocks on wood* smiley??)

I have a series of questions that I asking before I refer them to the rental management company.
We have family photos in the house.
We have an info book with restaurant suggestions, menus, etc. When they boot the computer, they get a welcome message from us from one of my websites. I give them my email address and encourage them to contact me if they have any questions or problems. If there is bad weather approaching, I update the website to warn them. Also, if there are events that week, I update the website to inform them. Every time they launch the browser, they see the updates.
So I think I'm doing a lot to personalize things.

I have a series of questions that I asking before I refer them to the rental management company.
We have family photos in the house.
We have an info book with restaurant suggestions, menus, etc. When they boot the computer, they get a welcome message from us from one of my websites. I give them my email address and encourage them to contact me if they have any questions or problems. If there is bad weather approaching, I update the website to warn them. Also, if there are events that week, I update the website to inform them. Every time they launch the browser, they see the updates.
So I think I'm doing a lot to personalize things.

It sounds like it! It seems like you have had some bad luck BR. :( There is no accounting for some people's vacation mentality, I guess. :idontno:

I have a series of questions that I asking before I refer them to the rental management company.
We have family photos in the house.
We have an info book with restaurant suggestions, menus, etc. When they boot the computer, they get a welcome message from us from one of my websites. I give them my email address and encourage them to contact me if they have any questions or problems. If there is bad weather approaching, I update the website to warn them. Also, if there are events that week, I update the website to inform them. Every time they launch the browser, they see the updates.
So I think I'm doing a lot to personalize things.

What kind of computer do you have in the house BR? Is it a dekstop or a laptop? Any problems with theft? I've been kicking around the idea of doing something like that with a small, cheap laptop. A web site would be so much simpler than a welcome booklet you have to print out and update. For guests comments, a nice attractive personal hand written guest log notbook would seem to suffice.

What kind of computer do you have in the house BR? Is it a dekstop or a laptop? Any problems with theft? I've been kicking around the idea of doing something like that with a small, cheap laptop. A web site would be so much simpler than a welcome booklet you have to print out and update. For guests comments, a nice attractive personal hand written guest log notbook would seem to suffice.

I have installed a product on some public computers in the past called 'Deep Freeze'. When you reboot the computer everything goes back to the original saved settings. That way if your client does mess things up, a simple restart puts it all back to the original configuration. That would negate any tech support issues.

www.faronics.com

30A shopper, if you're seriously shopping for a home, there's much benefit to buying something with a community pool. I have to tell you that from my experience, even though you would definitely capture those renters that want a private one, I've been to Sowal in June and no one was in the pool the entire time. When I have seen people in the pool, it's either early am, or right before dinner time, and only for a short while. Most people seem to be sold on proximity to the beach. The families looking for a pool solely without going to the beach are few and far between, but they do exist. The homes with private pools, I have always found to be small. If I were a serious swimmer looking for a pool, it wouldn't attract me. The atmosphere of a private pool is nice, I'll admit, and for those with little ones, convenient, so you have a lot to think about. I just wanted to tell you the reality of what I have seen. As far as heating the pool, we do heat ours in spring and the Xmas Holiday week. We opted out of the Holiday week because last year no one went in it the prior year and the gas price was exhorbitant.

I always had this dream when I built my house in Sowal, that I'd have my tikki hut, pool, and my big stainless steel barbecue, while I listened to Buffet floating around my pool while my dinner was cooking. Now, my vision is to leave the lot alone, enjoy the natural flora, and if I get really warm and feel the need for some water on face, take a walk or drive on 30A and get hit by someone's sprinkler. 😀

That being said, we have had similar issues as BR with our community pool. I'm also on the board for years now, and I am over the pool costs and maintenance. Anything close to the gulf takes a real beating, so you have to prepare yourself for those unexpected and expected expenses, and some aggravation of maintenance follow up, if private is how you want to go eventually.

What kind of computer do you have in the house BR? Is it a dekstop or a laptop? Any problems with theft? I've been kicking around the idea of doing something like that with a small, cheap laptop. A web site would be so much simpler than a welcome booklet you have to print out and update. For guests comments, a nice attractive personal hand written guest log notbook would seem to suffice.

We have a one-year-old Dell desktop, fully loaded. IT at the college where I work gets new computers every year. I bought this for $137.

Yeah, having your computer automatically launch the browser when booted which has your welcome page as the default home page has a lot of advantages. You can make changes to the welcome page, ftp it to your server, and have the guests see the new content with you being there.

I have installed a product on some public computers in the past called 'Deep Freeze'. When you reboot the computer everything goes back to the original saved settings. That way if your client does mess things up, a simple restart puts it all back to the original configuration. That would negate any tech support issues.

www.faronics.com

I'll have to look into that. Thanks.

30A shopper, if you're seriously shopping for a home, there's much benefit to buying something with a community pool.

Even though I complain about the abuse that our pool gets, it's worth it for the privacy. I like being steps away from the bathroom, the downstairs mini-kitchen, the tv, being able to use wireless Internet at the pool, etc. I like being able to leave my stuff at the pool. I like not having to worry about getting a lounge chair. I like being able to use my nice floats and leave them there (instead of dragging them back and forth to the pool). I like the peacefulness of not hearing screaming children and not having them splash me constantly. I also like not having to feel self conscious about my body. And I like to skinny dip and sunbathe topless.