Would you by a house with a pool??? (x-post from toddler 12-24 months)

Jennybake12

Hello All!

 I am pregnant with my first little one due on June 2nd.

My husband and I have been house hunting for the last 7 months with no success. Today I find out that two of our offers got approved! I am very excited but I need some advice on whether or not you would buy a house with a pool/spa. I am SOOO nervous about this. I did not want to have a pool at all and my Mom is absoultely terrified about me getting a house with a pool. (I haven't told her about either house acceptance yet until we decide which on we want). The pool does not currently have a fence.

 Do you all have any advice you can share?

 The house with the pool is a much larger house with better lay out, but it is further away from my parents (about 30 mins) and on a busier street.

 The other non-pool house is about 5 mins from my parents which I really like. I am so scared of how to take care of the baby the first few weeks and want my mom to be there all the time.

 Please help!

Hello All!

 I am pregnant with my first little one due on June 2nd.

My husband and I have been house hunting for the last 7 months with no success. Today I find out that two of our offers got approved! I am very excited but I need some advice on whether or not you would buy a house with a pool/spa. I am SOOO nervous about this. I did not want to have a pool at all and my Mom is absoultely terrified about me getting a house with a pool. (I haven't told her about either house acceptance yet until we decide which on we want). The pool does not currently have a fence.

 Do you all have any advice you can share?

 The house with the pool is a much larger house with better lay out, but it is further away from my parents (about 30 mins) and on a busier street.

 The other non-pool house is about 5 mins from my parents which I really like. I am so scared of how to take care of the baby the first few weeks and want my mom to be there all the time.

 Please help!

egsquared

Since I was a little kid, I've dreamed of having a house with a pool.  That said, I wouldn't buy one now with DD.  I'd be too nervous - not only about something happening with my own LO, but if other kids were over, I'd be worried that one of them would fall in, etc.  We had friends who had their inground pool taken out and filled in with grass once they had kids. 

I also live in a cold weather climate though, so a pool doesn't make as much sense, and I know tons of peoplewith kids live in warm climates and have pools, and they are perfectly fine. 

KristinB!

It sounds like you really don't want the house with the pool anyway since it's not something you've ever really wanted in a house and it's farther from your parents house.  If you're not that excited about one in the first place, it's probably not the best option for you.

We just moved into a new house with a pool about a year ago (when my DS was about one and a half) and it is definitely something we have to be very cautious about when he's in the backyard.  Plus, you have to be good with upkeep and maintenance and it's not always cheap.

 However, we absolutely dreamed about having a pool at our house (I grew up with one) so it was the icing on the cake for us.  Plus, we live in Texas and can use is about 6 months of the year and love swimming.

A pool also adds very little to no equity in your home, so if you foresee moving in the next several years, it won't add value when you sell.

Hope that helps!

Disneygeek77

For me?  I say it depends.  Is the pool in good shape ? Would we still have a large portion of our yard to play in?   IS it fenced in?  If the answer is yes to all of it then I might, MIGHT, consider a pool but I really don't want one.

dazidog

While I love pools I personally would never buy a house with a pool. I know I would watch my LO's like a hawk but it would always and forever make me nervous. Not just for them but also for their friends or other LO's that come over. I would also be nervous even as they got a bit older that they would do something stupid and get hurt. I say that because my friend growing up had a pool and her older brother's used to have friends over. Well to jump in the pool they didn't use the diving board, they used the roof! It was a one story home but regardless I can't believe no one ever got hurt.

There was just a horrible incident close to our home just last summer. I won't go into great detail but a Dad was home during the day with his twins. They were in the house watching a movie, all the doors locked, dad wasn't feeling great and fell asleep while watching the movie with his kids, twins used a stool to unlock the door, got outside, unlatched the gate, and drowned. Those parents had everything you are supposed to have for safety and still. Just typing it makes me sick to my stomach!

Also the upkeep and costs would scare me off but that's just me. Someday when our kids are all grown up I would like a pool but for now we do swim lessons, friends pools, and the beach and I sleep very soundly at night:)

Don't get me wrong, we have friends who have a pool and kids and they love it. It's just my personal opinion not to have one.

ToBeMrsT

No way.  Too much maintenance, too dangerous with young kids. We have friends here that bought a house with a pool when they moved here 4 years ago--- just 3 months ago they decided to fill the pool in.  They hated all the expenses, they hated how dangerous it was with young kids.  We live in Texas and hear about pool accidents way too often.  

in my life

Well, we bought a house with a pool though we really didn't want one. A year after DD wa s born we had the pool completely removed because it took up most of the backyard and could not really be fenced easily. It just made me too darn nervous. And as you might guess, the expense of getting rid of a pool is pretty costly. I would probably go for the house without one personally.

meg1974

I wouldn't, but mainly b/c of the upkeep. I wouldn't be too worried about safety b/c I would be diligent about having a gate up and keeping it locked. 

Shell24

30 minutes isn't that far!  But the distance aside, no, I would personally never buy a house with a pool.  Not until my kids were in double digit ages.  I have a personal horror story involving a pool.  Prior to that incident, they made me nervous, but I may have bought one.  Now, I would just be too scared.  Things can happen even with all precautions in place

LoveEeyore

No way.  I am lucky to keep up with laundry and the litter box these days, I could never keep up with a pool, too.  On top of that, I have 3 little ones and I'm beginning to see just what can happen when the three of them team up. 

Torani

We bought our house with a pool before DS was born, but knowing we were planning to have kids.  If you feel unsafe, you can always put in a gate, or make sure your doors to the outside are secure.  We have a very heavy slider door that leads to the backyard, and installed an extra lock high on the door as a precaution (also because it didn't lock well).  I'm not worried about DS wandering outside with it there.  We are soon going to put up a fence so that DS can play outside without us watching him like a hawk.  I grew up with a pool, and really wanted one of my own.  Another thing to consider is the extra cost.  In addition to adding the security fence, there is also the weekly maintenance and the cost of electricity for running the pump, and pool heater.  You may want to factor that in if you are still up in the air about it.

Kingston54

I'd absolutely buy a house will a pool - sounds awesome!  That being said, you MUST put up a fence with a lock asap.  Either that or I've heard they sell some sort of alarm that goes off if something/someone goes in the pool.  Just be smart with safety and I think a pool would be a fun feature!

g8trkim

MrsPM:

If you and DH are willing to take care of the pool and can put up a fence with lock asap, I don't see a problem with having a pool.

I think I would be most worried about the time it takes to upkeep a pool vs. safety. As long as you take the right precautions, there shouldn't be a reason the pool is unsafe.

All this. We have a pool. We like it but it's some work and some money. At this age, we don't use it much but when he's older I can see him wanting to be in the pool all the time. We put up a safety fence and plan on teaching him to swim early. We live in FL so pools are very common. I would say weigh the pros and cons before you decide.