[quote=CA renter]
The swimming season with a non-heated pool is very short along the coast, maybe 3 months, if you’re lucky. Also, the cost/benefit analysis for A/C really doesn’t support getting it here. As the OP said, there are about 10 days of “unbearable” heat/humidity, and paying $5K-7K (not sure what it is now-a-days), just isn’t feasible unless you have lots of money to throw away. Most homes along the coast do not have A/C.
Anyway, for us, we are renting, so don’t want to put all that money into our rental.[/quote]
So in another word, you chose not to add those things, not that you can’t, due to the fact that you don’t think it’s worth it. I’m living in MM, not quite coastal, for almost a year now. So far, there have only been about 2 weeks of unbearable heat. We do not have AC (we made due with lots of fans), but during those 2 weeks, I sure feel like it would be worth it to get AC. Actually, we are getting AC this winter when it should be cheaper to get. For those who are buying in the 600-800k range in NCC, a 5-7k cost for AC shouldn’t be that big of a deal. That’s ~1% of the price of the house. BTW, 5-7k seems to be high, based on http://www.costhelper.com/cost/home-garden/central-air-conditioning.html. They estimate that if you already have forced air heating, it should cost around $3500-4000 to ad central air. I also find their estimate to always be on the high end as well, when I compare it to the remodeling projects I’ve done. So, if you really shop around and get AC installed in the winter instead of summer, it would be lower than $3500.
Regarding the pool, yes, getting a pool w/out a heater is stupid, especially if you live near the coast. You’re right that the actual swimming season would be around 3 months. But if you spent 30-40k for a pool, why wouldn’t you spend another $1k for a heater? Once you have a heater, w/ the amount of sun we get, swimming season should be quite long. If you want to go cheap and not spend that $1k, you can always get those solar water heater tarp thing. It supposed to raise the water temp by ~10 degrees if it’s sunny outside. Those are only about $100-200.
Your last point is what I think the main problem is. As a renter, you’re stuck w/ what you get from the landlord. I completely understand why you wouldn’t want to put AC/swimming pool in your rental.
