[quote=sdrealtor]AN,
I think thats flawed logic. Its about market value not appraised value. In some cases a house is worth more without a pool so removing it would add value.
Its also about what you pay for the house. The pool could be preventing the house from selling which is often the case in homes with small yards that are nearly all pool. If you can get it for a price that compensates you for the removal cost it could make sense. The numbers either make sense or they dont.[/quote]
You’re right, that logic only apply if you plan to keep that house for a long time and/or plan to refi before you sell it. Lets say you want to refi, if you demo the pool, then you’re not getting that $10k-ish in appraise value, which mean either you have to bring money to closing, or you can’t refi at all. So, it depends on how much equity you would have in the house and if you plan to refi in the future.
Maybe other areas might be different, but for my area, I don’t see houses with a pool selling at $7-8k less than comparable houses without a pool. My area have pretty small yard too, so most pools does take up 60% of the yard. Keep in mind that $7-8k can easily balloon to $10k+ if you run into issue. That doesn’t include the cost of landscaping the new dirt area too, which would be at least a few grand.
