Last Updated on September 6, 2022 by HortonTeam
Having a pool at home can be one of the nicest things to look forward to after a hot summer day. But what about when it’s time to sell? Selling a home with a pool can feel challenging, but following our tips below can mean the difference between sinking or floating your final dollar amount!
1. Invest in Pool Accents
One of the most advantageous changes you can make when selling a home with a pool is to add pool accents around the vicinity of the pool patio or deck. These types of accents come in many forms, whether they be furniture, foliage, rock, art, water features, or something else desirable. Adding decorations around your pool won’t raise your home’s value, but doing so will dramatically boost the appearance of the pool itself. Believe it or not, not all buyers in southwestern Indiana are interested in purchasing a home with a pool. Some people are scared of potential disasters or dangers, while others simply have no interest in maintaining a pool throughout the seasons of the year. By adding accents around the pool, the pleasant visual can usually help alleviate some of these worries that prospective buyers may have. The best part is that these types of additions—chairs, ferns, stone statues, etc.—are generally inexpensive and can be found at just about any major retailer, including general chains like Walmart, Meijer, or even the new Costco in Evansville. Just be sure to avoid anything that looks cheap or tacky!
2. Maintain the Pool and Keep History
Nobody likes a dirty pool, so you should maintain the same thought when selling a home with a pool! This tip is best heeded months in advance of selling your home, but not all is lost if you haven’t been keeping up. With the right pool supplies and enough hands on deck, you should be able get your pool back in tip-top shape in no more than a weekend. Just like with the accents above, the visual of a clean, maintained, and properly functioning pool will often be enough to dissuade potential buyers from getting hung up on the pool as a reason not to buy the home. In the unfortunate scenario that your pool has some kind of structural or mechanical problem, you’ll likely need more time to get it repaired before selling. A great bonus tip for selling a home with a pool is to keep records and receipts of all the work that has been completed on the pool. Think about selling a car: potential buyers may be wary if they can only take your word that the car hasn’t been damaged or worked on during your ownership, but keeping documentation on the work will help put the potential buyer at ease. The same applies for features of your home, such as included appliances or a pool.
3. Upgrade Your Pool’s Safety
Like we mentioned above, some people are scared of the potential dangers associated with owning a pool. You usually hear of these types of worries from parents of young children, or sometimes even pet owners. There are also those who worry about neighborhood children or animals finding their way into the pool in the middle of the night or when no one is home. Some of these dangers can’t be completely avoided, but upgrading the safety precautions can make selling a home with a pool easier. To remove the threat of external dangers, the easiest solution is to install a privacy fence around the pool. Not only will doing this enhance the scenery around the pool, but adding an enclosed privacy fence can also increase the value of your home. Adding safeguards (within the fenced-in area) to prevent children or pets from entering the pool without supervision is a little trickier. There are several approaches you can take, but some of the most common additions include mesh or wire barriers, child and pet-proof locks, or iron fences with gates.
4. What if You’re Selling a Home with a Pool out of Season?
These three tips will definitely help you when selling a home with a pool, but what if you need to sell outside of the typical pool season? The most obvious answer is to wait until spring or summer when pools are typically opening to sell your home, but that might not be a viable option for your specific situation. If you absolutely must sell your home during the fall or winter months, your options are sparse. Perhaps the easiest solution is to use summer photos in your listing that show off the pool. This tactic is usually frowned upon, but using up-to-date photos for all other angles of your home will show the viewer that there’s nothing to hide by using older pictures. The good part of this scenario is that if you do end up listing your home for sale in the winter, buyers will be more understanding when they see your pool cover and lack of decorations during a showing.
Don’t let your pool hold you back from selling! By following these tips, you can sell a home with a pool without the worry of turning away buyers who are on the fence.
