# Would you buy a house that had an in-ground pool removed? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 6, 2009, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-house-that-had-an-in-ground-pool-removed/512839 "2009-10-06T19:11:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-house-that-had-an-in-ground-pool-removed/512839/21 "2009-10-09T14:50:30Z")
The OP sounds like me! We really didn’t use our pool much this year and I’m figuring that as soon as the kids are grown it’s going to be filled in. One argument I have heard about the lessening-of-value caused by the pool is this: By having a pool in your yard, you are limiting your potential buyers to those who want a pool. As this might be only a tenth of all home buyers (random guess), you have a much smaller list of potential buyers, and it’s going to be harder to sell at the price you want. ---
**Author:** ![Mtgman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Mtgman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mtgman)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-house-that-had-an-in-ground-pool-removed/512839/22 "2009-10-09T15:14:59Z")
Filled in? Especially the way **araminty** described? No. I’d be too worried about it retaining water, the surface cracking and causing sharp jags of concrete in the middle of the “yard,” etc. Removed and the hole filled? I not only would, I did. Enjoy, Steven ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-house-that-had-an-in-ground-pool-removed/512839/23 "2009-10-09T17:04:27Z")
> [@Erdosain](#): > > I’m not sure why that would make you cynical, just cautious. > > But anyway, I don’t believe emptying the pool is an option, unfortunately. I’ve been told that since it’s not a concrete pool (it’s vinyl pool liner with some concrete footings underneath) that the sides will eventually cave in without the pressure of the water pushing out. Plus, we get a couple of feet of rainwater each year which I’d have to pump out constantly. Maybe I can start a small alligator farm and charge admission… That’s not an in ground pool (which, btw, in most cases is an asset), that is a Doughboy in a hole. Seeing that would make me tremendously disinterested in a house because it would need to be removed. I love pools, I’d want a house with a pool. That ain’t a pool. ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-house-that-had-an-in-ground-pool-removed/512839/24 "2009-10-09T17:46:43Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > That’s not an in ground pool (which, btw, in most cases is an asset), that is a Doughboy in a hole. Seeing that would make me tremendously disinterested in a house because it would need to be removed. > > I love pools, I’d want a house with a pool. That ain’t a pool. Well, I’ll grant you it’s not a _ **nice** _ pool… but these kinds of pools seem pretty popular around here. It has a drain at the bottom and is eight feet deep, and is level with the yard. That sounds pretty in-ground to me. I don’t know anyone who has a fully concrete pool. Everyone is a cheap bastard like me. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-house-that-had-an-in-ground-pool-removed/512839/25 "2009-10-09T17:57:21Z")
> [@minor7flat5](#): > > By having a pool in your yard, you are limiting your potential buyers to those who want a pool. As this might be only a tenth of all home buyers (random guess), you have a much smaller list of potential buyers, and it’s going to be harder to sell at the price you want. Well, sure, but if there are not many houses with pools then you are also lessening the number of houses you are essentially competing with for those who want a pool. ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-house-that-had-an-in-ground-pool-removed/512839/26 "2009-10-10T08:31:30Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > That’s not an in ground pool (which, btw, in most cases is an asset), that is a Doughboy in a hole. Seeing that would make me tremendously disinterested in a house because it would need to be removed. > > I love pools, I’d want a house with a pool. That ain’t a pool. A pool like that probably deals with frost heave a lot better than a pure concrete one. ---
**Author:** ![Susanann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Susanann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susanann)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-house-that-had-an-in-ground-pool-removed/512839/27 "2009-10-10T12:51:16Z")
I am wondering why you bought the pool in the first place, and if the answer to that question is the same. Obviously, the pool made YOU!!! buy it. I mean, it didnt just magically appear in your backyard overnight one day did it? ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-house-that-had-an-in-ground-pool-removed/512839/28 "2009-10-10T12:53:20Z")
> [@Erdosain](#): > > But anyway, I don’t believe emptying the pool is an option, unfortunately. I’ve been told that since it’s not a concrete pool (it’s vinyl pool liner with some concrete footings underneath) that the sides will eventually cave in without the pressure of the water pushing out. Plus, we get a couple of feet of rainwater each year which I’d have to pump out constantly. Maybe I can start a small alligator farm and charge admission… I’ve never even heard of pools like that. But it’s probably cheaper to get removed than a concrete one. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-house-that-had-an-in-ground-pool-removed/512839/29 "2009-10-10T13:04:29Z")
> [@LionelHutz405](#): > > I’ve never heard of a pool being removed. You just fill it in and landscape. > Properly landscaped, there is no reason to even mention there used to be a pool there. I don’t see any problem with this. Properly filled in, there is no danger of a sinkhole. A few years ago this was common in Sydney. Often it seemed a tennis court was built where the pool had been. ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-house-that-had-an-in-ground-pool-removed/512839/30 "2009-10-10T13:10:12Z")
> [@Susanann](#): > > I am wondering why you bought the pool in the first place, and if the answer to that question is the same. Obviously, the pool made YOU!!! buy it. I mean, it didnt just magically appear in your backyard overnight one day did it? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not blaming anyone for the pool but me (and my wife!). We didn’t install it, but purchased a house with a pool and knew what we were getting into. Unfortunately, we wildly overestimated how much we’d use the pool while at the same time wildly underestimating how much maintenance it would require. Plus, it didn’t help that my wife instantly lost any desire to swim in it the first time I scooped out a bunch of dead floating squirrels. (To be fair, I wasn’t exactly jumping into the water either.) The less said about the dead bunnies, the better. But you do give me a good idea. With a skilled backhoe operator, perhaps I can make the pool magically appear in my neighbor’s yard one night. When they knock on my door the next morning, angrily pointing the gaping hole in my yard, I’ll feign shock and surprise. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-house-that-had-an-in-ground-pool-removed/512839.md?page=1)