About 7 years ago I bought a house with a pool. It was a bank repo, and the pool was half-full of green swampy water, and the pump parts were scattered around the side of the house. I’m sure it was bringing the value of the house down not up. It was big, about 36’ x 15’:
I’m in Toronto, so pools are a summer thing. I decided to fix it up. It was about $1000 to empty the old water and refill it, my neighbor helped me with the plumbing, and I patched a few holes in the vinyl liner. Total cost to get it up and running was about $2500, plus I bought a really good winter cover for $2500.
Pros:
I have three teens, and they have totally loved it. They spend hours in there. Lots of fun, lots of parties, lots of kids.
Cons:
There is some maintenance, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how easy the pool has been to maintain. Opening takes maybe 10 or 12 hours, then maybe an hour a week after that in maintenance. My daughter is old enough now that she helps me with all of this.
Chemicals run me about $1200 per summer. I had to replace the pump once ($400) and a filter ($300). I also had to replace the liner last year, it was $5000 but will last for about 10 years.
All in, chemicals and maintainence run me about $2000 a year. Heating is maybe another $500.
For that I get a solid 3 months of fun for the kids.