Monday, June 1, 2015

The Pool....part 4 of The House series

Sorry for disappearing!  Last week turned into a crazy week....school stuff, scout stuff, sick kids, a "plumbing" emergency, a showing that went bad (they showed up 1.5 hrs late, and walked into my house while we were there!).  Add in crazy work stuff (especially with a short week), and the normal stuff.....yeah...there ya go.

But thank you to my readers who are so interested.....

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So yeah...the pool.

A few people have said that the pool was a deterrent for buyers.  We have no idea if this is true or not.  In 2 dozen showings, the pool has only been mentioned once.  That is the really frustrating thing with our feedback, it gives us no idea what the problem is.  OK, we have been told that the bedrooms are small.  There is nothing we can do about that.  I will agree that Sassy's room is small....about 8x10.  But the other two bedrooms are 12x12, so not obscenely small.  But not a grand master either.  Other houses have sold with smaller bedrooms, so we are all at a bit of a loss.

Back to the pool....

After the initial FUUUDDDDGGGGEEEE moment, we started to look at the options.

Option 1:  Get a new panel

This option was quickly eliminated.  I went back through the pool stuff (thank you previous owners for leaving it all for us), and found the make and model of the pool  Turns out that the company is no longer in business.  Per the pool guy, each company is proprietary, so ordering a new panel is a crapshoot if it will work.  And there is no guarantee that it would pass inspection.

Option 2:  Get a new pool

The pool is 15x30' oval (which is a common size).  A new pool, instillation, and water would run us about $2,500 minimum.  And if a buyer didn't want the pool....that would be money down the drain.

Option 3:  Collapse the pool

I know so many people have said this.  But this is not an easy option.  This would require the actual collapsing of the pool, disposal, burying the electrical, digging out the posts that held the solar cover.  Once all of that is done, then you are left with 6 inches of sand underneath that needs to either be dug out, or covered with top soil.  The whole area needs to be regraded (the pool is a little lower than the grade of the rest of the yard), and then sod or grass seed needs to be applied.

After you deal with that....you turn your attention to the deck.   The back end of the deck would need to be finished off (either be squared off, since it is cut out to fit the oval, or have a very odd shape).  Posts need to be added either way.  Plus you need to add a rail.  And coding standards have changed since the deck was built (circa 1993), so if we are retrofitting things....we could be looking at a new can of worms.  OR...you have to pull it down, and then dispose of it, and then deal with the "dead" area under the deck.

We had priced out having someone collapse the pool previously.....just the pool is $500.  If we had them deal with the sand, dirt, etc....we are up to $2,000.  And we aren't to grass or electrical yet.  And we aren't dealing with the deck yet.

Option 4:  As Is

At the moment.....this is the option we are using until we can move on to the next part (I am getting there!).  The listing has been changed that the pool is being sold "as is" right now.  If a buyer came along, we are willing to credit some money back to deal with the pool, but that will be bridge we cross if we need to.  In the short term, this absolves us from the inspection issue of the pool.  We checked into how long we could leave the pool this way (for example....can we winter the pool?)...and right now it is holding. We were told we could probably let the pool freeze over the winter, but if we had another bad winter, the already weakened area will probably completely give out once the water thaws, which would result in the water gushing out and flooding our yard, and probably at least 2, probably 3, of the neighbors' yards. 

We ordered a new cover (so at least you aren't looking at a green pool full of dead and alive algae), and I put that on over the weekend (and stepped on a nail in the process and ended up needing a tetanus shot and have a very sore foot!).  

If we have showings and we get alot of negative feedback, then we will move on to the next phase sooner than later.  But the master plan.....

G-man will come home late August (we have a family wedding, the kids' birthday), and he and I will collapse the pool ourselves, along with the deck.  We are still working out the price for a dumpster, tool rental, etc.  We are hoping that we have a friend or two who are willing to take a vacation day and help us out, but we aren't counting on that.  It is going to be hard work.  And once we are left with the mess of our yard.....

We are debating what to do.  One thought is to turn part of it into a patio/fire pit area.  We already have the sand down.  A 10'x10' patio will be about $400 for materials.  That doesn't take care of the entire area (figure it is about 20'x40' that we have to deal with).  But we can do a few steps down to the yard....make some landscaping areas....add in a pathway to a patio.  We are still working all of this out while we figure out coding, cost, etc.

The lower deck will get completely redone.  Depending on patio decisions, we will need to deal with rails on at least 2 sides.  We need about 40 boards to redo the floor, and then the whole thing will get stained.

***
This whole thing is a huge expense that we have to now deal with.  A major yard renovation was not part of our computations.  We are looking at that line between what do we HAVE to do, vs NEED to do.  We are going to spend money one way or the other....either we do it or we have someone do it.  As we delve deeper into the process, we can decide what we are going to DIY and what we will have someone do.

Because G-man will only be home for a week....we have to be realistic on what we can do ourselves in that time frame.  Once he is gone, I am on my own again.  And at that time of year, school will be starting, so I will be dealing with that as well.  I would love to start on this on my own....but jumping into a project you aren't prepared for is a recipe for disaster.  Of course, if something with the pool changes, such as it gives out, the timeline moves up.

Of course best case scenario is that someone makes an offer, we credit them something to deal with the pool, and we can walk away from it.    But I struggled with not doing all of this work NOW....I feel it is a huge red flag on our property to list the pool "as is".  And it is.  But G-man can't come home right now, and I can't do it myself.  It is a temporary solution while we work out the rest of the details.

We had no way to anticipate this.  And we knew what the work would be collapsing the pool years ago....which is why we didn't do it before.  Our hand is being forced to do something. 

So there is the saga.....in all of its ugliness.  It is overwhelming to deal with, and it is overwhelming to think that there is a chance that the kids and I are here indefinitely.  But we are doing what we need to do.

Anyone want to come destroy my backyard????  We are buying the pizza and beer (or water or soda or whatever!)




52 comments:

  1. you are in a no win situation at the moment I think. I think doing what you are doing is the best thing at the moment. As for the people showing up an hour and a half late and you being in, that's their problem not yours. We had people show up with five minutes warning and at 8 pm at night. No we are not going out. We stayed in the family room and let them look around but did not leave the house. It was dark for heavens sake (February) no one who is serious goes house hunting at 8 pm at night..........

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    1. The showing was for 5:15. Kids and I came home about 5:45...about 6:40 my front door opens! It was so uncomfortable. We stayed in the living room and they were gone in about 5 min.

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    2. In Britain, unless the house is vacant, the homeowners themselves show the people around the house. I much prefer our way of doing it here in North America.

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    3. I like the idea of showing the house myself! I know the house and can point out all the good features.

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    4. You also can't be objective about the house the way a realtor can be.

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    5. True. But a realtor who has never been in the house also is looking at it for the first time with a buyer. They don't know anything more than what is in the listing.

      Must be nice to be so perfect....how are your student loan repayment plans coming? And your terrific job and living situation? I hope that it all your dreams come true.

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    6. Aw. You're the best, Mysti. You say the nicest things. : D

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  2. Keeping it on the market and leaving the pool "as is" was definitely the best way to go for the moment. Yes, some people may be the "as is" as a deterrent, but better to have some showings than none if you took it off the market until the pool situation is dealt with. Good luck!
    Oh, and as for the people coming 90 minutes late - that definitely is rude and on them! They should have rescheduled instead of just showing up. The house is not vacant and their realtor should have known better!

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  3. The buyers' realtor just said " sorry, we are running late." If he had called my realtor, I could have accommodated.

    But here is the kicker.. they asked for the showing at 9pm the night before!! I had next to no time to get ready since I worked all day.

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  4. Taking a pool down isn't as big a deal as you are thinking it will be.
    We took ours down last Summer. After you take the supports off just lay out the paneling flat on the ground and roll it up and flatten it. It all fit into our minivan and Hubs took it to the local scrap metal place and got $35 for it as scrap. lol
    You can also put an ad in your local free paper/CL/etc. and give a pool away and people who scrap metal will come take it and deal with it for you.....of course you are still on your own as regards the deck. I tired to get Hubs to let someone take it but then you are dealing with strange people in your yard, etc.

    Good luck.

    We are turning out old pool sand area into a patio area too.

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  5. I actually think the physical taking down of the pool will be the easiest part. It really is dealing with the aftermath. I don't want some random person taking down the pool, in case of injury, damage, etc.

    Good luck with your patio.

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  6. I think the "as is" sounds like a good plan, especially since you don't really know if that is what is holding off buyers or not. But Sluggy is right. You could advertise it for free and you'd have someone come and take it all away LOL. We did that with our old big deck. DH did take it apart himself, put it on craigslist and the next day all the lumber was gone. We did the same thing with all the railroad ties we used to have in our landscaping.

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    1. I can't deal with flaky people who don't show up or leave a mess. I need to know it is taken care of. If we weren't moving...and it sat for awhile....ok. But we are working with limited time spans. I get that it is a way to save money but only if it works out.

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  7. I think your plan is a good one. I would not even look at a house with anything listed as-is unless I had the time and money to commit to repairing or renovating. You would absolutely get insulting low ball offers on your home just because the pool was listed as-is. Getting rid of it is the best scenario. Most people would undoubtedly rather a empty grasses yard to deal with than a dead pool.

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    1. I don't blame people for shying away from an "as is" listing. However, we are hoping that since it is just the pool, and not the HOUSE that is "as is" that we will continue to get showings. But as we said...if we are getting negative feedback, we may have to act sooner.

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    2. You don't want to pay to remove or repair the pool, so you want to pawn that cost off on someone else.

      Great plan. I bet that will get your house sold in no time.

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    3. I love how you don't actually READ the post.

      It says....that we are taking the pool down, but RIGHT NOW it is listed "as is" because my husband can't come home RIGHT NOW. But if we received an offer before he is able to get home....we would help a new owner off set the cost.

      You damn blog troll.....go away.

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    4. Nope, I'm going to keep reading. Who knows, maybe you'll sort out your situation. That would be interesting to see. Maybe you'll even stop being so negative, but that's a long shot.

      Calling me a troll just shows once again what a kind and wonderful person you are. Thanks!

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    5. You don't actually read the posts...you skim them for something that you can try and pick apart. But I am so honored that you choose to take such a vested interest in my life.

      You are one person....and you can think I am lower than dirt. It doesn't make it true. If it makes you feel better about yourself to berate me...then I will consider it my public service to be your place to get some self-esteem.

      I was feeling particularly generous today in publishing your comments. I am a kind and wonderful person.

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    6. So you have the house listed "as is"? I personally wouldn't look at a house like that. I would be afraid that there is much more going wrong with it than meets the eye. Can you not list it "as is" but say "pool maintenance/repair buyer's responsibility" or something like that?

      PS - can't you block a reader who antagonizes you on your own blog?

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    7. Just the pool is listed as is, not the pool. Per the realtor, this was how we had to do it. Since the pool will not pass inspection, unless it was listed this way...it would give the buyer an out.

      No...can't block a specific reader. I tried. Blogger doesn't let you.

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    8. in my opinion, blog trolls thrive on attention...just ignore them and focus on those who actually have productive advice to give.

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    9. Yep. I usually hit delete. ...today gave in. Bad Mysti....

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  8. Oh my gosh. Very few people have pools in their homes in Ireland - who knew that they could cause so much hassle.

    Good luck with the sale. Hopefully an offer comes through with the pool as is.

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    1. Very few people I know actually like having a pool. Don't get one!!!

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    2. My grandma has a pool in her house and I absolutely love it. : ) And she loves it the pool because me, my siblings and my cousin enjoy swimming in the summer.

      Your view is not everyone else's. You're an incredibly negative person.

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    3. Enjoy your rare published comment.

      YOU do not own a pool....your grandmother does. YOU are not responsible for the cost of it. It is delightful to swim and enjoy a pool when you are just "borrowing" it.

      And read what I said.....very few people that "I" know like having it....I didn't say that was a general consensus.

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    4. I don't care if you publish my comments or not. I really don't. I will keep commenting whether you publish them or not, and honestly, it's nothing to me what you do.

      My grandma loves the pool. And she also loves her house. But that's probably because she's not a Debbie Downer like you.

      It seems that the people you know are negative and doom and gloom, just like you. And doom and gloom people, including yourself, can't see good in anything, and shoot down every single suggestion that someone makes.

      Your blog is a bummer, but I read it because I have to see what I am determined not to become. You've had so many chances to mend fences with me and be polite and civil, but you continue to act like a ______. That shows the kind of person you are. You're rude to people, so you're going to get what you give.

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    5. I am glad you don't care.

      And I am so glad that your Grandma loves her pool...and her sycophant granddaughter.

      I have no interest in mending any fences with you. I don't wish you any ill....I just have no interest in being your friend. Just as others like to read about your life (when you have a blog that you haven't shut down because people call you out on your crap)...you like to read about mine. I can't stop you from reading. But I can control what words of yours I publish....so while you are throwing around that I am such a horrible person....all it takes is one push of a button for people to see the delightful things you like to say to be.

      Have a sparkling day.

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    6. LOL. Sycophant. You seriously need to learn what a dictionary is.

      At least I was smart enough to shut down those blogs when I was making a fool of myself. You aren't smart enough to do that, clearly. So you keep posting and posting and making a fool of yourself. Good job.

      Have fun being a hot mess. And I'll keep reading about you being a hot mess.

      Nobody cares about the stuff I say to you half as much as you do, I promise. Nobody cares. You don't even use your real name on here. You are nobody important.

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    7. You are absolutely correct....Lisa....Cordelia...C the Writer.....

      I did use the incorrect word. Parasite....that was the word I meant to use. I stand corrected.

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    8. C/Cordelia/Stuck, your continued nastiness is very sad. It is painfully obvious to all that you have many personal issues and are in desperate need of professional help. I truly hope that you find it.

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    9. You can't build a meaningful life on nastiness towards others; it simply doesn't work.

      Your latest blog merely reveals the depth of your jealousy towards Mysti. What is it that has you so irate? Is it her family? Her meaningful job? Her likeable personality?

      You could have meaningful, worthwhile things in your life too. As always, the choice is yours.

      Delete
    10. Cham...nice new name, troll. Love your new blog.

      Delete
  9. Bleah, I don't envy you having to deal with this when G-man is not around to help! I like the idea of re-purposing the area as a patio. If draining and disposing of the pool truly is easy, maybe you can get it done before G-man comes home, to make his week home more productive? Also, hopefully, your family might even have a day or so for relaxation and fun before he is off again.

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    1. Once we hash out the main plan...I will try and do what I can before he gets home. Since he will be home for the kids' bday...I do want that day to be fun. Maybe the beach. We went last summer and it was one of my all time favorite family days.

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  10. Mysti,
    How to say this politely? I think your realtor sucks.
    I have sold 3 . It's not YOUR job to find out why your home isn't selling, it's theirs.
    As for the pool, I'd say to my realtor, have potential buyers make an offer with the situation in mind. Or, have it pulled d on an, and let the landscape stand....and again...money talks. Deduct the cost of grass seed from the offer!
    Good luck. I wish you luck in getting south sooner rather than later...Quality of life in many ways is easier...why, we could loo d actually have two showers AND the washing machine running at once, and even the odd toilet flush, and nobody was frozen or scalded!

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    1. I am so glad you said this! I was thinking the EXACT same thing. Mysti, you are stressing WAY too much about stuff your realtor should be handling if they are any good. I think it's time to find a new one.

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  11. So sorry you are dealing with all of this house and pool situation. I think you need lots of support and a big 'ol hug. It's so disappointing to read hurtful comments. Stay strong. You've got some plans and it will all work out.

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  12. I like your approach better, leave as is and maybe credit the buyers some money to fix or get rid of the pool.

    Good luck with everything, I hope it sells quickly so you can get on with your new life.

    HS

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    1. I can only leave it like this for a short period of time. It needs to be down before the weather turns in the fall. We are really hoping that someone wants to work with us!

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  13. Did you get to use the Lowe's credit yet? :oD

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  14. Yep...like I said when it happened...G-man came home and bought fertilizer and weed killer and whatever else he bought. :)

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    1. Oh, I must have missed it. Glad I caught up. :oD

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  15. I think you are smart to sell as is, let the buyer deal with the pool. I am sorry you have to go through this.

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  16. We purchased a real fixer, but required the damaged pool to be removed. Honestly, we had a three year old and that pool was scary. So, it may seem even more overwhelming to a buyer than it does to you. I think you are on the right track to plan to take it down.
    I also think a sandy fire pit area is a great way to minimize costs and make something fun. I would also price putting up a tether ball pole or a volleyball net. Maybe a hanging sail type sunshade. Buyers in my neck of the woods love that stuff!
    Hope it all comes together cheaply and easily and the next potential buyer snaps it up.
    I don't know how you tolerate that mean troll. Bless your heart.

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    1. I don't blame anyone for not wanting a pool. We didn't want it and we didn't have kids yet!

      Funny you mention the sandy fire pit....that was Thursday night's discussion! Lol. We keep looking at ways to cut the cost. Thanks for the volleyball idea.

      The troll is broken.....I am sorry for whatever happened to her to make her this way.

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  17. I read in your other blog that you want to switch realtors, I am a licensed realtor and in the office I work in, if someone is unhappy we let them out of their contract. You might speak privately with the broker and let him or her know your concerns. Most firms would rather let you out of your contract than have the bad word of mouth. If you stay with the realtor you are with through the summer, you are missing out on peak selling season by not having the best salesperson on your listing.

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