Lisa Johnson's House and Home - Articles on Home, Family, and Living

Lisa Johnson on Buying a New Swimming Pool

Chapter 5: Costs and Financing

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October 1, 2003

This is what our swimming pool and spa costs us.  And note that this was done in the Spring of 2001:

• Swimming Pool (480 sq ft)
• Spa (64 sq ft)
• Gunite pool and spa
• Gas heater for pool and spa
• Waterfall
• Real boulders for decoration
• Three pumps
• Pool and spa Filter, with timer
• Chlorinator
• Pool lighting
• Pebble Tec (Pebbletec) on both pool and spa
• Waterline Ceramic tile on both pool and spa
• Pool Skimmer
• Vacuum cleaner (Harvard Navigator), plus pole, brush, skimming net, thermometers, water test kit, plus supplies of chlorine, muriatic acid.

  Total:  $39,598.00

The price could have been cheaper, if you consider some of the optional items above, such as the waterfall, decorative boulders, chlorinator, pebbletec, and vacuum cleaner.   Subtract those items, and the cost comes down to about $25,000.00.

In addition, we added the following items:

• 1,250 sq ft of concrete decking
• 300 ft. of deck drains and drain heads
• flagstone coping around the pool and spa
• 18" high retaining wall
• wrought iron fence to surround the pool equipment and air conditioning units
• custom built-in barbecue base with stucco sides and flagstone top
• 30x14 foot patio cover (solid wood)
• 7 Queen Palms, and 10 Pygmy Date Palms
• Water sprinkler lines and heads

  Total Additional Items:   $19,767.00

There were other items we bought separate from all that, which included:

• Patio furniture
• Barbecue unit
• Additional plants and flowers

  Total:   $2,500.00

So, you put it all together, and we spent nearly $62,000.00 on our backyard, swimming pool, and spa extravaganza.

One note:   The contractor told us that if they should run into a huge boulder while digging out the pool, they would have to charge us extra for the use of additional equipment to remove the boulder.   But that would only add a couple hundred bucks.

Financing

To pay for all this, we financed $40,000.00 by getting a second mortgage (a home equity loan).   For the rest of it, we had some cash that we saved up, and we got some more money by selling some stocks.

We approached Countrywide Mortgage at first, because they are the ones who currently hold our primary mortgage.   But they wanted us to wait at least 45 days to get an answer on approving a second mortgage.   We didn't want to wait that long.   It was late March that we decided to go with Mission Pools, and they said it would take about three months to complete the whole project.   If we waited 45 days just to find out if the loan was approved, then that would move the project end date to around September.   We wanted to enjoy this pool while it was still Summer.

Mission Pools said it could refer us to a mortgage broker that they worked with.   So I inquired.   While this broker could give me an answer on approval within a few days, he wanted an awful lot of fees up front.   So we didn't go with that.

We then went to our bank, and discovered they could give us an approval within two weeks.   So we decided to fill out the application.   We were approved in two weeks, just as promised, and got the money we needed.

Paying for the Swimming Pool

The builder, in this case Mission Pools, said they would not require any deposit up front.   In fact, they actually started construction before we secured the second mortgage.   When we signed the contract with them, they indicated they would send us a bill for a portion of the payment at various intervals.   Once they completed work on the digging, they sent us the first bill.   They sent the second bill after they finished all the plumbing.   The third bill came after the Pebbletec was applied.   The final bill came after everything was complete.

If we failed to remit payment by the due date for each interval, they would simply stop construction.   If we never paid them, then like any other contractor, they would put a lien on our property.   So, it's not like they needed any money up front.

However, once we hit the first interval, we HAD to be ready to pay the bill, otherwise construction would stop, and our project would be delayed.   For us, it helped that we had enough cash in hand to pay for the first couple billings.

Next > Chapter 6 - Beginning Construction on our Swimming Pool

Suggested Links

·  National Swimming Pool Foundation

·  Swimming Pool Energy Costs

·  PoolSpa WebCenter

·  Leslie's Swimming Pool Supplies

·  Swimming Pool Buyer Beware