Don’t Cut Corners on Pools or Hot Tubs—It Can Bite Homeowners in a Resale

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Cracked concrete, yards flooded by faulty water lines, ruined landscaping, electrical fires—if there's a mistake a contractor can make installing a pool, Harrison Polsky has probably seen it.

"When you’re trying to nickel and dime a pool, it always comes back to bite you," said Mr. Polsky, an agent with Douglas Elliman in Dallas who is also a partner in a luxury-home construction company.

It's not just pools. When it comes to water features like hot tubs, fountains and aquariums, agents recommended that homeowners invest upfront in a quality installation to avoid problems in a resale.

Beyond the possible repairs a homeowner could encounter, a cheaply designed pool might turn away buyers otherwise impressed with the quality of the home.

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Trish Nash, an agent with Douglas Elliman in Las Vegas, once worked with a couple who rushed to get a pool installed in the backyard of their new home.

Rather than going with a concrete pool, which is standard in the Las Vegas luxury market, they opted for a fiberglass, prefabricated pool. Not only was that less expensive than a concrete pool, but it could also be installed faster—a big motivator for the buyers, who were eager to make use of their backyard in the hot Las Vegas summers.

"They thought, ‘We’re going to save money and time,’" Ms. Nash said. "So they did it on the cheap, and it looked nice—but it was just O.K."

Fifteen years later, when the couple decided to list the home, the pool became an issue for buyers.

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"When buyers looked at this beautiful home in this beautiful community, and they saw this inexpensively done pool, it just didn't match with the rest of the home," Ms. Nash said.

In the long run, the decision to go with the faster, cheaper option lost the sellers money in the resale.

"They didn't get what they could have gotten had they done a standard concrete pool," Ms. Nash said.

Especially in warmer markets, such as the U.S. South or greater Sunbelt, pools are a must for luxury buyers, so it's important to invest in something that will impress, Ms. Nash advised.

"Living in Las Vegas, having a pool is almost as necessary as having a second car in the family," Ms. Nash said. "There may be two homes in the same neighborhood, and someone might purchase a home strictly because they fell in love with the pool and the backyard. If they’re into entertainment, that is going to be critical for them."

Aesthetics Also Matter

For homeowners looking to build a pool or water feature with lasting value, Mr. Polsky recommended consulting with a landscape architect first.

Unlike a construction company, who may just be thinking about the pool or water feature itself, a landscape architect thinks through multiple elements of a pool's design, such as adjacent patio spaces, the right type of plants to go around it (that won't end up shedding leaves into the water) or how to best hide the maintenance equipment.

When it comes time to put the design out for bid, try to get quotes from about five contractors and choose someone in the middle, he advises—but avoid going for the cheapest option.

"If you find a ‘Joe Schmoe,’ they’re going to be screwing up your landscape, and you’ll have leaks," he said. "You need to make sure that they’re licensed and bonded and have insurance and the proper machinery."

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Be skeptical of designs that bring water near your foundation.

"Anytime you have anything that could possibly seep into your foundation, seep into your brickwork, your stucco or anything—it's in general a bad idea," he said.

Mr. Polsky recently worked with one woman who wanted to put a fountain in the courtyard of her Spanish Hacienda-style home. He made her a deal: He would put in the fountain only if the owner was willing to run the line five feet from the foundation.

Though that stipulation ended up doubling the cost of the project, it offered protections against an even-costlier potential leak—and it was the only way that Mr. Polsky felt comfortable putting a warranty on the home.

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Making Repairs Ahead of a Resale

As homeowners consider making repairs and renovations ahead of a sale, the pool shouldn't be ignored.

Making those repairs ahead of time makes the selling process smoother, as the seller has already resolved issues that might deter a buyer, especially one that might be coming from an area where pools aren't as commonplace, Ms. Nash said.

"A lot of people are moving here and they don't know a lot about pools," she said. "They can be easily overwhelmed with any little thing that might come up in a home inspection."

She also recommended that sellers have the company servicing their pool conduct an evaluation to determine whether they should replace any filters or do any tune-up work.

If a seller does decide to resurface their pool ahead of a sale, there are a few main options: plaster, the least expensive option, which lasts for five to 15 years; PebbleTec, which has a rocky look and can last for 10 to 15 years and is around 25% more expensive; or glass tiles, which may last even longer but come at a significant price increase.

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Changing Demands

Buyers’ preferences are also changing around the types of pools and water features they want in a home. Many now prefer saltwater pools over traditional chlorine pools, as they require lower maintenance and the chemicals involved aren't as tough on the skin, said Dina Goldentayer, an agent with Douglas Elliman in South Florida.

Hot tubs are also less popular with buyers than before, she said. In the last few years, she's sold several homes over $20 million that came with large pools, but without a hot tub.

"Lots of builders have started excluding that as a prerequisite from the luxury checklist," Mrs. Goldentayer said.

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The ‘Wow’ Factor

A water feature can be one of the most impressive parts of a home, Ms. Nash said—when they’re operating.

She said that she sometimes runs into homeowners whose fountains or sprinklers aren't maintained properly and get clogged, but who decide not to make the fixes because they’ve gotten so used to living with the problem.

But Ms. Nash said she always advises them to get the water feature back up and running before they begin tours, as a nonfunctioning feature might have buyers wondering whether they’ll have to deal with the repairs themselves.

"A (working) fountain really enhances the process of the home showing," she said. "You really want to attract that buyer and pull them in, because it's an emotional process."

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