10543 Do you really need a swimming pool?

You dont need a pool, some people especially with very young children see it as a disadvantage, so dont worry. Depending on lots of other stuff to do/see in your area, I see no advantage especially in a small house and if you promote to a different client group.
A

Also it's past the season so you could try renting now and take it from there. Better too, to protect such a large sum of money just in case you need it for the other house.

The "old" house is up for sale this week (fantastic timing!) - so renting isn't really an option.

The "new" house (which we don't complete on until April) we are told has great rental potential IF we have a pool - however I am not sure the additional income it would generate justifies the outlay for a inground pool.
Would a hot tub be as "desirable" - given that it would be "safer" for families with young children - or an overground big blue thing that you see quite alot ?

Ah what a pity. Presumably though that new house being bigger, will require you to buy more furniture and furnishings etc.. It will take time too to find clients. You may well find that you'll miss out on the 2009 summer season rental and there is therefore no immediate need for a swimming pool.

We have a 2mx1.5m tiled,and very nice looking, Hippo pool........great with a glass of wine,watching the sunset........total cost ........800E................jobs a goodun

OK
What's a Hippo Pool ?
(We managed fine with a paddling pool this year...)

much the same, but deeper , tiled the same as the terrace, plug/waste, and when I get in it Im as happy as a hippo ..........lol

So, it's a big bath really???

Sounds about all we would use - given that I jumped into the paddling pool fully clothed after a bucket of wine it's probably the safest bet for all concerned....

MML

Swimming pools are lovely and "complete" a country house. A tub or paddling pool isn't the same

[quote=Jinty;98205]So, it's a big bath really???

Sounds about all we would use - given that I jumped into the paddling pool fully clothed after a bucket of wine it's probably the safest bet for all concerned....

MML[/quote]

And the problem being :yes::laughs::yes::laughs:

[quote=Jinty;98205]So, it's a big bath really???

Sounds about all we would use - [B]given that I jumped into the paddling pool fully clothed after a bucket of wine [/B]it's probably the safest bet for all concerned....

MML[/quote]

Tut, tut, Jinty,
And they talk about the English abroad! :winki::bigergrin:

Pools seem very important to British renters, Americans could care less about a pool as they come to Italy to see things and won't spend much time swimming (if they want to go swimming they spend a lot less and go to Florida). But who will be your target market? You can get around a pool if you are close enough to the sea to sell that as a strong point, in our area holiday homes that don't have pools sell the proximity to the Adriatic beaches and that seems to work.

I don't know how other northern Europeans would view this need.

Do you have any open air acqua parks near by? If so you could push the idea of spending the day there and/or on a beach.

[quote=Jinty;98183]Hi,

We bought a small house last year and have finished renovating it.
We have now decided that we love being there so much and although we love the house it will be too small for us to retire to. So we are now buying a bigger property and everyone keeps telling us that if we want to rent it out (in the meantime until we move) we will HAVE to have a swimming pool therefore I am now trying to do the sums - if a swimming pool costs 25-40K Euro (as per previous threads) that is an awful lot of rental weeks to get back the investment- given the fact I don't think we will use it very much when we do eventually live there.
The views are absolutely stunning and we are within walking distance of a train station.
I would like your opinions?

Thanks

Jinty[/quote]

Hi,
I don't think at all it is necessary to make a swimming pool to best rend your house!
Just think about how many students could be interested in renting a house, without a swimming pool! There are also a lot of young couples who may be interested in it! think about it!

Jinty, call me the next time you want to repeat such a hilarious experience!

my opinion is that swimming pools are not ecological and are totally out of place in rural areas .Should be a law passed to stop people having them!

[quote=myabruzzohome;98235]my opinion is that swimming pools are not ecological and are totally out of place in rural areas .Should be a law passed to stop people having them![/quote]

So you dont have one either :laughs::laughs::laughs:

A good and challenging question worthy of debate!

We put a pool in, and spend a genuine fortune. That said we have a compelling business reason, running a vineyard agritourismo, B&B and apartment rentals does create a demand or expectation of a pool. I can confirm (having run our first year in business without a pool) that it does make a big (positive) difference to "conversions" (that is the number of enquiries that subsequently book). Oh we have tried to make it as ecological as possible BTW - (appreciate the oxymoron) - using a salt system, well water etc.

Notwithstanding other comments, yes Brits certainly want a pool (just watching what people search for on the interweb gives that away "B&B" "Piedmont" "Pool" are the top three in our stats) but I find that a lot of other countries are including pool in their search and in enquiries we receive. We had Canadians here a few weeks ago who swam every day. On the point made above about children and safety - never lost a booking due to safety concerns and without exception families with children (any nationality) book wanting a pool. OK we get families out of pool season, but less so than when its hot.

For a private residence I agree the figures are hard to justify, so you probably would want to have a pool for yourselves too. We helped friends find a much smaller version of what we put in, quite beautiful and sub 20k all done. If you can recoup 50% over the first 3 years of rental seasons then it could be OK?

I do take on board other peoples advice re pools, and yes if you have a large place with more than one apartment then I can see it is valid, sun equals swimming for many.However from my experience it is not the target of eveyone, it depends on your proposed client group, and as I said before what the area has to offer and has been said before how close to a beach, people are more than happy to have a day at the seaside and a nice fish lunch. Others want to sightsee, go to galleries or are more elderly and want to snooze on a sun lounger.
I would do your research re the clients you want to attract and then see if the expense of the pool justifies the cost. Also you cannot rely on full bookings to reclaim the cost of a pool, its maintenance and everything else involved.
I guess you could try one year without and see how it goes, or have a much cheaper option an above ground splash around thing.
A

I think that's a bit of an unfair sweeping statement!

We are in a rural location and considered the business reason, as well as the environmental impact. Our pool, which is nearing completion has
1. A salt water chorination system which is Eco friendly - no chemicals required
2. Solar Panel Heating
3. Recycled bricks and tiles from the main house to build the locale technico

We'll draw the line at letting wildlife nest in the pool, but I think we've done everything we can to make our pool as eco friendly as possible.

So, next summer when the temperature reaches 35c+ and humidity at unbearable levels, I'll not feel too bad about taking a cooling dip!

[quote=myabruzzohome;98235]my opinion is that swimming pools are not ecological and are totally out of place in rural areas .Should be a law passed to stop people having them![/quote]

What about an endless pool? You can self-instal them and they are smaller than a normal pool but come with a counter current to swim against. You will find it will appeal to lots of sporty types and the best bit? You can take it with you to your new house!!
[url]www.endlesspools.com[/url]

[quote=IRITALIA;98223]Tut, tut, Jinty,
And they talk about the English abroad! :winki::bigergrin:[/quote]

My mother was Irish - does that explain things?

[quote=J.d'A.;98230]Jinty, call me the next time you want to repeat such a hilarious experience![/quote]

Only if you can sing and know all the lyrics to songs from the sixties seventies and eighties!

[quote=Penny;98247]What about an endless pool? You can self-instal them and they are smaller than a normal pool but come with a counter current to swim against. You will find it will appeal to lots of sporty types and the best bit? You can take it with you to your new house!!
[URL="http://www.endlesspools.com"]www.endlesspools.com[/URL][/quote]
They look great!
I will email the link to my Geometra so she can find a supplier in Italy.

[quote=Jinty;98264]They look great!
I will email the link to my Geometra so she can find a supplier in Italy.[/quote]

Hi Jinty..........your geo might be better off with this link
[url=http://endlesspools.it/fastlane.html]Per chi ha già una piscina[/url]

Hi there,

i just came across your thread. Have you seen the wooden type assembly pools that are doing the rounds these days? They look great and you can get a 4m x 3m bought and assembled for about €10k. You don't need planning as they are not deemed permenant structures and all you need from a builder is a flat cement base for it to be assembled on to. the pump is quiet and you can keep them above ground (safer for kids) or sink them in to the ground and add an really attractive wooden walkway around the edges.

just to add my two cents worth ..... we look after 6 rental villas, for us and for friends. All close to beaches. Three have pools and three don't. It is far easier to rent the villas with pools, and they command considerably more rent per week. Over the last three years we have had far more bookings for the villas with pools than those without. Most of our renters are Brits and as has already been said here, it seems that a pool is important to them.