Good luck. I can't imagine anyone wanting to loan money to someone to build a pool in this economic climate. It's just too risky. Pools are anything but an investment, can't be secured, and as housing prices continue to drop, even people who have good credit get crunched.

There is also the school of thought that you shouldn't buy a luxury item on credit. There are those who believe that sense of entitlement is what got us in this mess in the first place.

My advice, if I had any, would be to save your money. If you have enough to pay for a pool in cash after things settle, then you will feel much better about things. And I should mention that I'm a guy that believes that consumers should keep spending. However, they should be spending THEIR money, not the banks.

Only thing you can do is shop around until either you find what you want, or give up.

Dave Ramsey agrees with exit2studios, and so do I. Even if you were to get a loan for the project, if the banks are saying your debt-to-income ratio is too high, than it almost definitely is the case.

Banks have been notorious for telling you that you can get a loan for an amount that is a lot more than most people feel comfortable with. Obviously there is some backlash to that now from their point of view.

Its your decision, to a certain degree. Good luck either way.

try firstagain.com

it's worth a shot.

I think we're entering a new age where getting a loan is going to require more substantial collateral and better proof of financial stability. Banks got greedy and were willing to lend to anyone, anywhere, anytime; but I doubt we'll ever see those days again (thank goodness!) You'll have to wait a bit I think, possibly in the next 6 months or so the credit market will loosen up enough to where loans will start flowing to responsible people again. Maybe by then you can unload some of your holdings and reduce your debt ratio as well (making it easier for you to get that loan).

Hmm, I agree with Nctal. And is it that the banks got greedy? or that too many people had to spend what they didn't have to buy more than they could ever afford? Shame on those lenders. Whatever it was that got us here, it looks like things may never be the same again. Very sad.

I wish you luck with your loan!

I agree with natural one, try firstagain.com
We just got a pool loan from them. It's all based on your income and credit score and has nothing to do with your house.

"And is it that the banks got greedy? or that too many people had to spend what they didn't have to buy more than they could ever afford?"

Both, there's plenty of blame to go around and plenty that deserve it! But I will say this, it is a loan entity's job to evaluate what someone can afford and give them an honest appraisal. Many people should have known that they were getting into a risky loan but took someone else's word for it that they could afford more than they thought. Ecomonics should be part of a basic high scool education in this country and it isn't (I didn't even have an economics class in college), so too many people have to rely on those that are supposed to be "experts". Hopefully moving forward those experts will not be so inclined to push people into loans they can't afford.