We are looking to buy a home in PA in the spring, and a pool is an automatic NO for us, two empty-nester seniors. We don't need the maintenance.

Pool would always be an automatic no for us too. I wouldn't be interested in a yard that had a filled-in pool either.

In MICHIGAN??!!!! An automatic no.

Seems like a pool would be a hard sell in MI, especially in a lower end home. Gauging from the responses above, it looks like you'd turn off more sellers with a pool than without. You could always market it as having a pool, but put a statement in the listing that you'd be willing to fill it in, if the buyers are not interested in a pool. If you do decide to fill it in, you should also factor in the costs to do some landscaping to make the yard attractive since it sounds like there is no or very little existing landscaping.

Yep, I agree. I was looking to buy a home with an above-ground pool (even less expensive to maintain) and my first questions to the sellers were how high were the electric and waters bills for the past year? And we LOVE to swim! We snorkel, hit the beach, go to the pool as much as we can. We also live in a Southeast state where summer is more extended than MI.

A pool will raise the value, but lower the number of buyers that would be interested. Those that don't want a pool will quickly pass on your property, but those who want a pool will pay more for a house with one instead of buying another similar house without a pool where they have to install their own.

So if you don't necessarily need a quick sale, then rehabbing the pool might be a more sound investment.

Having a pool would not sway me one way or the other(many people have them here in Maine, we are even a resort town with miles of beaches) as long as it was in good repair. What would make me not make an offer on your home is the fact you state it takes up the whole backyard. Families need some areas for kids to play, as well as the adults for their gardening, entertaining, etc. NancyLouise

I think only your local realtors can help you with this question.

A pool that's 9 feet deep, and takes up the entire backyard, and is in Michigan - sounds like a real white elephant.

Thanks for the help. Realtor seems to think it doesn't help or hinder a sale but I've noticed a lot of homes sitting on the market for awhile have a big inground pool in the back - esp. Listed this time of year - they don't move too fast. It's a shame to fill in an expensive pool - a pool guy told us the tarp alone is worth 5000, but my gut keeps telling me that would be the best decision.

Have you checked about necessary permits and correct steps to remove the pool in your county? It's not always as easy as simply filling it in. It may have to be removed in a way that the land will be stable for future building.

100% what maddielee said!

I'm not in Michigan and hae never lived tha far north, but I've heard it said that here in my part of Texas it is hard to sell a house without a pool sring through fall and that late fall and winter the same people will buy a home without a pool and put one in.

You may know thins and it may be why filling in costs more, but can'tjust fill in with dirt and plant some grass, If you do that, you have a structure designed to hold water sitting underground. Even if nothing will ever be built there, you could create drainage and water problems for futue homeowners. Besides the obvious potential bog, somone could plant a tree that can never put down a proper tap root. That tree would be more likelyt to fall in a storm -- and that could put the house at risk.

Yes, if we decide to fill it in it will be done properly and to code. We are aware of what it will take to do this right. It's not a cheap project. Thanks for the help.

I think I'd see how it goes to sell it with it first. Why go through the extra expense. You guys bought it so I'm sure somebody will. Yes your buyer pool may be smaller, but why not just price it with the pool as a detraction in mind and you'll increase your buyer pool some by just the price.

Based on your comment about expense, I thought you had probably looked iinto doing it right. I have no idea what makes more sense in Michigan, but it is generally co nsidered foolish to just shy of criminal to take out a pool and fill the ground in Texas. They definitely add value and generally a home with a pool will sell faster. But I'm in Texas and we don't winterize pools and pools are useable 8 months out of the year without heat and year round with heat.

I would consider the timing of your putting it on the market. In December, it might seem better to fill in, but come spring or summer, that pool might be inviting and a plus -- even in Michgan. But talk to realtors who have been working in your rea for years -- they can tell you the trends.

Might the home (with pool) appeal to a 'snowbird' who has residency in a southern state and would consider this to be his 'summer' home?

I'm in North Carolina. My home had a pool and no one complained. It sold in less than a month, but it was a high end home.

Keep it! I live in MI and would love to have that pool. I have lots of friends that have pools here and they all enjoy them. The best way to do it is to get the previous owner to pay for it and not put it in yourself (it will never pay for itself).

My experience here is that the pool neither hurts nor helps you when selling.

"My experience here is that the pool neither hurts nor helps you when selling."

Of all the homes I have bought and sold, in only two cases did I desire a pool - in all of the other cases I did not want a pool.

Interestingly, the pool I bought in San Diego got little use because the average summer temperature there was 72 degrees and thus the pool temp was 72. Even then, utilities were so high that heating it was a real negative. That said, no winterizing costs, maintenance cost very low as every wannabe surfer dude wanted a pool cleaning route and worked for peanuts.

The pool I had in Northern VA got lots of summer time usage with out the need to heat, but there was winterizing expenses and no surfer dudes.

All in all, I would not remove a pool for selling purposes based on my experience.

I'd remove it. It's not an asset in Michigan. Even here in the more temperate climates it's not going to raise the value. If you don't remove it you will have to fix it. A nonfunctional pool is a massive liability. Further, if it's not up to MODERN code (current code is quite restrictive on fencing, gates, and alarms on doors going out to the pool and on electrical bonding and other requirements), it's going to come back to haunt you because even the most incompetent home inspector is going to catch that and you're going to be hit up on any inspection contingency you have.

I love pools but they don't add any real value to your house. They might influence a buyer to choose one over another if they want a pool but they don't pay more for it. Beyond that appraisers assign so little value in an appraisal for a pool that even if a buyer was actually willing to spend more, you run the risk of it not appraising. There is a price point at which pools are expected but not in the lower end where folks might actually be worried about the maintenance cost. Fill it and be done with it.

I should further point out I had an endless pool in the basement. The real estate agents were unequivocable about me getting rid of it (It's sitting unassembled in my garage now). I talked to the couple who bought our place at closing to explain some things (why there was room was laid out the way it was). They thought the pool was kind of interesting, but they might have had concerns about their toddler in such a place. It was probably a good idea to get rid of it.

@Ron Natalien , did you ever succeed in reselling the EP? If so, how did you find a buyer?

Or, did you move with it?