With kids, my husband and I have always maintained the rule, keep your house the coolest house for kids to hang out at. This way you know where your kids are, who they are with and what they are doing.

Thanks! That is exactly my pont, but I do see my husband's point. View as well.
I wonder how I could put a poll on houzz for this!

Loved our pool when the kids were little. After that....not a plus.

You can add a poll with the button at the top of discussion area next to "add discussion."
I think once your kids have left the nest, removing a pool is wise. It does cost a lot and will probably be empty and unused. In the meantime I would vote, "keep it."

I'm a realtor in Ontario Canada so we have a very short season for pools. They don't really add value to your home but in spring and summer they sell quickly as many people wait for homes with pools, as they are $50k+to install. they are very expensive to fill in so maybe work out the cost/benefit to keeping it. Count on approx $10k to fill it in plus new landscaping. Will it cost you more than that to keep it running til your kids are grown and gone? Do you have to pay to heat it as well? Hope this helps....

Think about how much it would cost for a swimming only country club membership and dues with zero privacy. Also, It is cost prohibitive these days to add a pool! The kids will love it, you and hubby could get a workout, and maybe you could encourage the kids to pick-up a water sport and join a team later. I'm 100% in the keep column. Not a realtor but I consider a pool a big plus when looking.

Thanks! I feel even more justified now!

It is a pretty big pool and takes up a large chunk of our yard, so not much space for ball playing. But our son is in a swim team, and I always hope I will exercise more some day!

If I could do a pool (and there's a lot to say I can't) I would do it for all the reasons mentioned above. I vote to keep the pool.

I have always wanted a pool -- I'd be in it every day. Not feasible where I live.

Personally I wouldn't want to be without our pool but can understand both your & husbands points of view. Did the pool get used last summer or is this your first summer in the house. I found from experience with kids they will use it far more aged from about 7 to 16 then of course other influences are in their lives.
You mention maintenance costs. Is the pool a chlorine pool or is it saltwater. People are wary when saltwater pools are mentioned but it is very low concentrate of salt. What it basically does is makes it own chlorine by running the water thru an electric cell. You would be amazed at the reduction in cost of chemicals & time needed on upkeep of pool. IMO they are much better to swim in than chlorine loaded pools. They can be converted but means purchasing the filtration equipment.
Big decision for your family. What do the kids think? With mine I had the boys responsible for upkeep & they enjoyed it. Also gave them a bit of pocket money .
Good luck

Thanks harve.
It is a chlorine pool. But we will need to upgrade its filter at some point. it also has a leak in the tubing, and that means that we will likely have more expenses there, possibly to cut through the concrete around it. We have been in the house for 5 years now. We do not use it a lot because we both work full time, we do not get home till about 6 pm on weekdays. Our younger son is still in preschool, but the older one is at camp during the summer, and he swims there every day.

If you decide to keep the pool & upgrading of the filtration system is required I would seriously suggest you talk a local pool supplier regarding the S/W conversion. I don't live in the USA but in Australia & Thailand where our homes are everyone that I know that uses saltwater filtration system. It is not a new ' fad" but has been around many years.

I agree with the realtor is ALL of those assumptions are true (you'd pay for a pool membership elsewhere, the kids take up water sports, you and your husband work out in the pool, etc.). If that's not the case, I'd consider filling it. The reality is living in Mass. you probably get to swim what, 2, maybe 3 months a year? Out of those months, will you swim 3 days a week? So, 24-36 times a year? How much does the pool cost a year? Do the math. I've lived in Tucson and had a pool- totally worth it. Swam March-Oct. Lived in Vegas- pools are great there. Currently live in Minnesota. Pools in Minnesota and Massachusetts are a money suck. They do little to nothing for resale and can actually turn people off. I'd do the math on how much your kids will use it until they move out and after and weigh against the how much maintenance you anticipate the pool will be/need. My gym membership for the whole familiy will let us swim in pools in and around the city for the next 30 years for $25K. That also give me everything else at the club. I have no clue how much a pool costs, but I think they start around $20-$25K. Then add maintenance for 30 years. !! Something to consider.

If you do fill it in, make sure you notify your homeowners insurance provider. Your premium will likely go down a lot. (Also add that to your financial considerations when deciding).

morose and Lisa Annis -- both good points! :)

My main concern would be safety. I filled in a pool because of that reason.

As a last post: we just closed the pool. The area looks so much bigger now- next summer we will decide if we miss it

As children get bigger they need more "leg" room. It sounds like your pool was taking up all of yours. I think with age they will need more yard space. You can kick them outside without being "pool side" every second. The safety issue is my biggest issue - especially when there is no perimeter fence around the pool - like we are supposed to have.

Thanks cancork. We did have fencing and followed every possible precaution. Bit i suspect they will indeed enjoy the yard more now

What... Fill it in? That's craziness!!!
Keep that pool!!

We love having a pool. We switched to salt water a couple years ago and it made maintenance much easier. Plus I must have a good automatic pool cleaner! We are empty nesters and find that a pool is a great kid magnet which we love at this stage of life. Just make sure to "waterproof" the kids as fast as possible.

We put in a pool 5 years ago and I LOVE it. Kids don't use it as much anymore but I would never fill it in. I'm a real estate agent in Ontario and we have 3-4 months of pool weather MAX and while it doesn't necessarily add to the value of a home, I believe it does make it easier to sell than not having one.

i HAD a pool for 8 years and it cost me then around 150$ a month for chemicals-remarried and moved away- miss my pool so much and my neighbors have the salt water and says he spends around $10 a month- he is surrounded by trees and his pool is always very clean. We are in our 60's but still have dreams of having another pool- best exercise in the world. I would never get rid of it!

We are empty nesters with an above ground pool and I would never give it up. The grandkids love it and I use it on my days off but sit out there daily. My sister put a salt water pool in 3 years ago and it is used daily. Her kids are older but they come home from work and go for a swim. Our yards have become summer living spaces.

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We live in Ontario. Bought a house with pool. Love it! Kids stay home to play, makes entertaining a no brainier. Always something to do. As kids are getting older I anticipate family gatherings around it and teaching my grandkids to swim there. Never give it up!

As an Aussie had to look up weather patterns. You have the pool and all the above seems sound both keeping and not. But try and think outside the box -
Can the pool be used for other purposes when not in use and empty? With a little thought maybe a media room, where the walls and roof are demountable? Hot house in winter? Yes there are some issues in construction and maintainence, but look at options of best use for you and yours in summer and winter. I had a neighbour who enclosed his pool to be a part of his house entertainment area and they used it all year long. Yes they were fit. Good luck .wj.

I couldnt do without our pool. Swim in it every day We have had 1 in every house we have been in & they are always in use. I love sitting there in the morning having coffee or dinner out there at night. granted our weather in the tropics allows for year round use but is such a calming influence having water nearby.
If you can keep it do so at least for a couple of summers to see how it works for you.
Attached a couple of photos

If you used 2 times a year, take it out. Insurance, energy and safety is a must consideration. For value$$$ absolutely NO. I work in this business and is not what pp are looking for. A nice Japanese water garden with bbq incorporate will do better sale then a pool with a lot of expense

Thanks for all the comments.
We have now filled the pool in.it was a hard decision, but we swam in it less than 10 days a year. The money we spent for maintenance, insurance and electricity will be less than a membership for the family at a gym with a pool and a country club in the area. So hopefully, we are not going to miss it a lot.

Keep pool, you will know what your children are doing. Besides who doesn't enjoy a dip in the pool, morning noon or night

Keep it for at least a few years and see how much use it gets. Then, if it isn't getting used and is annoying you, fill it in. I am not a fan of pools, but I wouldn't rip one out right away if I had one. I'd see if my family enjoyed it first.

I'm not from your area, but if it helps I put together a website for my clients to help answer some common questions about pool ownership and the construction process. Even though I created the site for my area, the information is relevant for anyone looking to build a pool.

www.poolsoftulsa.com

@grewa002 thanks for coming back to fill us in. We are in the same boat as you - moved into a home with a pool early last year. We didn't use the pool much last year but just received a quote for $15k to have it filled. :( We own a small cottage on a lake just 30 minutes away so we only really use the pool on weekdays. With two working parents, it's hard to fit in a swim in the evenings as our kids are still quite young (4 & 6). Again, thanks for the update & glad to hear the kids are enjoying the yard! :) That's the real goal isn't it?