On Sunday, February 7, 2021 at 4:11:43 PM UTC-6, Dave Smith wrote:
> On 2021-02-07 4:44 p.m., Ed Pawlowski wrote:
> > On 2/7/2021 1:47 PM, Bryan Simmons wrote:
>
>
> >> The house that is two houses down from the one my son is buying has an in
> >> ground pool. Everyone I know who has one loves it.
> >>
> >> --Bryan
> >>
> >
> > Opinions vary.
> > I've enjoyed the use of other's pools at times but never wanted one
> > myself. My son is glad not to have one any more and he owns a pool care
> > business.
> There was a pool here when we moved in. It was an issue when it came to
> price. The owner thought the place was worth more because it had a pool.
> I kept telling them I didn't want a pool.
>
> I kept the pool for a few years. It was a pain in the ass. It was a lot
> of work and a lot of expense. We found a great way to get rid of it. The
> principal of my wife's school was looking for a pool. The guy had 10
> adopted kids. I offered the pool to him. He had come and disassemble it,
> move it and put it back together. He probably had to buy a new liner.
A cheesy above ground pool isn't worth much, but an in ground is another
story. My older sister (I think about 15-16 years older) got married young,
not much out of high school, to a guy a few years older who was already
an apprentice union electrician. They bought a house right away, and
within a few years, they had a nice pool put in. All summer long they used
it. Even though my mother moved to the next block when I was in 5th
grade, and my asshole father didn't move with us, I only went over there
when there was a family occasion, because that sister and I never got
along from the time I was five years old.
I can't imagine a pool being anything but a joy if one can easily afford it,
but it is expensive. I *can* imagine my son buying a hot tub. He's loved
those since he was a toddler. If the hotel had a hot tub, he and his
mother always took advantage of it.
My son has more immediate goals. The house was cheap because it
hadn't been updated since the 1950s. Look at this kitchen:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/361781...57718201231971
Sure, it's usable, but it doesn't even have a place for a built in
dishwasher. He's fine with doing dishes by hand because he's a young,
single guy who doesn't cook much, but when he remodels the kitchen
he'll need to put in a dishwasher, and there are plenty of other projects
he'll want to do before the kitchen.
For one thing, the bathroom is pink. It's a nice pink, and in good
condition, and perhaps it will grow on him, but at 19 it clashes with
his masculine sensibilities. Even with that, he'll do the more
immediate work first. The garage is integrated into the house. It's
split level, and has the garage underneath the bathroom and a large
front bedroom where he can put his workout equipment, and a small
bedroom that is perfect for a home office. The other three tiers have
a basement large enough for a pool table, which is high priority for
him. Above that is the living room, dining room and kitchen, and the
highest floor has a giant master bedroom.
Before he does anything expensive, he will have to pay back us for
the down payment, which will be 20%. The only thing we're *giving*
him is a move-in present of a high quality Speed Queen frontloader
and a more moderately priced, mismatched dryer. Maybe in a few
years, when he gets around to gutting the kitchen, we'll surprise him
with a nice Miele dishwasher. We love ours.
--Bryan