Buying a House with a Pool in Winter...

Would you buy a house if you couldn’t see inside?  No, probably not.  This is basically the same question when it comes to pools in the winter.  How do you truly inspect?

Living in the DMV we experience all the beautiful seasons, but somewhere in between “false fall” and the “spring of deception” our winter months are cold.  So cold, that pools are drained and closed up for the season.  So if you are out during these cold months and a swimming pool is on your must have list, then this is why you work with an experienced realtor.

So in these cases we would do 2 things.

1. We would have the pool cover removed so that a visual inspection can be performed.  This will allow us to gauge the integrity of the pool and its overall condition.  And although this helps, it doesn’t show us the whole picture.

2. We would write in our offer to do our final inspection of the pool within a certain time period of the warmer season starting.  Now this inspection occurs after you have already purchased the home, so we will have also escrowed funds at closing to be held from the sellers.  This way, any repairs needed can be made by the sellers, up to that negotiated amount.  This would allow for having the pool to be filled up, tested for leaks, and testing the pump and other pool equipment.