Pool renting

babyblade41

My advice is to find another house.

filling in a swimming pool is not easy or cheap to do, if it's not done properly then all sorts of problems can occur.

We have done it... As for your initial question then if you don't/can't afford to use it for personal use then don't enter into this arrangement, it's open to far too many problems and potential catastrophes

AlexMac

I assume you really love the house (or presumably wouldn't be considering this despite the drawbacks cited above?) so have you considered the mid-long term economics, desirability and usefulness/value of this space? 

Your initial post implies that it costs £8-£9k p.a. to maintain and operate but that someone pays rental or access fees equivalent to  half this - so you can obviously afford an extra four Grand odd on your utilities (more than my total annual energy and water bill on our 4-5 bedroom house).    But if the space is integral to the main house, (which I assume it is since you say it could convert to a "living" space, rather than a "garden" room?) what value would you put on that space;

- both in terms of your enjoyment over the next few years, and
- its potential for enhancing not only the quality of your life but the house's capital value for eventual re-sale (again, assuming this ain't your "forever" home?)

And how ambitious a project would it be, how much would it cost to convert and what would the the cash value of the enhancement?  (Homebuilding and Renovating Magazine's website has some helpful calculators if you ain't got a clue).

We live in a London area where property values are reasonable-to-high and have been amazed that the last 3-4 house sales in our street have been to neighbours who've moved in, then within a year or so, have started to rip the house apart, with renovation or extension projects which all over-ran in terms of time, cost, hassle and contractual disputes.  Three required the owners to move out for 3-12 months and the last one must have cost £300k plus; which seems daft! 

Whereas we converted a uselessly narrow integral garage about 20-24 Sq M  into a multi-purpose living space with an ensuite shower room, a  high level of insulation and a decent spec for £15-£16k or so.   And as we're getting on and can't face moving, this gave us some future proofing against getting so gaga that we can't manage the stairs to the 1st floor bedrooms and bathrooms.  An added room probably added £40k plus to the value.  Whereas I've read recently that pools can de-value a house?  

So while it's not simple spreadsheet issue, do the pros and cons?  Nice dilemma to have through?