Have recently come across a listing with an empty below ground fibreglass pool. Im not too fussed on pools so probably wouldnt get it going again anyway if i lived there and from what i've read investors do not advise having them for investment properties due to ongoing maintenance costs etc. Property is only 10min from beach anyway so not essential in our hot climate. My question is; what would be involved in removing/covering it/decking over it? Has anyone had this problem or had a pool in their OO property they drained and got rid of? Was it relatively difficult or as simple as filling with cleanfill and tidying the edges? (Got this idea from a bloke who i filled a pool for with cleanfill, barrow by barrow...) Alternatively, are there ways to cover it so that you could use it again in the future if you wanted to? Cheers
The PM I use works in the northern suburbs of Perth. She told me houses with pools are easy for her to find tenants for.
I recently inspected a property which had a pool filled in with clean fill and some paperwork from the council of the decommissioning. Different councils have certain requirements to decommission pools . Go on to the appropriate council site for info.
Most empty pools are worthless and will take $$$$ to get working again as the water inside them keeps them structurally in shape. The pressure from the soil around it without water in it can lead to weak spots and cracks. If it's still useable and in an somewhat easy location some pool refurb places will remove it for free and they may have access to fill from a job to fill in the hole I think making a deck would just be too hard and you're better off filling it or removing it if you don't want it.
It is a requirement to seek a DA to remove a pool and comply with proper removal to avoid contamination. You cant just fill them in. If its fibreglass I suspect the council will require it to be removed and disposed properly and not retained in the earth. There are companies that specialise in pool removal. Fibreglass pools get craned in but cant be craned out as they are firmly stuck. They must be broken up. Remember its connected to power and sewer and they do check these terminations are compliant (ie licensed trades). They also may have rules about what type of fill is used and proof of its source. And only when they certify compliance may the fence then be removed.
Would like to know what you end up doing with this...! Old Fibreglass pools can be evil things, and once it's been empty for a while you have a dramatically higher chance of problems. That said, pools definitely do attract tenants. I achieve about $30-$50wk extra for properties with a pool up here in Logan... but even then, many of the pools are very old and problematic.
Where abouts is the property? Cairns tenants might view a pool differently to Hobart tenants Pools here do increase rental demand and rental price, but not really worth it from a cost and pita perspective. If i had an empty one I'd probably fill it in with sand and put garden over it.
