Chic vs. Geek: Pool party!

/

What do I need to know when buying/selling a home with a pool?

Modern pool house.jpg

CHIC (PEARL)

Demand for houses with pools has been on the rise in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, with more people sheltering in place and working from home. If you’re selling a home with a pool, an inspection report will detail any of these seven (7) drowning prevention safety measures:

  1. Separate enclosure that isolates pool/spa from the house;

  2. Removable mesh fencing with proper latch;

  3. Safety pool cover;

  4. Exit alarms on all doors providing direct access to the pool;

  5. Self-closing latching device 54” above ground;

  6. An alarm system that detects accidental or unauthorized entrance into the water; and

  7. Other means of prevention.

It’s the seller’s responsibility to pay for and retrofit the property with at least two drowning prevention safety measures.

GEEK (KEVIN)

Any purchase contract should specify who is responsible for compliance with pool safety standards: the buyer or the seller.

In a seller’s market like we’re experiencing right now, the buyer will generally take on the responsibility after the transfer of title on the home. This is the same concept as the plumbing fixtures we mentioned in a previous Chic vs. Geek.

However, it’s always a good idea for sellers to prepare their homes for sale by sprucing them up to make them more attractive to buyers and secure a much cleaner home inspection report. More buyers are apt to respond to a home that is well prepared and conditioned – and has nothing hiding beneath the floorboards, or the pool.

Want to learn more? Have a look at the state’s Health and Safety Code. And by the way…

California Senate Bill 442 which went into effect January 1, 2018, requires new and remodeled residential swimming pools and spas to include at least 2 of the 7 drowning prevention safety measures. The previous law only required one.