Can a swimming pool be included in the GLA?

[Winds]

The pool shouldn't be your question, its the room. If the room is heated and constructed to acceptable standards then you count the space. It doesn't matter whats in the room.
I met a guy once who parked his Ferrari in his living room. Big sliding glass doors, drove it right in. Its still a living room and counted as GLA. Just because he put a car in there didn't make it a garage.

 

[residentialguy]

The pool shouldn't be your question, its the room. If the room is heated and constructed to acceptable standards then you count the space. It doesn't matter whats in the room.
I met a guy once who parked his Ferrari in his living room. Big sliding glass doors, drove it right in. Its still a living room and counted as GLA. Just because he put a car in there didn't make it a garage.

I've done that with my Harley...that stopped when I got married

 

[Winds]

I've done that with my Harley...that stopped when I got married

I heard that. Theres no way my wife would allow the bike in the house. But I've seen it done. I met a guy who every winter he brought his bike into the living room, took it all apart, cleaned every piece, and got it back together just in time for spring riding.

 

[J Grant]

The pool shouldn't be your question, its the room. If the room is heated and constructed to acceptable standards then you count the space. It doesn't matter whats in the room.
I met a guy once who parked his Ferrari in his living room. Big sliding glass doors, drove it right in. Its still a living room and counted as GLA. Just because he put a car in there didn't make it a garage.

Big difference between parking a car in a room, which is transient use ( and the car is not built int) and a swimming pool, which is built in, and as others mentioned, could be a safety issue if kids are present, uses up space normally reserved for living room, could present mildew or other maint issues.

The question is "can" the pool space be included in GLA, technically the answer is yes, if it is built in quality to main dwelling, and on public records as living space, and meets other tests of GLA/heat, AC , windows etc.

Just because this pool room GLA is included in living area does not mean it the market would recognize it as usable living area, or address the issue of how the marketability/functional/appeal of the built in pool impacts the contributory value of the GLA.

 

[NorthTexValuation]

I'd be more concerned with overall marketability than its GLA. I'd never consider such a house for purchase, and I'd bet 99.9% of the population wouldn't either.

Very astute observation.

Only one reason that I would not waste my time attempting to appraise this POC. Find an appraiser that specializes in these sort of oddballs.

I've got way more than enough work to keep me busy AND out of potential trouble. I make every assignment choice based on having good comps no matter the price range. No good comps, me no do appraisal.

 

[NorthTexValuation]

I met a guy once who parked his Ferrari in his living room. Big sliding glass doors, drove it right in. Its still a living room and counted as GLA. Just because he put a car in there didn't make it a garage.

Hell yeah, reminds me of good ol' Dan Tanna's pad.

And his secretary was smokin hot....

 

[DMZwerg]

maybe its GSA...gross swimming area. Dock if not olympic standard size..

I think it could depend on whether or not it has a retractable cover, otherwise an inground pool would technically be "open to below" and could as basement area, no?

Figure I add a little more muck to the discussion

I noticed somebody else already pointed this out ...

For arguments sake lets say you have a 2nd floor that is 40X40 with a 10X10 “open to below” area. That 100 sf would be subtracted from the GLA. I would think it’s the same for the pool.

I would note that in this response RG is referring to what is more obviously an indoor pool house (detached, attached, makes no difference) and responded accordingly.

No, not in my opinion.

So Ken...do you include all attached pool houses as GLA? I don't. That's not to say that I don't give it credit. I just don't feel that this is considered "living area".

I suppose you have a valid argument in doing so. You can do the same with enclosed porches. How would the market view it? OP has a very unique situation and my concern would be more on the obsolesce side rather than on it being GLA or not.

Bottom line, I think Motown nails this one from the perspective of whether or not it CAN be included.

What some people look at and immediately think "enclosed porch" may or may not be GLA. What matters is the construction of the area, and if certain attributes are consistent with the rest of the house (common roof, insulation, heating/cooling, ventilation, etc). Please read the ANSI standards

In the final analysis it is not just whether or not it CAN be included, but whether or not it SHOULD be included, which centers on how the local market views such areas, be they porches, pool rooms, or finished basement areas. Then this is all filtered through how the appraiser decides to report and adjust for it in the final report, taking into account comps used. So "it depends" is the real answer.

 

[prasercat]

What is the worst scenario? - Almost all potential buyers wouldn't care for the pool. What then? Construct a floor over the pool? What is the solution and how does it impact the offer price.

Then there is the issue of not "double counting" the pool footage contribution and GLA footage contribution.

It may be easier, depending upon comps, to look at this space as a pool room addition. This would allow you to break free of the mechanically applied value per footage that occurs when you include it as GLA on the grid. There isn't anything magical about GLA as far as value goes. The addition can have more value, less value or the same value per square foot building area as the rest of the home.

Pools could be considered a kind of living area - ever heard of pool furniture? It would be a specialty use area; such as, an indoor racquetball or basketball court, sauna, home-theater, wine cellar, etc. The competing market provides evidence of contributory value and what degree of obsolescence if evident.

 

[residentialguy]

What is the worst scenario? - Almost all potential buyers wouldn't care for the pool. What then? Construct a floor over the pool? What is the solution and how does it impact the offer price.

Then there is the issue of not "double counting" the pool footage contribution and GLA footage contribution.

It may be easier, depending upon comps, to look at this space as a pool room addition. This would allow you to break free of the mechanically applied value per footage that occurs when you include it as GLA on the grid. There isn't anything magical about GLA as far as value goes. The addition can have more value, less value or the same value per square foot GLA as the rest of the home.

Pools are a kind of living area - ever heard of pool furniture?

Thank you for saving my a lot of typing

 

[Don Clark]

For the record, here is the first house in the USA to have an indoor swimming pool. It also has the first indoor bowling alley. I doubt that the appraiser who appraised this house excluded either from the GLA.

See attachment>

http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/asheville/bil.htm