Damaged Swimming Pool?

[Tru Red]

It's the weekend and I'm stumped. Have a VA refinance appraisal. The house is really bad. Floor covering is missing in more than half the house. Ceiling is unfinished and unpainted in many rooms (by unfinished I mean it looks like they scrapped off the acoustical and just left it at that). Lots of chipping, scaling, cracking paint on the fascia boards. It's the pool that has me stumped. It is in VERY bad condition. No water in it and the plaster is chipping, scaling (and every other bad thing it can be). Photo included. I asked the homeowner how he purchased it....just like it is with a VA loan 3 years ago he told me. Does anyone know the VA stance on a pool in this condition? I have read the pool reference in the handbook but I'm still not clear on what I should do. The guy wants additional money to make repairs but he hasn't done much of anything since he bought it 3 years ago. Subject to is one option with a value. As-is is another value all together. Thoughts?

 

[Randolph Kinney]

I do FHA appraisals. From FHA:

Swimming Pools

The Appraiser must report readily observable defects in a non-covered pool that would render the pool inoperable or unusable. If the pool water contains algae and is aesthetically unappealing, but the Appraiser has no evidence that the pool is otherwise contaminated, no cleaning is required. Swimming pools must be operational to provide full Contributory Value.

The Appraiser must condition the appraisal report for pools with unstable sides or structural issues to be repaired or permanently filled in accordance with local guidelines, and the surrounding land re-graded if necessary.

Question: Is the pool water tight? Chipping and scaling need repair but the structural integrity is unknown from your photo.

Here is a dead giveaway for not being water tight:



At the very least you need to call for a pool inspection to know the extent of the repairs.

 

[Tru Red]

Interesting. Thank you for the information. The structural integrity is an unknown. From all the photos I took...I simply cannot tell.

 

[Tru Red]

As suspected the appraisal will have to be completed subject to repair of the flooring, pool and all the defective paint.

 

[Pilgrum]

Not a VA Appraiser. However. I would think that if it doesn't hold water it is just a hole in the ground. Hence a safety concern.

 

[Tom D]

learned from a recent homeowner with a leaking pool that it cost the same amount to take out an inground pool as it does to put one in. a useless pool is not a small dollar amount.

 

[Dave Atkins]

Hey Scott ~ I am currently doing a VA appraisal on a house with an in-ground pool that's not filled and has some green water located on the bottom. I wasn't sure, so I googled it and found your forum here. I checked the VA handbook just now and found this:

The cleaning of the pool is considered cosmetic if the water in the pool is green but light enough that the bottom of the pool can be seen. If the pool water is dark
and thick with considerable algae growth, it is unsanitary and unsafe and must be cleaned. VA does not require the pool to be filled with water.

 

[Tru Red]

Hey Scott ~ I am currently doing a VA appraisal on a house with an in-ground pool that's not filled and has some green water located on the bottom. I wasn't sure, so I googled it and found your forum here. I checked the VA handbook just now and found this:

The cleaning of the pool is considered cosmetic if the water in the pool is green but light enough that the bottom of the pool can be seen. If the pool water is dark
and thick with considerable algae growth, it is unsanitary and unsafe and must be cleaned. VA does not require the pool to be filled with water.

Hey Dave.....I had found the same thing. I did the appraisal report subject to per the VA and the homeowner never came back. They had several other issues as well. Thanks!