Miami Beach Luxury Houses with Pools

One of the advantages to owning a luxury house with a pool in Miami is the ability to create your own back yard oasis – a place to soak in the sun, exercise, and play without prying eyes spying on your outdoor habitat. But along with the perks of a pool come responsibilities.

Safety First

Naturally, you want to keep your little ones or little house guests safe. Where children are a regular presence, swimming pools should be gated and securely locked to prevent accidents. As uncomfortable as it is to think about, Florida had the highest drowning death rate in 2003-2004 of toddlers age 1-4, three times the national average. Sixty-five percent of those accidental drownings happened in the swimming pool. Accidents do happen, but they can be prevented by properly securing the swimming pool.

Maintaining Paradise

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if swimming pools stayed crystal clear all year-round with little or no effort? It would, but they don’t. If you’re not hiring a professional pool service to handle the dirty work, there are four elements to keeping a swimming pool crystal clear and pleasurable to enjoy.

• Skimming: You should skim your pool frequently, if not daily. If the pool is not indoors or covered, all sorts of debris finds its way into your swimming sanctuary. Using the skimmer, you can remove leaves, trash, or other unwanted debris.

• Vacuuming & Brushing: Skimming takes care of the floaters, but doesn’t satisfy all of the pool cleaning tasks. The pool must be vacuumed, and the sides and bottom of the pool need brushed, freeing the walls and floor of the pool from slime and grime.

• Chemistry: You must maintain the proper chemical balance in your swimming pool if you don’t want it looking more like Florida swampland. Keep the water safe for swimming.

• Water Level: The water level in your swimming pool is important. Water, when at proper levels, flows through filters and into a cleaning system. If water levels are too low, it doesn’t flow properly through the system for cleaning. Check filters regularly and remove any build up as soon as possible.

But, of course, there are ample pool services available in Miami who can tend to your pool year-round.

When Winter Comes

Granted, winter in Florida is nothing like winter in other parts of the country, but experts still recommend you winterize your pool. To winterize the pool, remove all debris. Brush and clean thoroughly. Balance the chemicals, then cover the pool. It’s not a lot of effort and could save you a ton of trouble come spring.

See Ya Later, Alligator!

More than a million alligators make their home in Florida. Although rare, they have been known to kill. As the population of alligators grows, so does the strange occurrence that an alligator decides to take a dip in the family pool. Who would have thought you have to check the pool over for watery reptiles before taking a dip? Sightings of scaled skinny dippers in the family pool are becoming more and more frequent – and sometimes they are big!

In March 2016, an alligator weighing in at a whopping 300 pounds was found making a splash in a Florida resident’s pool. That’s not a danger to take lightly.

Snakes have also been known to make their way into the family recreational waters. Some are harmless, but others can be deadly.

If you see a creepy crawler of the reptilian sort in your pool, do not attempt to remove it yourself. There is a plethora of alligator removal services that can safely and properly remove the alligator.

Liabilities

Owning a pool may add quality to your life and value to your property, but it also increases your liability. When you own a home with a pool, you may need to increase your homeowners’ insurance as much as three times the amount of standard liability insurance. Furthermore, you may benefit from adding an umbrella policy.

Summing it Up

There are benefits and risks to buying a home with a pool. When the risks are respected, the pool pays off. Practice safety, maintain the pool properly, beware of outside threats such as alligators or snakes, and make sure your liability insurance is sufficient. When all that’s said and done, enjoy your fun in the sun! Oh, and don’t forget sunscreen.

Your best source for real estate and community information is your real estate agent. Contact Juan Leal at 305-982-7405 to learn more about local neighborhoods, discuss selling your house, or to tour available homes in Miami and surrounding areas.