I receive calls from many prospective home buyers who are considering an inground pool in their backyard. Sometimes putting in a pool is NOT possible due to easements, sewer mains, bill of assurance issues, and most of all, not having enough distance between the house and the back property line. Some cities require a distance of ten feet off the house, and ten feet off the back property line.
If your total distance is thirty-five feet from house to property line (fence), that only leaves you fifteen feet width to place a pool in your yard. It’s essential to take pool plan design elements into account when evaluating your backyard space.
My best advice is to ALWAYS obtain a legal survey from the builder and /or seller at closing, or better yet, before you make an offer and move forward with the purchase of the home. This survey will depict any easements on the property, building setbacks, drainage easements if applicable, etc. More often than not, the survey is NOT conveyed over to the buyer at closing by the seller. Generally because the seller did not have one in the first place.
A typical residential survey cost around five hundred dollars or so depending on the property. A cost the seller does not want to have to pay. This can be negotiated between buyer and seller as well. Additionally, your pool contractor will need this survey to obtain the proper permit with the city. If you live outside the city limits, a permit is generally not required. As an aside, you can always contact your pool builder before you decide to purchase the home to assist you in your efforts to obtain whether or not a pool can be built in the yard.