We purchased an older home within walking distance of our kid's school, and are glad we did. House came with an in-ground pool (of unknown age/composition), though the pool was a very minor factor in our purchasing decision. We know nothing about pools and didn't know if we would eventually tear it out or use it when all our children could swim (youngest is toddler, so safety is a major concern). We could buy a "walk-on" cover, but that doesn't solve our entire problem.

The pool was empty when the listing pictures were taken. I've been reading here for a few weeks, so I now know that this was not good for the pool. It may be damaged.

I also learned recently from a neighbor that a teenager had apparently set fire to the pool years before. I can't see any "fire" damage, but again, I know NOTHING about pools. It could have been repaired.

When we saw the house with our agent, after a month or more on the market, the pool cover was torn and rain and leaves had turned it into a 1/3-filled, THICK, sludgy swamp. House was "as-is" and we knew we'd have costly projects to plan for financially, including pool.

We moved here in late October (chilly in Kansas), and were exhausted from moving ourselves, with a long list of indoor projects, so we figured we'd deal with it when the weather warmed.

Our dilemma is in deciding if it is worth spending an unknown amount of money to rent a pump of some kind, just to empty it to see if it's worth hiring someone to thoroughly clean and repair it, OR to spend the $5,000 to tear it out and fill in. (Won't it have to be emptied anyway, in order to drill holes in pool floor?)

Money is somewhat tight, and I am willing to do some work and get dirty to save thousands, but not hundreds, in this case. Pool company wanted to charge us a lot to just get it "ready for winter" last year, without fully resolving green swamp. I explained how bad it was, but they never saw it in person. Again, we weren't sure if we wanted to tear it out or not.

I'd love to be able to swim in our private pool, but safety of the kids and the financial aspect of yearly upkeep/repairs makes me dizzy.

Thoughts, please on this situation. Am I missing/not seeing something else that is important to this situation?