I’m very much a beach person. I love the sound of the waves crashing into the sand…an early morning walk along the beach clears my head and sets me up for the day ahead.
And you’ve probably heard me say, when I’m looking for an overseas property for myself (in other words, not an investment property), one of my criteria is being close to a beach. My homes in Portugal and Mexico are both right by a beach.
But I know that not everyone is a fan of the sea and sand. For many people, they much prefer jumping into a swimming pool to cool off or clear the cobwebs away.
There was a time when owning a home with access to a pool was reserved for the wealthy. It’s thought that one of the first residential pools built in the U.S. was on the Vanderbilt estate in Asheville, North Carolina in 1895.
Nowadays, you don’t need a huge bank balance to buy a dream home with a pool as my research team discovered when they went in search of bargain homes with swimming pools.
Here’s what they found…
Quepos, Puntarenas, Costa Rica
Listing Price: $79,000
If you love fishing and nature, Quepos and the surrounding area, on Costa Rica’s central Pacific Coast might be the place for you. Once a sleepy fishing village, the town of Quepos is now a sportfishing capital and the site of the annual Offshore World Championship. And for nature lovers, the Manual Antonio National Park is close by. Walk through this tropical forest and you’ll see sloths, monkeys, macaws, toucans, iguanas, coatimundis, and other jungle inhabitants. At the end of the walking trail there’s an beautiful, long white-sand beach.
Just 15 minutes to the beach, near the town of Quepos, is this two-bed, two-bath condo. It features a small kitchen and an open-plan living/dining area. There’s also a patio area that overlooks the community’s shared swimming pool. Located in a resort community, it comes fully furnished.
Motul, Merida, Mexico
Listing Price: $124,900
Motul is a small town about a 30-minute drive from the buzzing city of Merida, on Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula. Foodies will love it here with the 20 de Noviembre mercado offering a vast array of local food to sample and fresh fruit and veg to take home. The main plaza is home to a colonial-style church along with museums that showcase the town’s history. Just a short drive away is all the big-city amenities Merida has to offer…art galleries, restaurants, cafes, and live music.
On the south side of Motul, in a quiet, leafy neighborhood, is this two-bed, one-bath home and a separate one-bed casita. The main house, which comes fully furnished, also has a kitchen/dining area, a living room, and a covered terrace. Outside, right next to the casita, you’ll find a large round pool with an island a seating area and the garden is planted with palm trees and tropical plants.
Vistabella Golf, Alicante, Spain
Listing Price: €86,000 ($98,580)
Located about 40 minutes from the city of Murica, and 25 minutes from the beach town of Torreviejo on Spains southeast coast, is the golf community of Vistabella. The main focus of this community is obviously the 12-hole golf course so this is one for all the golf lovers out there. You have the best of everything in this location…golf, beaches a short drive away, and the big-city amenities of Murica on your doorstep.
This two-bed, one-bath condo is located on the top floor of one of the buildings and is a corner unit. So the views from the glazed in terrace are of the surrounding countryside and the nearby salt lakes. There’s a fully fitted kitchen and a living room, and you have access to a rooftop terrace and there are two pools nearby. You’re also a short walk to the clubhouse and onsite restaurant and supermarket.
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