Technical > Home Improvement > Pricing a hot tub to sell

Pricing a hot tub to sell

I had a renter leave one of those behind...once.

Initially it looked in good order, and the pump worked.
The spa was the type that had spray foam under it for insulation.

After some more inspection, we decided to give it away to anyone that wanted it. I felt it was not an insurance / drowning risk that I wanted to take as a landlord.

Once emptied we tried to lift it...that was an exercise in futility.
Upon closer inspection, there were micro fractures in the fiberglass.
Those fractures had leaked water and the spray foam soaked up the water like one huge sponge making it impossibly heavy to move. The more we tried to move it, the more fractures we created.

Long story short, a couple of worker came in broke it up and took it to the dump.

I hope you have better luck with yours than I did.

Hope you kept the security deposit.

reply to John_W
Hot tubs are big money losers. I think they are worse than new cars.
Given the condition, you'd be really lucky to unload it onto some sucker for $1,000.
If you fixed the broken things, probably $1,500 -$2,000. That's only if it is really clean and in excellent condition.

Call some pool / spa places. Some of them buy used equipment if its easily repairable and in otherwise good shape.
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reply to John_W
Is there even a market for used hot tubs? Here in the Austin area I see 10-15 FREE ones on Craigslist every week.

Oh well. I'll throw something on craigslist. If I get any interest, I get interest. If not, It stays put.

reply to John_W
If you can get it off your property without paying a moving or disposal fee you are ahead of the curve.

I work on these things six days a week and get this question several times a month.

If you monitor the tubs posted on craigslist you'll see tub owners trying to sell used tubs at 50% retail in an economy where hot tub dealers have trouble selling brand new tubs with full warranties.

I routinely watch some tubs drop from 50% to FREE in the course of a few weeks. Here in San Diego, the 'hot tub moving and disposal' listings on craigslist outnumber the 'hot tub for sale' listings by about 50 to 1 (Yeah...the scrappers and haulers are mega-spammers).

The trouble with offering a free tub on cragslist is liability. If somebody tries to move the tub and damages your property (i.e., the tub crashes into your house) or gets hurt (i.e., the tub crushes somebody) you can be liable for the damages or injury even if you have signed waivers.

As a hot tub repair technician, I would be inclined to say keep it and fix it except it's a rental property. If you leave the tub, you are liable for it being properly wired to code and should provide the next tenant with an owner's manual or at least all the health warnings that appear in the first few pages of every manual from every manufacturer. You should also seek legal advice and add a hot tub addendum to your lease agreement.

In the long run, paying to have it hauled away and dumped may be the cheapest and wisest option.

reply to John_W
I'm only half-kidding on this ... you could invite some neighbors over for a hot-tub party and if somebody likes it, tell them you'll give it to them. Start negotiating with them moving it, and if they don't agree to that, offer to have it moved to their property.

If it's damaged while moving, well, go into it knowing that's a risk and be prepared to pay a reasonable disposal fee.

Of course once they get it installed they'll invite you to check it out. I would never want one, but I sure wish one of my neighbors had one!
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reply to John_W
As said before, in this economy it be hard to move unless you sold it for super cheap, like $1000 or under. Its a bitch to move those things too.

I had one that came with my house when I bought it in 1999. It was a Jacuzzi brand one that was outside sunken into the deck and open to the weather for 15 years prior. It still worked and I had my fun with it for a few years but got tired of it after it started acting up with a leak somewhere in the plumbing and the motor went out on it. My brother and I finally took a sawzall to it and put it out at the curb little by little till it was gone.
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reply to John_W


Hot tubs are truly a past fad, and most people I know that had them either regret it now, or they have already given them away for nothing.

When we did a remodel here, we re-purposed the "hot tub room" into a sunroom, and made partial payment to the contractor by giving him the tub, since he had to take out two windows to get it out of the house.

reply to John_W
The Hot Springs Portables are actually not too difficult to move. You just lift them onto their sides and roll them on a dolly. And it's already outside, so no issue getting it out of a room. Just have to unhook it from the Sub-Panel and off it goes.

Not quite sure why anyone would regret owning one. It's not like a pool where it is a maintenance nightmare. They are just kind of there.

I'm short selling my house, and if it ain't nailed down, it is getting sold off. I really don't care if I get $100 for the thing. If no one wants it, oh well. It just remains where it is.
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reply to mattmag