A custom pool is a major investment, and most homeowners in the Triad do not pay for it in a single lump sum. They combine some cash with financing, or they finance the whole thing, and the route they choose shapes what the project feels like month to month for years. We build pools, we do not lend money, and nothing here is financial advice. What we can do is lay out the paths homeowners around High Point commonly use so you walk into a lender's office already knowing the questions to ask.
One rule sits above all the others: get real, current numbers from an actual lender before you commit to anything. Rates, terms, and what you qualify for change constantly and depend on your credit, your equity, and the lender. Any figure you read online today is stale. Compare written offers from more than one source.
Paying Cash
The simplest path is cash. No application, no interest, no lien on your home, and the project's cost is exactly the price of the pool. The trade-off is opportunity cost and liquidity. Draining your savings into a backyard leaves you thin if a roof or a transmission arrives the same year. Many homeowners who could pay all cash choose to finance part of the build anyway to keep a cushion intact. If you do pay cash, still keep a reserve for the ongoing cost of owning a pool in North Carolina, because the build is only the first number.
Home Equity Loan
A home equity loan borrows against the equity you have built in your house and hands it to you as a lump sum you repay over a fixed term. Because it is secured by your home, the terms are often more favorable than unsecured borrowing, and a fixed structure gives you a predictable payment. The trade-off is real and worth stating plainly: your house is the collateral. You are also limited by how much equity you actually have. This is a common route for homeowners who have owned for a while and have equity to draw on.
HELOC (Home Equity Line of Credit)
A HELOC is also secured by your home, but instead of a lump sum it works like a credit line you draw against as you need it, often with a variable rate. That flexibility fits a pool build well, because you can draw funds in stages as the project hits its phases rather than borrowing everything on day one. The flip side of a variable rate is that your payment can move over time. As with a home equity loan, your house backs the debt.
Cash-Out Refinance
A cash-out refinance replaces your existing mortgage with a larger one and gives you the difference in cash for the pool. Whether this makes sense depends entirely on how the new mortgage compares to your current one, which is a personal calculation only your lender can run with today's numbers. In some rate environments it is attractive; in others it means giving up a good existing mortgage to fund a backyard, which rarely pencils out. Do not assume; ask a lender to model it against your actual loan.
Unsecured Pool and Home-Improvement Loans
Plenty of lenders offer unsecured loans marketed specifically for pools or general home improvement. The appeal is that they do not put a lien on your home and they can fund without the equity you need for the options above, which makes them a route for newer homeowners. The trade-off is that unsecured debt generally carries less favorable terms than secured borrowing, because the lender takes on more risk. Read the full terms, not just the headline, and confirm there are no surprises around prepayment or fees.
Builder-Referred Lenders
Many pool builders, including us, can point you toward lenders who finance pool projects and understand the phased nature of the work. A referral can save you time and connect you with someone who has done these loans before. Treat it as a convenient starting point, not the finish line. Take any builder-referred offer and compare it against your own bank or credit union before you sign. A good builder wants you to shop it, because a homeowner who is comfortable with their financing is a homeowner who enjoys the pool.
Match Your Draws to the Construction Phases
However you finance, think about timing. A pool is built in stages, and payment to the builder is normally tied to completed milestones rather than paid all upfront. Financing that lets you draw funds as those milestones arrive, like a HELOC, lines up naturally with how the money actually goes out the door. It is worth understanding the pool build timeline before you finalize a financing structure, so your funding availability matches when payments are actually due.
Budget for the Whole Project, Not Just the Shell
The most common financing mistake is borrowing for the pool alone and forgetting everything around it. A finished backyard includes decking, fencing where required, landscaping, and sometimes grading or drainage work, and those are real line items. Then there is the ongoing cost once the water is in. Before you settle on a loan amount, get clear on what drives pool construction cost so you finance the complete project and are not scrambling to fund the deck after the pool is dug. If your timeline has any flexibility, it is also worth reading up on the best time of year to build a pool in NC, because when you start can affect scheduling and planning around your financing.
The Bottom Line on Financing
There is no single best way to pay for a pool; there is the way that fits your equity, your savings, your comfort with debt, and today's actual numbers. Get written offers from at least two sources, compare the total cost and the terms rather than just the monthly payment, and borrow for the entire project instead of just the hole in the ground. Once you know your budget, we can design a pool that fits it honestly. To talk through a build for your High Point or Guilford County home, contact Oasis Pools and we will help you scope the full project so your financing conversation is grounded in real numbers.