--- "Yeah I'm in PA, not to far from NJ and Philly. I'm looking for a used hot tub, I didnt want to outlay 8k in these uncertain times. So I thought I could find something that would last us a few years until we get out of this awful recession. I am holding out for the right deal and I dont want somebody else's junk. A moving sale would be ideal!" --- Why not place a few ads stating that you're looking for a used hot tub? There may be someone near you who doesn't use their tub and would welcome the opportunity to have it removed. I'm a home inspector. It's not unheard of to find a hot tub staying with the house and the buyer saying that they don't want it. Maybe you can contact some home inspectors in your area and offer them a finders fee if they would run into a similar situation and you work out a deal for a tub. --- "How on earth did you find the website design on a msg board? You are a true inpector indeed. I dont even think it's the 'real' Whirlpool name that we all know since they are using a hyphen in their spelling." --- I Googled the name. That message board was the first result - ahead of the website itself. Now THAT tells you something. I think it's safe to say that the appliance company is in no way related. --- "I read your post twice, I only see one contradiction where they say 'they work with whirl-spa manufacturers' but their biz name indicates THEY ARE the manufacturer. Plus on their 'About Us' page they indicate they are the 3rd largest spa manufacturer in the world. They certainly dont appear to live up to that, per their dinky site." --- Well, -I- went back and read it carefully, and it's only four. Oops. You picked up the most blatant one. Two of the others are similar: They claim to have been contracted to liquidate excess inventory, but yet they also claim to be the manufacturer, and they take pride instead of we take pride. Also, the claim of selling dirt cheap to avoid additional storage and transportation fees does not jibe with the reason they are being liquidated. There are also a few minor errors that a large, legit company simply wouldn't have on their website, such as capitalizing dealer and not capitalizing Home Depot. For having been in business 15 years, it's mighty strange that the domain name has only been registered since July 15, 2008. It was registered through GoDaddy, something that I doubt the third largest spa manufacturer in the world would do. A whois search revealed the registrant is Lianna Lawson. Ms. Lawson had a candle company called Winning Wicks that she apparently operated out of her home in Jonesborough, Tennessee. I say HAD, because there doesn't seem to be an active web site for the company. I'm guessing that the candle company folded and she's now selling hot tubs out of her house, over the internet. Joe Here is a link that might be useful: Winning Wicks

Whether well chlorinated or not, I'm still grossed out sitting in the tub with others. For me, the tub would have to be BLEACHED before every use. DH & myself would have to shower BEFORE using it. It would have to be scrubbed & disinfected after use. I do not like to sit in chlorinated, stinky water. It would be too much upkeep for me. I can see each tub visit as a full days ordeal-no thanks! I feel the same way about pools. I lived in a nice community in FL, where we had a nice size pool maintained by the Homeowners Association. This was an affluent community. I used to do laps in it. Then I noticed the mothers with their kids in DIAPERS. Sorry ya'll that is plain GROSS! DO NOT tell me about chlorine. I do not care to swim in a pool full of pee, chlorinated or not. One day the pool was closed. On close inspection, someone had POOPED in it. The feces were at the bottom of the pool. They were going to "clean it up". I didn't want to know HOW they were going to do it. I didn't think they were going to drain it. I never set foot in that or another pool, again. That was 18 years ago! If I were interested in a home that had a pool or a hot tub, I would stipulate the removal of both. I would suggest NOT to advertise the pools or tubs, because you are limiting your viewers. You are better off leaving it as a surprise. Some will like it, but most will not. If someone falls in love with your house, they'll deal with it, one way or another...

"Isn't it funny how so many who have the tubs never use them yet when people look for a home they love seeing a jet tub in the master bath? Is it just the "thought" of that magificent soak we all wish for but never take that puts in our minds that we must have the tub?" Ditto with all the chef kitchens with professional ranges. In my area, hardly anybody cooks in their chef kitchen because everybody is too busy. OP renovates for resale, i.e. bang for the buck, which isn't necessarily primarily for functionality.

I think having the hot tub in the sun would be better to help keep things dry and less slippery. The door 'off the kitchen' is not the same as the kitchen door, but that is the door you will use for outdoor dining. I sure don't want to look out the kitchen window at the tub. But now you have your dining next to the hot tub which seems wrong to me, but you did say it is a luxury 8 person tub so it should be pretty. Still some gentle screening between the two might be in order. Plus the dining will be better in the shade. So say you make a patio perpendicular to the house. Can you keep the half of the deck where the lounge chairs are which seems it might have a sliding door from a living space? There has to be some kind of connection from that door to the patio. Landscaping to screen the tub will have to go out in the sun in the lawn not up against the house anyway.