If the choice were between FIXING (cleaning/de-rooting/extending) an
existing septic system vs tying into the municipal sanitary sewer system,
the cost concerns probably come down on the side of repairing what you have.

Your choice, it seems, is between installing a (virtually new) septic system
vs city sanitary lines. I bet it'll be considerably cheaper to tie into the
city system.

Putting in a pool, like an extreme kitchen makeover, rarely pays for itself
in resale value. If you want it for YOU, go for it. But as an investment?
Forget it.

I finally found the person I need to talk to about getting hooked into
city/county sewage. That was always my first choice.

You guys are right, it might not be an effective investment to install
a pool, but I AM in Central Florida, hah hah. Everyone says it's not
cost effective, but pool home prices here don't seem to support that
argument. Either way, this is for us, not for the resale value.

The reason I mentioned equity, it that a pool home with the extra room
we want costs about 250k-265K in our area. That is about a 2300 sq ft
home with pool.

Our home is in the 1700 sq ft heated range, and we owe 105K on it. I
figure the upper range of doing what we want with the house is 95K, and
after all this we will still have 65K in equity. We plan on living here
for at minimum another 6 or 7 years, so.. It's a cost effective way to
get the dream home we want. Not doing these things for investment
potential at all.

It will be a little more house than the immediate neighbors, and we
realize there are drawbacks to that part for resale value, but that's
okay. After I come back from Iraq, my wife and I are planning on
changing careers, and plan on living in this town for awhile.

Russ