One word: Mosquitos

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"When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace." Jimi Hendrix

Few things to think about.

Is it a pond in the spring but a muddy puddle in the late summer? Who does it attract besides the neighbors? Does it smell? What animals does it attract?

I live on a pond about that size. It's not really swimmable, but the neighborhood kids get a lot of use out of it. Kayaks, fishing, hockey, etc. It makes for a nice view and it brings in wildlife. Geese, ducks, heron and even an occasional bald eagle.

As a downside there is some danger involved. It is going to take some care to keep your kids safe. Also possible liability issues, although our association technically owns the waterfront.

My parents house is on a pond. It was stocked with some fish (neighbor was/is avid hunter/fisher and would randomly stock fish in there). Thing is, the pond back there is a storm drain pond that eventually makes it into the local lake in the city. Bunch of run-off from the neighorhood (and storm runnoff) for lawn fertilizer and chemicals makes it way into there. The thing is now full of algae and invasive milfoil plants when it is warmer (only 1 month total after the thaw it isn't filled with weeds). Plus it is muddy so I wouldn't want to set any barefoot into that pond too. Mosquitoes really suck for quite some time too in the summer (but the city has gotten better about spraying for that so it isn't terrible anymore). We used to sled and the neighbors would plow a skating rink back there when I was growing up. Now there are too many trees my parents planted back there so now sledding cannot be safely done. Too bad for my kid as that was a perfect sized hill to sled all day (steep enough but not too steep to tire yourself up climbing it repeatedly).

Fun but I think living on a lake would be better. Pond, not so much worth it...but, your neighbors behind your house are several hundred yards away instead of a stones throw away. So there's that.

Oh, one more thing to add...the stupid Canada Geese. They'd hang out in our backyard (no fence...both neighbors had them) so geese poop was everywhere. That sucked and didn't want to play outside back there because of it some days.

I'm pretty sure that kayaking/boating on a pond that size would get boring pretty quickly. With the runoff from the yards, it probably wouldn't be a good pond to swim in.

That being said, it could make for a nice view, and you wouldn't have to worry about someone building a house behind you.

I have lived on a lake for 15 years. I don't take advantage of it like many people do, though we do enjoy the view and the peace and quiet. My neighbor's son is usually out fishing on it 4-5 days a week after school and on weekends.

As Nova said, there could be issues with mosquitoes, though they are bad in other places as well.

Big time this! Have you ever gotten stuck between a canadian goose and its nest? I recommend you don't. A lot of my running routes change because of the nesting season.

Depending on how it was set-up you could be a part owner in the dam/spill-way structure which can be very expensive if there are issues.

My beach house is on a pond that size, and I love it. We get ducks, heron, osprey, eagles, geese. No mosquitoes but that could be because there are several fountains on the pond. The sound from the fountains is a huge plus too. My neighbor stocked it a couple years ago and a few kids fish it. We are not supposed to go in or on the water (pond belongs to the neighborhood) and I got bitched out last year for hosting a hockey game. Hopefully, your association is a little more lenient.

What's the point?

So kids can fish in it, dude can stock it, but a hockey game is a no-no?

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How does Danny Hart sit down with balls that big?

Yeah, the lame excuse I got was that there is a liner under the pond and someone could fall through the ice and damage the liner with a skate blade. Dubious argument, I think. They just want to tell people what to do, in my opinion.

You must be a glass half empty kind of guy. This is a perfect opportunity for interval training. :)

Now, I'll leave before Blep shows up.

Too late, Bitch.

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How does Danny Hart sit down with balls that big?

Dang. If real cops could respond as quickly as you, we'd all be a lot safer.

It's not your property so their rationale is irrelevant.

Our old condo sits on a pond. It impacted life there so little I forgot all about it. Never noticed any increase in bugs. No one that I know of ever boated on it at all. People would fish from shore. The electricity to run the fountains was one fo the biggest expenses for the condo association. I thought about using it for open water swimming but never actually did it.

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I'm beginning to think that we are much more fucked than I thought.

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"When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace." Jimi Hendrix

just make sure there are no public 'easement' provisions in the title, or property owners association contract. You don't want people walking / driving across your property to get to the pond.

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Remember - It's important to be comfortable in your own skin... because it turns out society frowns on wearing other people's

We live on a small lake in our backyard. We love it. Although I don't currently use the lake at all. It is a beautiful view, attracts all kinds of gorgeous wildlife, and many of my neighbors fish routinely. It also helps with property value.

As soon as I get some time away from renovating the house, I'll get some use out of the yard and get out on the lake. I'd like to get one of those little platform boats with an electric trolling motor to do some fishing at some point.

ETA: I guess I should have answered your question about pros/cons:

Pros:
Boosts property value
Nice view
Up for use of the property owners along the lake to fish, etc.

Cons:
We did have to install an invisible fence (buried) to contain our dog. She jumped in the lake and couldn't get out due to the bulkhead.
I guess it could pose some risk for small children too, if they're left unattended?