Ryan Lochte
I Sold My Florida Pool ...
Comes With a House
Exclusive
0907_ryan_lochte_pool
Ryan Lochte
just unloaded his giant Gainesville, Florida swimming pool ... which also happened to have a house attached to it, TMZ has learned.

The Olympic gold-medalist bought the pool way back in 2006 for $377,500 while he was still attending the University of Florida ... and sold it in late August for an undisclosed amount.

The pool comes with a 2,470 square-foot house (below) that boasts 4 bedrooms ... 2 baths and other home-esque things ... like a garage ... exterior walls ... fireplace etc.

But from the pics, it's obvious ... Lochte bought the place for the pool, which takes up the ENTIRE back yard.

0907_ryan_lochte_house

The timing of the sale (which closed just 4 days after the 2012 Games ended) came as no surprise ... considering the 11-time-Olympic medalist has repeatedly said that he wants to move to L.A. and pursue other careers ... like reality TV.

Step one ... complete.