3 home improvements that are a waste of money

Home improvements are great, and can do a lot to both make your house more enjoyable and appealing, but that doesn't mean that every enhancement is worth spending money on. Not all additions to a house will improve its value or provide any sort of return on investment at all. In fact some will drain money for years following their completion. 

While you may not have all of these additions, avoiding them in the future can save loads of hypothetical cash to be spent on something more valuable. 

Home improvements that won't help you save any money include:

1. A swimming pool
Yes, swimming pools can be extremely fun and a great way to cool off, but they are also exceedingly expensive. They raise insurance rates, can be a safety hazard, and require a lot of maintenance, according to Real Estate Communities. Especially if you don't plan on being in the home long, pools can be financially prohibitive. 

Before a pool is even finished, Yahoo called it a "$25,000 to $50,000 gamble." The media outlet noted that after the pool is finished it can cost over $2,000 per year to maintain including heating, insurance and filter and pump repairs. Pools will add to the home value, between 6 percent and 11 percent for an in-ground pool, depending on location. But the increase in home value may not be enough to cover what you may spend on it over the years. 

2. A sunroom
While enjoyable and visually pleasing - depending on location - sunrooms can also be a massive financial drain. A 200-square-foot sunroom with windows, vented skylights, a sliding door and wiring can cost over $74,000 according to Yahoo. The value of a sunroom can drop by 54 percent or more by sale. 

This is especially important if your sunroom is out-of-character with the rest of your neighborhood, noted Real Estate Communities. While additional square footage can increase value, a home's price is partially based off of the neighborhood in which it is located. Your addition won't see a huge return if it is worth too much for your neighborhood. 

3. A bathroom addition
Yahoo stated that even a cheap bathroom addition can cost upward of $40,000. While having an additional bathroom would understandably be extremely nice in regard to personal space and privacy, that $40,000 may end up being a loss in the long run. While it is true that the bathroom addition will increase home value, the media outlet explained that it will likely increase by only half of what you invested. That means that a $40,000 investment into a new bathroom will net you $20,000 upon the sale of your home, resulting in a $20,000 loss.