Recently, homeowners of the BuzzFeed Community shared the pricier home splurges they think aren’t worth the money, and some of them are surprising. Here are some of the responses that, depending on whether you’re a homeowner or not, might just have you reconsidering before spending your hard-earned money:
1. “My house came with a jacuzzi tub. I hate that thing. The jets are nasty and impossible to keep clean.”
2. “We had a fancy gas stove but replaced it with an induction. An induction is easier to clean, heats faster, is environmentally safer, and turns itself off after removing the pan. It cooks beautifully, regardless of food type, temperature, cook time, etc.”
—Anonymous
3. “Rain shower heads. They’re not nearly as functional as a conventional wall-mounted head.”
4. “Pest control. I contract a company to get rid of ants, raccoons, squirrels, and bees around the house, and they supposedly come every month. Well, they didn’t, and when they did come, they didn’t do the whole house inside and out, just in the spots where I pointed at the ants. Then, I was told it was impossible to get rid of the pests, only control them. Honestly, buying the same chemicals and doing it yourself is cheaper.”
—Anonymous
5. “Using black grout in remodeling my bathroom. It looked absolutely beautiful and super modern at first, then after several months of cleaning, the black didn’t look black, and imperfections could easily be seen.”
6. “Solar. Do your homework first. We have it, and our electric costs are really about the same as before. And we will have a solar payment for 30 years. We have a friend who has the old-style ones from 20 years ago, and his max monthly utility cost during the Arizona summer was $69 this year. Ours was $290, and the solar payment was $130. We live blocks from our friend, and his house is bigger. Whatever they’re doing with residential solar now isn’t nearly as effective as it used to be.”
7. “A koi pond. Worst decision ever.”
8. “Fancy high-priced motion-activated exterior lighting. From my experience, these motion lights all have about the same lifespan, and replacement can occur every 2–4 years. Because of that, I don’t buy the most expensive, but I also don’t buy the cheapest. The second or third price tier do just fine.”
9. “Having gray wood flooring was a bad idea; it’s already dated, and it was everywhere when we were looking at homes. Pick timeless, not fad.”
10. “I bought all new windows for my home and regret paying $40K for the installation. Even though my windows did need to be replaced, I could have found a considerably cheaper brand. The lifetime warranty is somewhat of a joke. I have called several times to report a problem — with no response!”
11. “I always tell my friends not to get a pool. We literally live in Minnesota. We have no business getting a pool. I don’t know what we were thinking.”
12. “I hate my blinds. They ALWAYS look dirty. Never again!”
13. “Soapstone counters. I didn’t put them in, but the house’s previous owner did. They are a pain! They need to be regularly rubbed with oil in the first year. I tried to maintain them, but they oxidized at different rates. Places where I had things on the counter are lighter in color than the empty spots. In my opinion, soapstone counters look like crap.”
14. “A hot tub, for sure. It started off great, then when no one wanted to keep up the maintenance, it basically became a disgusting foot-soak tub that was unusable unless you wanted to sit in your own tepid tub of filth. It eventually became a storage space.”
15. “Tile kitchen countertops. Keeping the grout clean is difficult, but it looks nasty if you don’t keep up with it.”
