The temperature is supposed to hit 32-degrees this afternoon in Toronto.

It’s days like this that we all wish we had a swimming pool in our backyards.

But is owning a pool worth the price, work, and risk involved?

That’s right—there’s risk.  Both in terms of liability and the potential negative effect it could have on the value of your house…

I suppose if you lived in a house like the one pictured above, you wouldn’t worry about the cost of constructing the pool or the cost of maintaining it.

But most people living in “modest” houses don’t have the luxury of not worrying about anything other than what type of caviar to serve at the next fundraiser…

Take a typical, fictional couple named Mark & Mary.  They have two children, aged three and six, and just purchased a house in North Toronto for $650,000.  The house itself is nothing special as it’s older and hasn’t been updated with 2008-type-flair, but it does have an extra wide and very long lot that could easily fit a swimming pool.

Summer is here, and they can’t stop thinking about what a great time they would be having if only the crummy backyard lawn was actually a pool with a diving board and a slide for their kids.

Most people don’t take the decision lightly, but those that do contemplate the installation of a pool usually think about all the wrong things.

People think about the cost, and usually that’s the only determining factor.

A typical 16 foot by 32 foot pool would cost about $25,000, all-in.  Now there are people that would install the pool for less, and surely there are people that would charge more, but this is a rough estimate of a typical backyard pool for a “modest” house in Toronto.

Now many people think to themselves, “We can afford $25,000, and think of all the great times we’ll have out there!”

Sure, who wouldn’t like to go for a swim today?  And how many friends, family, and neighbors will want to come over for a dip on a hot day?  Your children’s happiness will go through the roof, and, well, I’m sure your lives will be enlightened…

But $25,000 is for the “bare bones” pool, and more often than not, people commit to the installation and then keep adding-on during the process.  Is the pool going to be heated?  Do you want two drains, or just one?  What type of filter system are you going to install?  What size pool pump are you buying?

Yes, there is a lot to consider!  What type of maintenance and vacuum equipment will you purchase?  Are there going to be underwater lights?  And how about the decking!   Once you commit to putting in a pool, surely you’ll want a “nice” deck to surround your new purchase!

You could very well end up spending TWICE what you initially thought or contracted to at the onset, and what’s to say that you’ll stop at the cost of the pool itself?  What about the landscaping, lighting, and back patio?

While this might be a lot to think about, it’s not even the main concern, in my mind.

What I think about is this: Is a pool a good investment in your home?  Will a pool INCREASE the value?

Believe it or not, most knowledgeable Realtors would answer “no.”

A pool is a luxury, and perhaps a vanity.  As long as you know and acknowledge this, then you’re fine.

But many people don’t want pools, and if your home has one, you’re eliminating many people from the buyer pool (pardon the pun) when it comes time to sell.  If you spend $40,000 on a pool, and then $2000 per year maintaining it for five years, you can’t expect to get an extra $50,000 for your home when you sell it!  Remember that a pool is something that YOU wanted, and thus you are the one paying for it.

Pools increase the amount of home insurance you pay, since having a pool means increased risk.

Here is a hypothetical situation that is NOT a true account of me and my friends fifteen years ago: What if a bunch of kids decided one night to go “pool jacking” at 4AM (entering your backyard and helping themselves to a swim in your pool while you sleep) and one of them got injured in the process?  We’ve all heard about the burglar who got beaten by the home-owner and then sued the owner and won, so how are a bunch of stupid kids any different?

Put in a pool, and count on a huge increase in your home insurance!

Now consider the cost and maintenanceof the pool.  Bravo if you are going to open & close the pool yourself each year, but most people don’t.  And how much money is spent on the equipment needed to do this, in addition to the equipment needed during the summer months for upkeep on the pool itself?

The bottom line is that we are talking about pools in Toronto, not pools in general.  And let’s remember that Toronto really only has 60-70 days a year when the pool is going to achieve it’s maximum potential.  Yes, many people have heated pools, and many people spend a lot of money on professionals to maintain their pools, but with the crummy May weather running into June this year, you can see how we’re really only looking at July & August as “pool season” for 2008!

Take a look at the photo below:

This is a very large pool in a very small backyard, and it looks ridiculous to me.  There’s about two feet of space beside and behind the pool where you can tippie-toe around and try not to fall in.

If you have a large property, perhaps a pool makes sense.  But I find it comical when people try to cram a pool into their yards like this one above, or even when owners get greedy and put in a larger pool than they need and leave no other space in the yard behind their house.

Now look at the following picture:

We can deduce from the photo alone that the climate is such that a pool makes sense; that is to say that in Mexico, Arizona, or wherever this house is, you have 365 days worth of pool-weather.  We can also see that the property is quite large, and the pool doesn’t look out of place.

But you know what?

We live in Toronto, and it SNOWS!

When the temperatures hit -25 degrees, you can probably hear the concrete cracking!

A couple weeks ago, a contractor told me, “There were more people filling-in pools in Toronto last year than those installing them.”  Now I understand that statements based on multiple incidents of hearsay can’t be turned into a factual statistic, but surely there must be some truth to this, and surely there must be a reason.

If you can afford to spend money on something you’ll love, then by all means, install a pool.

But just as a Ferrari isn’t a “sound investment,” neither is installing a pool in a modest Toronto home.