Strange Home Features That Could Throw Buyers Off

The quirky and unique features of a home might accurately showcase a homeowner’s personality, but they might not necessarily be very good at impressing buyers. Some features could actually throw buyers off and even confuse them to the point that making an offer is off the table.

Personalizing a home is great, as it can make family members more comfortable. But when it comes time to sell, such features can work against homeowners.

Here are a few odd features that could throw buyers off and potentially derail a sale.

Converted Garages

Some homeowners who find themselves short on space may turn to their garages to provide them with the extra room required. Whether it’s to house a fitness area or a man cave, the extra space of a garage can certainly come in handy.

But many buyers who actually want a garage that serves its original purpose might not appreciate garage conversions. One of the rules of home staging is to showcase every room in the home with its intended purpose.

A dining room should be outfitted as a dining room, for example. This will help show buyers what each space is supposed to be used for without any confusion.

Bidets

Not something you’ll see in the average home, bidets are typically located next to the toilet and are designed to wash certain private areas of the body. Buyers will definitely wonder what they are and might be confused as to what their purpose may be. And perhaps they might not want to know, after all.

Oversized Statues

Whether it’s in the middle of the front yard or the center of the foyer, a massive statue might be of significance to the homeowner but might be overwhelming for buyers. And if the statue has some sort of political or religious affiliation, that can be even more off-putting.

Getting rid of these statues can also be a major endeavor, so any buyers who may be interested in a particular home may wonder what type of effort and cost would be involved in removing them, which could add to the costs of making the purchase.

Pet Rooms

A rising trend among homeowners with pets is installing a mudroom specifically for furry friends. These include shower stalls that make it ultra convenient to wash messy pets that have just come from a frolick in the mud before they’re allowed to trot around inside the home. But for buyers who might not be pet lovers, these rooms might be considered a bit of a waste of space.

Strange Looking Plants in the Yard

Landscaping plays a huge role in the aesthetics of a home and is a key component to curb appeal. Sellers should certainly maximize their curb appeal in order to attract the masses of buyers. But certain types of plants could actually raise an eyebrow or two among buyers.

Some plants are not conducive to a healthy garden and can actually compromise the health of surrounding greenery. Other plants might even be dangerous, both to pets and humans. Others still might be so invasive that they can compromise the integrity of a home’s foundation if planted too close to the home.

Oddly Placed Bathrooms

Some homes have such strange layouts that really make buyers wonder what the original builder was thinking. One such layout incorporates bathrooms that are positioned adjacent to kitchens. If there are two rooms in a house that should never be mixed, it’s these two. After all, the thought of a bathroom being anywhere near where people would dine is certainly not a pleasant one.

Unfortunately, this isn’t exactly an easy fix and would require a bit of in-depth work to build a completely new bathroom in a more appropriate spot.

Inadequate Access to Rooms

Piggybacking off of the previous issue, some older homes may have layouts that require occupants to have to go through one room in order to access another. While that might be fine with living rooms or kitchens, it can be pretty awkward when the space being invaded is a bedroom. It’s pretty inconvenient to have to pass through a bedroom – which is supposed to be a private space – to access another room in the home.

Compartmentalized Rooms

The going trend over the past few years in home design is open concepts. More and more homeowners like the idea of having a wide open space where they can interact with others regardless of whether they’re in the kitchen or living room. Open concept layouts also make a home seem larger and brighter, which is why they’ve become so popular.

But some homeowners still like the idea of having separate rooms for separate purposes and intentionally compartmentalize their rooms in order to achieve that goal. While that may work for some homeowners, it’s not exactly a layout that buyers necessarily appreciate.

The Bottom Line

Selling a home is already a challenge, but trying to sell a home with awkward features like the ones just mentioned can make the job even harder. When dealing with odd features and layouts, it’s best to work with a home stager who will have sound suggestions about how to counteract the effects of such traits in order to attract buyers and end up with a quick sale.