Never Buy A Home With These 10 Features If You Ever Want To Sell It

Before you buy a home, there are certain features that might not seem like a big deal today, but could become a huge problem when it comes time to sell. And here's the reality. I've been in the business for more than 20 years and I've seen homeowners struggle to sell properties simply because of one or two things about the home that buyers just didn't want. Things like noisy locations, tiny lots, leased solar, or homes that have way too many stairs. And the worst part is most buyers don't even realize these issues until it's too late. So in this video, I'm going to walk you through 10 home features that can absolutely hurt your resale value and limit the number of buyers willing to purchase your home. Because if you ever want to sell that property in the future, these are things that you should think twice about before buying. Now, before we jump into the list, I want to say something really important. Just because a home has one of these features doesn't mean you shouldn't buy it. In fact, some of these homes can actually be great opportunities if you understand what you're getting into. But the mistake I see buyers make all the time is they focus only on buying the home and completely forget about the day they're going to have to sell it. Remember, buyers buy emotionally and they often justify logically. So my goal here is to help you think logically rather than get caught up in the emotion of the home buying process. Because that's where some of these features can really come back to bite you. So freeways or train tracks. At first glance, the home might seem great. Maybe it's priced a little lower than homes in the neighborhood and the house itself looks fantastic. But noise is one of these things that buyers notice immediately. Things like freeway traffic, semi trucks, motorcycles, trains passing by throughout the day or even in the middle of the night. It doesn't take long before buyers start thinking about what living there would actually feel like. And when it comes time to sell, that same issue comes back. Many buyers simply won't even consider homes in noisy location. That means fewer showings, fewer offers and often a lower price compared to similar homes located in quieter parts of the neighborhood. In fact, I'm one of those agents when a buyer brings me a property that backs to a major street, we have this exact same conversation. We start talking about resale value and how maybe you're okay with it. But at the end of the day, it's definitely going to limit buyer demand when it comes time to sell that home. And now I understand a lot of buyers plan on being in the property for a very long period of time and they think, well, it's not an issue to me. I'm just going to live with it. And that's completely fine. But just remember, it's definitely going to limit the buyer pool if you ever decide to put it on the market. Now, another feature that can hurt resale value is a very small lot. Today's buyers want space, space for kids, space for pets, space to entertain. Even something as simple as having a backyard where you can relax or have friends over matters to a lot of buyers. But one thing you're seeing more and more of today is homes being built on smaller and smaller lots, especially in newer construction. And the reason for that is pretty simple. Builders are in the business of maximizing the value of the land they're developing. Instead of building fewer homes on larger lots, many builders choose to build more homes on smaller lots, often by building the homes taller and or closer together. So you'll see a lot of newer construction communities where the homes are two or three stories tall, but the yard space is very, very limited. Now, that doesn't necessarily mean those homes are bad. In fact, some buyers actually prefer lower maintenance outdoor space. But historically speaking, if you look at neighborhoods that were built decades ago, many of those homes were built on larger lots with more usable outdoor space. And when buyers compare homes side by side, properties with larger lots tend to stand out. Again, this doesn't mean a small lot won't sell because it absolutely can. But homes with very limited outdoor space tend to appeal to a smaller group of buyers, and that can ultimately impact your resale value. Now, this one is one of my biggest pet peeves right now. Homes with leased solar panels. Solar itself isn't necessarily the problem. In fact, own solar can be a huge selling point. The issue comes when the solar system is leased. In many cases, the buyer has to assume the existing lease when purchasing the home, and those leases can sometimes have 10, 15, or even 20 years remaining. And that creates a lot of uncertainty with buyers. They have to review the contract, understand the payment structure, and most of the time, they even have to qualify with the solar company in order to assume the lease. Now, many buyers simply don't want to deal with that. And in some cases, the lease payment doesn't actually save them much money compared to their electric bill. So they're essentially just trading one payment for another with all of the unknowns of what's going to happen to the panels in the future, what happens when they're removed. It just creates a lot of headache. So what happens is instead of appealing to an entire buyer pool, your home is only appealing to buyers who are comfortable taking over someone else's solar lease. And again, fewer buyers means less demand. Less demand tends to lead to lower home prices. Now, this one surprises a lot of buyers, but the condition of the homes around you can absolutely impact resale value. If your neighbors aren't maintaining their properties, it affects the entire street. Things like overgrown yards, peeling paint, broken fences, clutter everywhere. Even if your home is beautifully maintained, buyers are still looking at the surrounding homes. They start asking questions about the neighborhood and what the long-term upkeep might look like. In fact, I'm one of those agents. When I take buyers upstairs, we're often looking out the windows into other yards. And if it doesn't have it upstairs, we're peeking over the fences, trying to see what the neighbor's yards look like. Because at the end of the day, it could impact the number of buyers willing to buy your home in the future if you ever decide to put it on the market. And it's simply because if the property surrounding the property that you're interested in look neglected, there are some buyers that are just going to move on and not want to deal with it. Now let's talk about homes with unusual floor plans. Buyers tend to prefer homes with functional, familiar layouts. When a home has an unusual floor plan, it can make it harder for buyers to picture themselves living there. For example, bedrooms that can only be accessed through another bedroom, a kitchen that's isolated from the rest of the house, or layouts where the living areas feel disconnected. When buyers walk through a home and the layout feels awkward, it sticks with them. And many buyers will decide the home simply doesn't work for their lifestyle. Remember, it's all about flow when it comes to floor plan. Now let's talk about homes next to commercial properties. Because if there's one thing in real estate that matters regardless of where you're located in the United States, it's location, location, location. Location matters. And homes located next to commercial buildings can sometimes struggle when it comes to resale. Think about homes next to gas stations, shopping centers, apartment complexes, busy retail areas. Buyers often worry about increased traffic, noise, parking issues, or future development nearby. If those concerns never become a problem, the perception alone can limit the number of buyers interested in the home. Now let's talk about another feature that can limit your buyer pool, and that's homes with a lot of stairs. And this is something you're seeing more and more frequently, especially in newer construction. Many of the new homes are built vertically. So you might have stairs coming up from the garage to the main living area, and then another set of stairs going up to the bedrooms, or additional living space. And in some cases, you even have stairs going up from there to a rooftop deck. Now, these homes can look great. They often have modern designs and very nice finishes. But the reality is, stairs limit the number of buyers who are willing to consider the home. A lot of buyers today are thinking long-term. They want a home that they can potentially age in. And when a home has multiple levels or requires going up and down stairs constantly, it removes that option for many people. In fact, older buyers often avoid them completely. But it's not just older buyers. Families with small children sometimes see stairs as a safety concern. And even younger buyers think about the inconvenience of constantly going up and down multiple levels. Another thing to keep in mind is spiral staircases. While they can look interesting from a design standpoint, they tend to be very, very impractical. And they can be very awkward to use as well, especially when carrying things up and down. And if you've ever tried moving furniture up a spiral staircase, you know exactly what I'm talking about. A complete nightmare. Now let's talk about something that appeals to most buyers, and that's natural light. Natural light is something buyers consistently look for. Homes that feel dark or closed off can feel smaller and less inviting. This can often happen when there are limited windows, heavy tree coverage, or layouts that block light from flowing through the home. Bright homes tend to photograph better, show better, and feel more appealing when buyers walk through them. Now, understand if it's something that can be corrected like removing trees or something like that, then that could be an opportunity in buying that home because other buyers might walk away thinking it's just too dark. But when it's a floor plan thing, or there's missing windows, or it's just dark regardless of what you do, in my opinion, those are homes that you should probably stay away from. Now, when it comes to homeowners associations, people either love them or they hate them. Rather, it's anybody in the middle, you know, completely undecided. But understand that HOAs can help maintain property values, but high HOA fees can limit your buyer pool, especially when buyers feel like they're not getting much in return. In many communities, HOA dues help maintain things like pools, spas, clubhouses, parks, or other community amenities. But oftentimes you'll see neighborhoods where the HOA fees are really high, and yet there are very few community features. There's no swimming pool, there's no spa, there's no clubhouses, there's no green space, no real amenities for homeowners to enjoy. When buyers see that, they often start asking the obvious question, what exactly am I paying for every month? And another thing that buyers should pay attention to is the financial health of the HOA. Some associations have very limited reserve funds, meaning that they don't have enough money set aside for major future repairs. Things like roofing, exterior maintenance, parking lots, structural repairs. And when reserves are low, it can lead to special assessments where homeowners are suddenly required to pay thousands of dollars to cover unexpected repairs. And in fact, this is something we saw in Florida over the last couple of years. They passed a law a couple of years ago that required these homeowners associations to have a certain amount of money in reserve funds to cover repairs because a lot of these buildings didn't have it. And what happened is structural issues. We had that collapse in South Florida, and it was because the HOAs didn't have enough money to actually maintain the building. So they passed this law. And because of that law, a lot of these HOAs had to go back and look at these buildings and re-examine and say, Oh God, we're in need of a lot of repair. And now we have to assess these homeowners, all of this money, because we don't have it in reserves in order to do these repairs. And for that reason, a lot of these HOAs now have super high fees. And because of that, a lot of these homes are sitting on the market with no buyers out there to buy them because they're looking at it going special assessments, high HOA fees, values are coming down. And so buyers are staying away. So if you're buying in an HOA, just make sure you're paying attention to the full picture as well as what's happened in the HOAs history. If dues have been increasing every single year, that can be a red flag because when buyers add up the mortgage payment, the property taxes, the insurance, and that high HOA due on top of everything else, it can quickly impact affordability. And many times push them out from even being able to qualify for that home. And before we talk about the last one, I'd like to take a minute and ask a favor. If you found any value in this video at all, make sure you hit that thumbs up. And if you want to stay updated on everything real estate related, do me a favor and subscribe to the channel. So now we're at the final one. Let's talk about homes located near high voltage power lines or transmission towers, because this is one of those situations where perception plays a huge role. Some buyers simply don't like the way they look. Large towers and power lines can be very noticeable, especially if they're directly behind the home or visible from the backyard. Some buyers also worry about potential health concerns while others simply don't want to live near large electrical infrastructure. Whether those concerns are justified or not, isn't really the point. In real estate, buyer perception matters a lot. If a large portion of buyers prefer to avoid homes near power lines, that means fewer buyers will consider those homes when they come back on the market. There's also the visual impact. If you're standing in the backyard and you're looking at this large transmission tower or multiple power lines overhead, it can affect the overall feel of the property. And remember, emotional response plays a huge role in real estate. Homes near power lines can absolutely sell, but they typically appeal to a smaller buyer pool and sometimes sell at a discount compared to a similar home in the same neighborhood without that feature. Now remember, none of these things automatically make a home a bad purchase. Some buyers truly don't mind these features at all. But from a perspective, these are the factors that can reduce buyer demand. And when you're buying a home, it's always smart to think about not just how the home works for you today, but how it might perform when it's time to sell. Because the easier your home is to sell, the more buyers you'll attract and the stronger your resale value tends to be. Which leads me to another video that I recorded talking about homes that you should absolutely stay away from. In fact, you can check out that video right here.