How to Write a Listing Description for a Property With Unusual Features

Every agent eventually takes a listing that makes them pause at the blank MLS input field. Maybe it's a converted church with soaring ceilings and no conventional bedrooms. Maybe it's a split-level where the garage sits above the living room, or a property with a detached structure that isn't quite a guest house and isn't quite a barn. The instinct is to downplay the unusual elements and lean hard on safe, generic language. That instinct will cost you showings.

Buyers who would love that property will scroll past copy that hides what makes it different. The ones who would hate it will book a showing anyway, waste everyone's time, and leave a bad review on Google. Good listing copy for an unusual property does one job above all others: it filters in the right buyer and filters out the wrong one, as efficiently as possible. That is not the same as making the property sound bad. It means being honest, specific, and strategic about what you say and how you say it.

Start by Defining What Makes the Feature Unusual

Before you write a single word of copy, you need to decide whether a feature is unusual because it's genuinely uncommon in your market, because it departs from buyer expectations at that price point, or simply because it looks different in photos. Those are three separate problems with three separate solutions.

A passive solar design is unusual in a suburban subdivision but expected in a certain type of rural mountain community. A cistern-based water system is unusual to a buyer from a city with municipal water but completely normal in parts of the Southwest. If your feature is market-specific, your copy needs to educate without patronizing. A sentence like "The rainwater collection system supplies the irrigation and feeds a 2,500-gallon storage tank" tells a buyer exactly what they're dealing with, which is what they need.

If the feature departs from price-point expectations, your job is to reframe value rather than apologize for the difference. A 1,400-square-foot home on two acres at a price where buyers expect a 2,200-square-foot home on a standard lot isn't a small house. It's a land play. Write it that way.

Lead With Function, Not with Apology

The most common mistake agents make with unusual features is burying them or softening them so heavily that they communicate shame. Phrases like "cozy secondary structure" or "flexible bonus space" tell buyers almost nothing and signal that you're uncomfortable with what you're selling. A buyer who reads vague copy will assume the worst.

Instead, lead with what the space actually does. A converted barn isn't a liability. Write it as "The 1,100-square-foot converted barn includes a finished loft, concrete floors, and a 200-amp electrical panel, currently used as a woodworking studio." That sentence tells a buyer three functional facts and one example use case. It draws in the buyer who has always wanted exactly that space. It also gives a buyer who needs conventional living square footage a clear signal that this is not it.

For structural or layout oddities, describe the physical reality first, then follow with what's possible. "The main house connects to the guest quarters through an enclosed breezeway" is more useful than any version of "opportunity for multigenerational living." Give buyers facts. They will supply their own imagination.

Name the Feature Directly in the First 50 Words

MLS listings truncate. Portal previews truncate. Buyers make split-second decisions about whether to click through based on the first two or three lines of copy. If your property's most defining feature doesn't appear until the third paragraph, you've already lost the buyer who would have loved it and kept the buyer who will be surprised and annoyed when they arrive.

If the property is a geodesic dome, say geodesic dome in the opening sentence. If it has a legal accessory dwelling unit in the basement with a separate entrance, that goes in line one. If the lot is 4.7 acres with a seasonal creek and no HOA, that is your opening. The unusual feature is not a spoiler. It is the headline.

This approach also helps your listing perform better in search. Buyers who want an ADU will search for ADU. Buyers who want acreage will filter for it. But when they're reading descriptions, they confirm the fit in the first sentence. Make it easy for the right buyer to say "yes, that's what I want" before they finish the opener.

Handle the Features That Buyers Might Object To

Some unusual features are genuinely interesting to the right buyer. Others are features that most buyers will view as obstacles, and you have to write around them without hiding them. A property with well water and a septic system, a very steep driveway, or a shared easement for access falls into this category. Buyers will find out. The question is whether they find out from your copy or from the inspection report.

The right approach is to state the fact, add context, and move on. "The property is served by a private well and a two-bedroom-rated septic system inspected and pumped in 2023." That one sentence addresses the feature, gives buyers useful information, and does not linger on it. Contrast that with copy that ignores the well and septic entirely. The buyer who discovers it at inspection feels misled. The buyer who reads it upfront decides whether it works for them before booking a showing.

For features like steep driveways or unusual lot shapes, the same rule applies. "The driveway has an 18 percent grade and is approximately 200 feet long" is honest and specific. Pair it with a mention of what's at the top, whether that's a view, privacy, or a level parking area, so the reader gets the full picture rather than just the obstacle.

Write Toward the Buyer Who Will Actually Buy It

Every unusual property has a buyer. The art is knowing who that buyer is and writing copy that speaks to them directly instead of trying to write copy that appeals to everyone. A property with a two-story workshop, 400-amp service, and a spray booth built into the garage does not need to appeal to a buyer who wants a quiet suburban home. It needs to find the contractor, the car restorer, or the hobbyist who has been waiting for exactly that setup.

Before you draft the description, write down one sentence that describes the buyer who will close on this property. "This buyer runs a home-based business and needs commercial-grade workspace." Or, "This buyer wants land and doesn't need square footage." Or, "This buyer wants historic character and is comfortable with a project." Every line of copy should pass through that filter. If a detail doesn't matter to that buyer, cut it or trim it. If it speaks directly to that buyer's needs, lead with it.

This is also where the agent's knowledge of local buyer pools becomes a competitive advantage. If you know that remote workers have been a significant portion of buyers in your market over the past 18 months, a property with a completely separate home office structure isn't an oddity. It's exactly what a segment of your buyer pool is searching for. Write to that segment by name. "The detached 320-square-foot office has its own HVAC and fiber connection" speaks directly to a remote worker's actual decision criteria.

Review Your Draft Against These Four Questions

Once you have a draft, run it through four questions before you submit. First, does the most unusual feature of the property appear in the first two sentences? If not, move it. Second, have you stated every significant functional fact about that feature, including square footage, utilities, condition, and current use? Vague language is a red flag to buyers. Third, is there any line of copy that would mislead a reasonable buyer about what they are going to find when they walk through the door? Cut it or rewrite it. Fourth, would the buyer who will actually buy this property recognize themselves in the copy?

If you answer no to any of these, revise before you publish. A description that passes all four will generate fewer but better-qualified showings, which means fewer wasted afternoons and faster time to contract. Unusual properties sit longer when the copy fails to find their buyer. They move quickly when the copy is precise.

Montaic generates listing descriptions, social posts, and buyer-facing fact sheets from a single property input, and its Fair Housing compliance check flags language before it ever goes live. If you're working with a property that doesn't fit a standard template, Montaic gives you a starting draft built around the specific details you enter, which cuts the time you spend staring at a blank field. Try the free listing generator at montaic.com/free-listing-generator or explore Pro at $149 per month.