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

Every agent eventually gets a listing that makes them stare at a blank screen. The converted church. The property with a private tunnel. The house where the master bedroom is on the ground floor and the living spaces are all upstairs. The geodesic dome. The horse property in a neighborhood where most buyers want a yard for a labradoodle. These listings are real, they close, and buyers who want exactly that property are actively searching. Your job is to connect those buyers to that property without either overselling the oddity or apologizing for it.

The mistake most agents make is writing around the unusual feature. They bury it in the middle, pad the description with generic language about the kitchen and the natural light, and hope the buyer figures it out from the photos. That approach wastes time. The buyer who wants a converted church is going to call either way. The buyer who would never consider it is going to be annoyed. Clear, specific copy filters in the right buyers and filters out the wrong ones before anyone schedules a showing.

Identify the Feature as an Asset, Not an Obstacle

Before you write a single word, you need to decide what problem this feature solves for the right buyer. A detached guest house is an asset for multi-generational families or buyers who need a home office with a separate entrance. A converted barn is an asset for buyers who run a creative business and need open, flexible space. A property with no central HVAC is an asset for a buyer who already planned to install a mini-split system. Start there, with the buyer's problem, and the feature becomes a solution instead of a quirk.

Make a list of every buyer type who would want this property specifically because of the unusual feature. For a home with a 2,000-square-foot workshop, that list might include contractors, woodworkers, car collectors, small business owners, and serious hobbyists. For a property on a shared well with a neighbor, the list is shorter but the right buyer exists and they tend to be practical, experienced, and committed. Writing for a defined audience produces sharper copy than writing for everyone and hoping someone bites.

Once you have your buyer type, write the feature from their perspective. A detached casita is not a random extra building on the lot. For the right buyer, it is the reason they can have an aging parent nearby without sharing a front door. Lead with function, not with form.

Lead With the Feature, Not After It

The opening line of your MLS description is doing the most work. Buyers scroll fast. Agents preview listings in seconds. If your first sentence is about the open floor plan or the updated kitchen, the unusual feature lands late and the buyer who wanted it may have already moved on. Lead with what makes the property different.

Here is a practical example. A property with a commercial-grade kitchen installed by a former restaurateur would open like this: "The kitchen was built for volume, with a 10-burner Wolf range, a 48-inch hood, dual dishwashers, and a walk-in pantry with wire shelving on four walls." That sentence tells the right buyer they found their listing. It also tells the buyer who wanted a quiet suburban kitchen to keep scrolling, which saves everyone time.

For properties where the unusual feature is structural or legal, lead with the most relevant fact. A property with an ADU that is fully permitted and rented will open with that information because it affects financing, tax treatment, and use. A property with a well and septic in an area where most homes are on city water and sewer should acknowledge that early so buyers who have questions can ask them before the showing, not during it.

Address the Objection Before the Buyer Has It

Buyers who encounter an unusual feature in a listing description immediately have questions. Some of those questions are deal-breakers, and some are not. The fastest way to lose a qualified buyer is to make them guess at the answer. Anticipate the most obvious objection and answer it in the copy.

For a geodesic dome, the objection is almost always financing and insurance. Address it: "Financing is straightforward through [lender type] and the property is insurable through standard carriers." For a property with a shared driveway, the objection is access and maintenance responsibility. Address it: "A recorded easement governs maintenance responsibilities and has been in place since 1987 with no disputes." These are factual statements that remove friction for qualified buyers and help them make a faster, more confident decision.

You do not need to list every possible concern. Pick the one or two that will most likely stop a qualified buyer from calling, and answer those. If there are concerns that genuinely cannot be resolved in the description, like a unique zoning situation that requires explanation, say so directly: "Zoning details available on request." That signals transparency and invites the right conversation.

One thing to avoid: do not use qualifiers that undercut the property. Phrases like "while it may not be for everyone" or "for the right buyer" read as apologies. You already know the right buyer exists. Write for that person without hedging.

Use Specific Language, Not Category Language

Generic real estate language is particularly damaging in descriptions of unusual properties because it signals that the agent does not understand what they are selling. If your listing has a hand-built timber frame structure and your description says "solid construction throughout," you have thrown away a selling point that a timber frame buyer would cross state lines to see.

Get specific about materials, dimensions, and provenance when they are relevant. A converted schoolhouse is not just a "spacious open layout." It has 14-foot ceilings with original crown molding, a full gymnasium on the lower level with maple hardwood floors, and a cafeteria kitchen that retains its commercial hood. Those specifics are what buyers search for. They are also what sticks in a buyer's memory when they are comparing seven listings after a weekend of showings.

When a property has features that require explanation, give the explanation. A passive solar home with a Trombe wall is not "energy efficient design." It is a thermal mass system that stores heat from the south-facing glass and releases it overnight, which cuts heating costs significantly in climates with cold nights and sunny winters. That sentence serves two functions: it explains the feature and it identifies the buyer who will value it.

Structure the Description to Match the Buyer's Decision Process

Buyers make decisions in stages. First they decide if the property is worth a second look. Then they decide if it is worth a showing. Then they decide if it is worth an offer. Your listing description has to do useful work at each stage, and that means organizing information in the right order.

For a property with one dominant unusual feature, that feature goes first. Everything else supports it. A listing for a home with a private observatory on the roof does not need three sentences about the primary bathroom before the buyer learns about the observatory. Put the observatory first, explain what it includes, and then move to the rest of the home.

For properties where multiple features are unusual, prioritize by buyer impact. If a property has both an off-grid solar system and a separate workshop building, lead with whichever one is harder to find in the market. Off-grid solar systems in a suburban area are rarer than large workshops, so that goes first. Within each feature, lead with the most practical information: system capacity, year installed, what it powers. Then describe the workshop: square footage, ceiling height, electrical service, whether there is a separate entrance from the street.

Close the description with something that grounds the unusual in the practical. After all the specific detail, the buyer needs to be reminded that this is a home they can actually live in. A single sentence about the neighborhood, the school district, or the commute access puts the unusual in context and signals that the rest of life works fine from this address.

Test Your Draft Against the Right Buyer

Before you submit the description, read it as your target buyer. If you identified timber frame enthusiasts as your buyer, does the description answer the questions a serious timber frame buyer would ask? If your buyer is an investor looking at a mixed-use zoning situation, does the description give them the facts they need to assess the opportunity?

A useful test is to read the description and then list what a buyer would still need to know before scheduling a showing. If that list is long, the description is not doing enough work. A buyer should be able to read your description and arrive at the showing with their substantive questions already answered, ready to evaluate the property in person rather than still gathering basic information.

Also check for anything that could raise a Fair Housing concern. Unusual features sometimes tempt agents toward language that implies a specific type of occupant, such as mentioning that a floor plan is suited for extended family arrangements in ways that could be read as steering. Keep the copy focused on the physical features and practical uses. Describe what the space can do, not who should live there.

If writing these descriptions from scratch for every unusual listing is slowing you down, Montaic generates MLS copy from a single property input and learns your voice over time. The Fair Housing compliance check runs automatically on every draft. Try the free listing generator at montaic.com/free-listing-generator.