Home Features Buyers Think They Want—Until They Own Them

There are some features that sound really good when you’re looking at houses. Then you own a house with them and realize there might be a reason the last owner was ready to move on.

None of these are necessarily bad. They’re just things worth thinking about beyond the showing.

1. A huge yard

It looks great when you’re standing on the patio imagining kids playing, dogs running and summer evenings outside. Then the rains hit, the grass grows six inches overnight, and you realize you have a part-time mowing job.

2. An open floor plan

I love a good open floor plan. But remember, everything is open. The dishes in the kitchen are now part of your living room decor, and there’s not always somewhere to escape when everyone is home.

3. Really high ceilings

Beautiful? Absolutely. But there’s a lot of space up there to heat and cool—and eventually somebody has to change those lightbulbs.

4. Lots of mature trees

I love these too. Shade, character and a beautiful yard are hard to beat. But trees also mean leaves, gutters, branches and the occasional Kansas storm that reminds you trees can be expensive.

5. A swimming pool

A pool sounds fantastic when you’re house hunting in July. It may sound a little different when you’re cleaning it, buying chemicals and looking at the cover in January.

6. A really big house

More space isn’t always better space. You have to furnish it, clean it, heat it, cool it and maintain it. Sometimes having the right amount of space feels a whole lot better than having the most space.

7. Lots of windows

All that natural light is wonderful. Then you start pricing window treatments and realize someone also has to clean all of those windows.

8. A big deck

You picture morning coffee, summer dinners and everyone hanging out outside. You may not be picturing staining, sealing, replacing boards and sweeping off everything the trees drop on it.

I’m not trying to talk anyone out of these things. Any one of them might be exactly what you want in your next home.

I just think it’s worth asking yourself one more question when you fall in love with a feature:

Do I just love the idea of this, or am I going to love living with it?

There can be a big difference.