Q: What is the most over-the-top feature a client has ever told you is a must-have in their new home?

Dawn Lanier, a real-estate agent at Coldwell Banker in Austin, Texas

In April, I was working with a husband and wife who were new clients. They had been searching for an existing home, but after touring several, they decided they wanted new construction instead. When I had asked them which features they wanted, they hadn't mentioned anything unusual.

But after we toured a model home at a new development, they found the perfect floor plan, and it had two separate water closets in the primary bathroom. Then the husband said, "I've always wanted a urinal, and since we have two separate water closets, I want one in mine."

?The wife looked at him and said, "That is crazy." He replied that his friend has one and that he has always envied it. We all turned red.

?The builder said that my client would have to select one and that there would be additional plumbing charges to install the urinal instead of the regular toilet.

?I've been practicing real estate for 15 years, and no one has ever requested a urinal before-and I have seen thousands of homes, even bidets, but no urinal. There is no way to search for a urinal in the multiple-listing service, or MLS, either.

?His wife said that if a urinal is what he really wants, he could have it. They signed a contract to build a new home for just under $1 million, and the husband did research to figure out which urinal he wanted. ?Ultimately, though, they decided against new construction, and they bought a resale property. But we still laugh about his request to this day.

Chloe Powell, a real-estate agent at Hunt Country Sotheby's International Realty in Leesburg, Va.

I have been working for about a year with some buyers who have a beautifully simple, yet incredibly specific, must-have for their new home: a creek for their dog, a beautiful brown-and-white English springer spaniel named Brissy. A pond won't suffice. Stagnant water is a concern of theirs, so it has to be natural, flowing water.

What followed has been no typical home search. It has become a multistate pursuit of a lifestyle. We've searched across Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland, leaving no pocket unexplored. I looked deep into the archives, pulling sold properties in the MLS going back nearly 30 years to identify patterns where creeks exist and how those properties traded.

I cold-called homeowners, I reached out to agents for off-market and exclusive opportunities and I sent targeted postcards to homes positioned along known creek lines. If there was even a hint of moving water, I found it. And then came the next layer-every potential property was vetted to confirm it wasn't located in a flood zone. The goal wasn't just to find a creek; it was to find the right creek.

?So, for the past year, we have toured about 10 homes together, from $1 million to about $3.5 million. We wrote a few offers, but the sellers wouldn't agree to the price. And so, the search continues.

Liz Ciborowski, a real-estate agent at Douglas Elliman in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

?In 2023, I was working with a local couple searching for a bigger home, priced between $3 million and $5 million, on the water in Fort Lauderdale. It is relatively easy to find a waterfront home in this city.

This couple, however, wanted the impossible: a luxury waterfront home where the primary bedroom and main living spaces faced a canal, but with a pool deck that was 100% private so they could host skinny-dipping parties.

It was an unusual request, and I had to give them a reality check. In Fort Lauderdale, your backyard is like a public runway. If you have a view of the water, it is likely that every boater and yacht owner has a front-row seat to your pool as they sail by, plus you likely have neighbors 100 feet away who are in their own backyards. So, while you can enjoy a wide-water expanse and fantastic views, you can't control your audience.

?We looked at about 10 houses, and after realizing that they couldn't find a home on the water with a private pool, the buyers compromised and ended up buying a luxury four-bedroom home on a large corner lot. It wasn't on the water, but it had a huge resort-style pool area, surrounded by gates and very high hedges, so it was completely private.

-Edited from interviews