Many people are drawn to Florida for its beautiful landscape, warm climate and the ability to enjoy outdoor leisure time essentially all year round. This makes it especially enticing for potential homeowners that want a little more luxury in life or, at minimum, a bit of easier living. As someone looking to sell a home, it is an obvious goal to want to sell the house to a happy homebuyer as quickly as possible.

There are many factors that go into how quickly your Florida home will sell. For example, location is a primary factor for potential homebuyers, especially families with school-age children. Home style is another factor, with Spanish style homes often selling faster. There isn't always a lot you can control about the home you are working with, but there are features to add to a home that will help it sell faster.

Here are just 5 home features that will help get your Florida home off the market more quickly.

1. Outdoor Kitchens Make for Enticing Entertainment Space

Expansive decks make for classic entertaining and leisure spaces all throughout Florida, but if you want to make a home even more attractive to buyers consider an outdoor kitchen space. Since Florida tends to have enjoyable weather for most of the year, particularly in terms of warm temperatures, an outdoor kitchen can get a lot of use.

It is a much more high-class alternative to a grill and table on the porch. An outdoor kitchen will get a lot of use and is a particularly appealing feature for people that frequently cook or entertain guests. Another hidden benefit of outdoor kitchens is that they help keep the home cooler as nearly all cooking, especially in an oven, can be done outside. This has a significant effect on cooling costs when summer heat arrives.

2. Cool Roofs are on Trend with the Green Movement

More homeowners than ever are looking for green homes or homes that at least have green features already present to work with. Reducing energy costs is a vital part of improving energy efficiency and reducing monthly utility costs. This makes Florida homes especially good candidates for cool roofs.

Florida is also known as the Sunshine State, and for good reason. Approximately 300 days out of the year are considering sunny. Compared to other regions in the US, Florida homeowners will be combatting the effects of the sun and keeping their home cool more than others. Cool roof systems are roofs that are specifically designed to reflect sunlight and thereby keeping the home cooler. This could be the selection of special cool roof shingles or simply coating the roof in a reflective material.

3. Smart Home Control Systems Moving from Luxury to Necessity

New homes on the market will sell faster if they have certain smart home controls in place. This includes smart alarm systems, smart thermostats, and smart light controls, to name a few. With the heavy reliance on our smartphones, these systems should be able to be used remotely through an app.

Smart thermostats are a especially excellent investment as it will allow homeowners to set their home to their schedule. This means if everyone is gone during the day on weekdays, the HVAC system will not need to work as hard since no one is actually in the home. Being able to control lighting is a great security feature if used remotely as it allows for you to turn on lights when arriving home at night or keeping certain lights on while away on business or vacation.

4. Boat Docks are a Must on Waterfront Property

It goes without saying that if the home is a waterfront property it will get more interest, but this interest can quickly wane if boat owners find that the home doesn't have a boat dock. New boat dock construction isn't often a straightforward process since Florida is very cautious with construction on shorelines. Therefore potential homeowners with boats may balk at waterfront properties lacking a dock as they understand how much new construction could cost. Not to mentioned the waiting period while designs are being reviewed prior to building is not an attractive option.

Homes with nicely built boat docks can be roughly 10% or more valuable than homes without a boat dock. Considering having a boat dock built prior to selling the home is an excellent idea, especially in neighborhoods where private docks are commonplace.

5. Storm Shelters Add Value with Peace of Mind

One of the biggest downsides to living in a beautiful, subtropical region like Florida is the awareness of storms occurring, including hurricanes. There is nothing as terrifying as storm warnings popping up on the news and realizing that a catastrophe could be possible. This makes Florida homes particularly ideal locations for storm shelters.

Storm shelters add value to properties because they offer a lot of peace of mind to potential buyers. Sure, there are plenty of aesthetic features that make homes appealing to purchase, but the addition of a storm shelter that could protect you and your family is of the highest value. Many potential home buyers, especially those looking at homes along the coast, are more likely to purchase a home with a storm shelter than a home where they would need to build a storm shelter themselves.

Although the above 5 home features aren't must-haves for successfully selling a Florida home, they certainly add a lot of value and will get the house off the market more quickly. It is important that a home going through a remodeling process in preparation for sale considers what is popular and in high demand to ensure they get the most return from their investment.