FLOORPLANS
Visualising value I
remember buying our first home, I visited six estate agents’ offices, discussed what we wanted, how much we could afford, went home
We ask the industry – is a floor plan a good plan? But for agents who want an edge over
with a bundle of printed particulars. Every Saturday, a pile of post would land on the mat and we’d read them in bed, great fun. We viewed a huge number of flats and houses, many of them over-egged in the details (pre Property Misdescriptions Act!), others somehow pokier than they seemed on paper. Things have changed. Buyers want info now and they want it comprehensive – photos, words, measurements, time on the market, when last sold, some people even look at the EPC! The most useful information, after good
photographs of course, is the floor plan. A floor plan gives an instant, graphic, true and unadorned picture of the property, showing the potential buyer exactly how the space works, whether it would give you a workable office, could that room by the kitchen be a playroom, could the bathroom be made into an ensuite, could part of the house be a granny flat, and even, could the house work as a B&B, or a dentist, or any another business. On the face of it, it’s a necessity, and a
simple matter to add into your property particulars. But some agents remain unconvinced. Negatives are that it’s an extra expense, it’s unnecessary, a viewing is needed anyway to get the real picture, they lead people to take a property out of the running when they may have fallen in love with it on a viewing.
any of their less forward-looking peers the simple floor plan is a winner. Elliott Rowland at Datography says there is data to prove it. “
Findaproperty.com tells us that a floor plan can increase the click through rate of a property by 52 per cent, whilst Rightmove has also stated that floor plans can boost buyer interest by 30 per cent.
In a floor plan poll by Zoopla, 100% of the respondents gave positive
feedback.” BRIAN FARRELL METROPIX
Brian Farrell, MD at Metropix quotes
Zoopla stats. “In a recent Facebook poll by Zoopla, 100 per cent of the respondents provided positive feedback regarding floor plans, with comments including ‘Invaluable’, ‘Very Important’, ‘Essential!’, ‘Vital’ and ‘A property brochure without a floor plan is to me, incomplete’.” And his clients agree, Chris Murphy, Area Manager for Sandersons has recently purchased Metropix’s four millionth floor plan. Chris says, “We have been using Metropix floor plans for three years across all our offices, in Ashford, Canterbury and Maidstone. A major emphasis of ours is on the way our properties are presented when marketed
for sale or rent. In our view, floor plans are a vital tool and we believe that if high quality photos and floor plans are not at someone’s fingertips when browsing, it is easy for them to overlook a property and move onto the next. Therefore, we use personalised 2D plans on all our sales and rental instructions, which gives us a unique selling point, and advantage, over other agents who choose not to use them.”
A FLOOR PLAN FOR ALL
Until quite recently, floor plans have generally been the preserve of the higher value home but James Davis, Systems Manager for The Mobile Agent, says, “Whether selling a two-bed flat or a castle, having a floor plan is essential. The average buyer will look at 20 properties online – they will not be able to remember beyond the second or third so a floor plan allows them to retain some perspective.” For home buying agents the floor plan
is essential, saving time and effort for themselves and their clients. Paul Frost of Prime Purchase says in his experience, “Floor plans are the most looked at page of a brochure these days. With buyers often liking to visualise how they’ll put their own twist on a house, being able to look at the layout of rooms and plan which walls to knock down is really helpful. Buyers also like seeing where structures such as fireplaces are in order to plan where to put furniture”. Tracy Kellet, of BDI Homefinders finds
them invaluable. She says, “Floor plans? Absolutely! I’d be lost without them!”
PROPERTYdrum AUGUST 2012 39
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68