Hi
We are getting ready to put our place on the market in the next couple of months and I’ve been obsessively scrolling Rightmove (who isn’t). One thing that keeps striking me is how many listings in our area have no floor plan at all. Not just the cheaper ones either, there are three and four bed detacheds going on at £400k plus with twelve photos of the garden from slightly different angles but no floor plan.
I rang one of the local agents to ask about their marketing packages and the floor plan is apparently an “optional extra” at £75. The agent said most sellers don’t bother because “buyers want to see the photos”. Aaaargh!
Is this standard now? When we bought our current place fifteen years ago every listing had a floor plan as a matter of course. It seems mad to me that you would spend thousands on agent fees and then cheap out on the one thing that actually tells buyers whether the layout works for them.
Are any of you seeing this in your areas or is it just my corner of the world being behind the times?
Thanks Ms T x
It is common everywhere, not just your area. That said, I am not sure how many buyers are genuinely filtering out properties because the floor plan is missing. Anyone serious enough to make an offer is going to view in person regardless. The £75 is probably worth paying for the sake of completeness but I would not lose sleep over it being the difference between selling and not selling.
@olderbutnostronger I would push back on that, actually. When we were looking at properties a few years ago, the floor plan was the single most useful thing on the listing for filtering out places that would not work before we wasted time on a viewing. You can take beautiful photos of a tiny room and make it look enormous, but the floor plan with dimensions does not lie.
A neighbour sold last year and their agent included a floor plan as standard, no extra charge. The agent on the next road charged £95 for it. It seems to vary wildly by firm but I think any decent agent should include it as part of the basic service. You are already paying them 1% or more of the sale price; adding a floor plan is hardly unreasonable.
I saw the Rightmove data the other day showing stock at its highest since 2015 and nearly a third of listings have had price reductions. In that kind of market you want every possible advantage, and a floor plan is the bare minimum. Pay the £75, @Mrs_Teapotlid 
The agent knows exactly why they don’t include floor plans. A floor plan with dimensions makes it very obvious that the “double bedroom” is 2.4m by 2.6m and the “spacious lounge” wouldn’t fit a three seater sofa. Photos with wide angle lenses are the agent’s best friend. Floor plans are the buyer’s best friend. Those two things are in direct opposition. Draw your own conclusions.