Your house is for sale, and an interested family stops by to tour the house. Later, your agent lets you know they are serious buyers and will talk to their parents, who will live with them. A few days go by, and your agent reaches out to them to see if the potential buyers have questions or want to make an offer. The buyers admit it's difficult for their parents to visualize the layout of the house and whether or not it would work for everyone. Their parents live in another state, so they won't be able to visit the house in person. Despite having a 3-D tour of the home, the buyers want to see floor plans. Are floor plans really that important? In many cases, floor plans are essential when selling a home.
67% of home shoppers consider floor plans a valuable digital asset when preparing to buy a home. - National Association of Realtors®
If you're considering selling your house, talk to your real estate agent about including floor plans in your MLS listing (Multiple Listing Service). Since the pandemic, houses for sale with floor plans have become increasingly popular. When home buyers have access to floor plans, they can get a feel for the flow of the house and the size of the rooms and determine whether or not their furniture will fit.
- According to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, floor plans sell houses faster
- Mortgage approval and remote appraisal can start as soon as an offer is accepted
As a home seller, once you accept an offer on your house, the buyer's mortgage lender begins the loan process. An essential part of the loan process includes having an appraiser look at the house to assess the property's value. Traditionally, appraisers visit the property in person. Since the onset of the pandemic, remote appraisals have been performed most often (and there's a shortage of appraisers).
A remote appraisal can be done in days, whereas a traditional on-site appraisal could take a couple of weeks. A lot can happen in 2 weeks, and if the appraised value came in low, you would have to negotiate a new contract amount, causing more delays. The waiting period could result in missing out on offers from other home buyers, closing issues, and moving delays. Including floor plans with your MLS listing speeds up the appraisal process and closing time.
- Floor plans must be done by a 3rd party professional
- House plans should include the lot size
- Houses for sale with floor plans can result in more showings
More and more online home shoppers are looking for floor plans along with listing photos. Ask your real estate agent about including floor plans in the MLS listing for your house. Your agent will know floor plan requirements, like having them drawn up by a 3rd party professional (not by the agent, seller, or buyer). Floor plans could sell your house faster and with less hassle!
Check out Reazo's comprehensive home seller's guide and bookmark it for future reference:
