Guest contributor Ian Grace of REALTOR®Mag says:

In my advertising sessions, both face-to-face and webinars, I'm often asked about use of floor plans and photography. I'd like to share a few of my thoughts.

Floor plans

When people are looking to buy a new home, floor plans are provided. These floor plans give potential purchasers a feeling for where their furniture might fit, where the study might be located compared to a bedroom or perhaps entertaining areas, or how close the children's rooms might be to the parents' bedroom (perhaps closer preferred when they are younger so they can be heard, and further away when they are older for everyone's privacy).

However, the moment that property is sold and becomes a second-hand or lived-in property, the floor plans tend to disappear from the ads selling those properties. Why?

It would seem to make sense to include floor plans to sell existing properties because they get the potential purchasers involved, and many progressive agents and real estate groups are doing just that.

To get potential buyers really involved, you can use interactive floor plans with little icons in the rooms and outside. Then, every time an icon is clicked, it pulls up a photo of that room or video. It's fantastic interaction.