Rental Companies Can Benefit From Floor Plan Sketches
As a real estate appraiser, I have the opportunity to provide much more than appraisals to my clients. One part of the appraisal process is creating floor plan sketches of the property being appraised.
Floor plan sketches are not only helpful in the appraisal process but they can also be beneficial to rental or leasing companies. This week I thought I would take a break from appraisals and discuss how a sketch can benefit Birmingham rental companies or rentals companies anywhere for that matter.
A floor plan sketch can vary in detail from a simple sketch of the perimeter of the building with no interior walls to a more detailed drawing of interior walls with dimensions and interior features. Here are some examples of sketches with interior detail.
There are numerous benefits to rental companies which I will discuss below.
Benefits of Floor Plan Sketches to Leasing Companies
1) Visualization for renters – Pictures of the interior of a rental property are great but a sketch can help potential renters visualize the floor plan layout more than pictures ever will. They can see the flow of the plan and the location of the various rooms in relation to each other.
This can help them picture themselves in the property more easily and help them make decisions as to whether the property is a contender for what they need. This could be as simple as seeing that all bedrooms are located together compared to the master bedroom being located on the opposite side of the property, which might be important to someone wanting more privacy.
2) Accurate square footage for renters – A complete floor plan sketch will include the square footage of the property. This can aid renters by allowing them to know if it is big enough to hold their furniture and belongings.
Imagine someone currently renting a 1,200 square foot home and who wants to move up to something larger. If they think the new property is larger than what it is and sign a lease agreement only to find out after they move in that the new place is no larger than what they had. This could result in an unhappy tenant.
On the other hand, if they have accurate information going into the agreement they know what they are getting into. They will have a better understanding of the space they have to work with and they will be a happier customer who is eager to give referrals to their friends.
3) Help with determining rental rate – Since many leasing companies determine rental amounts based on rent price per square foot they can more accurately determine how much a property should rent for. Being off by even a couple of hundred square feet can either cause you to overprice a rental or leave money on the table.
Collecting accurate square footage can help to build up a reliable database of rental information. This data can help you make better-informed decisions when setting rental rates.
4) Stand out from the competition – Having an accurate floor plan with room and wall placement can help your company stand out from others that don’t have this type of information. If potential renters can get all of their questions answered with the information you have they may be less likely to need to go to the competition.
5) Helps renters prequalify properties – Rather than looking at a larger number of properties that may not satisfy their requirements you can help renters narrow down the properties that meet their criteria. This can help cut down on unnecessary showings and free up your rental managers’ time.
6) Accurate advertising – Accurately representing information about your rentals can help build trust for your company. In addition to square footage, the floor plan can give a clear image of the layout of the property which can help renters make important decisions.
This accurate information can help provide better leads. With more accurate information potential renters will have all their questions answered and be closer to signing a lease agreement.
Question
Do you have a rental property that would benefit from a floor plan? Give me a call if you have any questions and as always thanks for reading.
Great service for your clients Tom.
Thanks, Gary.
Good luck with this. I hope you get to measure lots of units this year Tom.
Thanks, Ryan. I did some measuring last year for a leasing company so I thought I would offer this service to other similar companies around the Birmingham area.