Try checking with your county's property appraisal website. Many, (most that I've looked at) have general floorplans and lengths on their website (some also have good aerial and street views). In addition, you can see tax information, and a breakdown of the sq footage per "unit" (i.e. garage, porch, etc).

It's free, and the county websites offer a wealth of accurate information, many times including floorplans - all you should need is the address or the current owner's name.

Thanks to everyone for posting your thoughts on this.

Personally, having a floor plan to look at - before, or even AFTER viewing the house, would've have been incredibly helpful in remembering which houses I liked. When you see a bunch of different houses, it's difficult to remember the different layouts and spatial flow of each one...they tend to blur after a while.

With the houses I ended up considering seriously, floor plans would've been helpful in coming to a final decision by simply being able to better visual the living space, potential renovation possibilities, and furniture arrangements.

I'll admit, that if I had had a floor plan of a few of the houses BEFORE going to see them in person, I would've passed. But that way, my realtor wouldn't have had to show us the place and we wouldn't have ended up being disappointed and wasting our time looking at a house that didn't suit us spatially.

I do understand the concerns expressed about floor plans, but for me personally, it wouldn't have mattered to me if the square footages were indicated on the plans. I was just hoping for a visual representation of the layout - not a construction document.

Thanks again for all of your insight!

Cathryn, couldn’t agree more. Wouldn’t it be nice if these were standard requirements in our MLS information sheets?? Some day these, and the goggle street view links, may give us a chance at more objective images of the homes we are viewing online. Other markets have easy access to the plat map or property boundaries as well. Hoping we see these happen for us here in Nashville soon.

Do you think it would have eliminated some of the properties you ended up going to view though? ((This is the common concern I have heard in the industry))

kevin pellatiro (615)714-7918 kpellatiro@realtracs.com http://signswemustobserve.blogspot.com/

I agree that primarily it's the added expense. In addition, there is certainly potential for issue if the floor plan gets included in the contract process and it isn't completely accurate with regards to scale or sq ft. I could see it being a benefit for buyers who might want the floor plan so they can come up with plans for furniture placement or just to compare a few different properties. I have mixed feelings about floor plans because I have seen some that look phenomenal on paper and when you get inside the space once it's built the flow is awful, light inadequate, or utility wires just outside your windows and should never be used in lieu of showing. I use them extensively when I sell new construction and can see some benefits for having them in the existing inventory but think sellers and their agents need to decide if this is the best use of the marketing dollars and bring it with some declaimer.

Cathyrn
Fees vary, but you are talking about an additional investment from the Realtor to the tune of $150-$350. I like them personally because the inventory in my area is mostly over 50 years old, so often the stated square area is not accurate.

I'd be curious to see if other buyers comment.

it is an extra expense but I actually have a floorplan done for almost all of my listings because I feel the same way. Sometimes if you email the lsting agent they can send you one. I've also noticed that on Realtor.com youb can't see them very well, because you have to put them in a jpeg format. We do have the option of putting them on Realtracs and I do this, but if I send you the link for a listing , you as a home buyer can't get to it. How crazy is that? I've asked the question but have been told to put them in as a jpeg, which really isn't a very satisfying floorplan, in my opinion.

It is an extra expense. Floorplans can usually be drawn up for about $100 on an average size home for inclusion in a virtual tour. Floorplans are much more commonplace in the sale of luxury property. There can be issues in publishing square footage however. Many people are reluctant to publish a definitive measurement in today's litigious society. If you recall, there is no square footage anywhere in the standard Purchase & Sale contract. Most folks just go on faith of the measurement in the tax record.

The Patriot Properties website sometimes offers crude floorplans - some are better than others.
http://170.190.30.53/WebproNashville/Default.asp?br=exp&vr=6

Cathryn,

IMHO, the agents would much rather you come personally for a showing to view the floor plan. They always want to keep your curiosity up, and probably consider that as divulging too much info.