The Times Newspaper published on May 14th 2010 their Top 10 Tips on Floor Plans. As a leading UK supplier here is our response to those Top 10 Tips;

      http://property.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/property/article7125062.ece

1. 1. The UK is one of very few Countries we work in that does not display the purchase price/square meter on its sales material, although it is always available. This we believe is the key metric when purchasing a house and have been pushing our UK clients for years to show this number, however the number of Bedrooms a property has still seems to be more important.
2. 2. The rules on creating floor plans are strict and most Real Estate Agents can explain them to you as many UK Agents actually draw the floor plans in-house themselves. At Rescom Media we have a team of 50 trained Design Graduates to ensure all rules are met and the plans are created to a Professional level.
3. 3. Some Agents ask us to use color to show the original floor plan at the time of building, and then the items added or removed over time.
4. 4. All floor plans must be drawn to a scale. We advise our Clients to add a scale line to the floor plans to enable clients to assess the property size. Alternatively zentuvo.co.uk provide an interactive floor plan which allows you to drag and drop furniture of set dimensions to see if they fit and how they would look.
5. 5. Measurements are taken from inside the walls and yes dead space is added to the square meter calculation. Ask your Agent to simply show a detailed table so you can calculate the size with and without unusable space. Watch our for Agents who add in the Garage or non converted Loft to the square meters!
6. 6. Agents still often undertake the measuring and the drawing of floor plans. The UK's biggest supplier of floor plans is actually a 'draw-your-own' software provider, with option to have them drawn professionally by their Team.
7. 7. A floor plan from Rescom Media is as accurate as the input from the person who has measured the Property. High quality or 'slick' floor plans simply makes understanding them and reading the labeling easier. A high quality floor plan should be;
   
   
   • drawn to scale with scale clearly visible
   • drawn to RICS standards
   • have measurements within all rooms
   • have a north sign for orientation
   • have a visible size in square meters with and without unusable space
8. 8. 2D has its limitations. Many Countries are now moving towards 3D floor plans, at Rescom Media 3D now accounts for 25% of our work. 3D however also has its limitations as the floor plan can reach levels of quality close to 'photo realistic' which can then lead to issues of misrepresentation if not correct, for example if the 3D floor plan shows gleaming wooden floors and then on viewing they turn out to be old carpets, the viewer is not happy! The solution is a non textured 3D floor plan with accurate heights.
9. 9. In Scandinavia the floor plan is a tool used to reduce the number of unnecessary visits to properties, less wasted visits means less employees needed in an Agency and so increased profitability. The UK Industry does not agree with this view and anything which reduces the number of people viewing a property is not seen positively.
10. 10. A floor plan is just another element to support the decision making process. They reveal certain pieces of useful information which a set of carefully taken, wide lens, edited, photos may not show.

Floor plans are a key part of the marketing material produced to sell or rent a property. Professionally created plans, with clear explanations can support the decision making process. In recent years floor plans have become more interactive. When viewed online at the major portals or Agents websites, they allow you to match a photo to a position within the property. 3D floor plans are now being more widely used and these, when drawn to scale, give a good sense of the real size of the property, especially when furnished. At Rescom Media we supply, free of charge, a Property Viewer. The Viewer allows an Agent to house all its marketing for a property in one simple tool, including photos, floor plans and PDF Brochure. All the key elements to help people decide if they want to view a property or not.