Floor plans and square footage: what you can advertise.

Why floor plans matter

Photos show what rooms look like; a floor plan shows how they connect, which is the question photos answer worst. Buyers use plans to check whether the bedrooms are together, whether the kitchen opens to the family room, whether their furniture will fit and how the basement is laid out. For split-levels, additions and homes with odd layouts, a plan can do more than ten extra photos.

How marketing floor plans are made

Most listing floor plans are drawn from on-site measurements taken with a laser measure or a scanning device, then drafted into a clean 2D drawing with room labels and dimensions. Some come from 3D scans. They're accurate enough to show layout and approximate room sizes, but they're drawn for marketing: walls are idealized, small jogs and closets may be simplified, and rounding happens. KONAH's 2D floor plan with measurements is $75, and our Matterport add-on includes a plan.

Square footage is a different question

"How big is the house?" sounds simple, but there are several honest answers. Gross living area (GLA), as appraisers use it, generally counts finished, heated, above-grade space measured from the exterior, and treats below-grade space separately. Tax records may use their own methods. Builders sometimes quote figures that include space others wouldn't. And a marketing floor plan may total the interior room areas, which comes out smaller than an exterior measurement. None of these is wrong; they're measuring different things.

ANSI and appraisal standards

The American National Standards Institute publishes a standard for measuring single-family residential square footage, commonly referred to as ANSI Z765. It sets rules for what counts as finished area, how to treat below-grade space, minimum ceiling heights and how to round. Many appraisers follow it, and you'll hear lenders and appraisers refer to it. If a buyer, a lender or an appraiser is going to rely on a number, the number should come from someone measuring to a stated standard, not from a marketing plan.

Basements, bonus rooms and other gray areas

• Finished basements: usually reported separately from above-grade living area, even when beautifully finished. Advertise them as finished basement space, not as part of the main number, unless your MLS fields say otherwise.
• Bonus rooms over garages: count depends on finish, heat, access and ceiling height.
• Sunrooms and enclosed porches: heated and finished or not makes the difference.
• Unpermitted space: be careful. Advertising unpermitted additions as living space creates problems later.

How to advertise size responsibly

1. State the source of any square footage you publish: tax records, an appraisal, the builder or a measurement to a stated standard.
2. Use the MLS fields as designed, separating above-grade and below-grade area if your MLS asks for it.
3. Label floor plans as approximate, with a line like "Dimensions are approximate and for illustration only."
4. Don't add up room areas from a marketing plan and present the total as the home's square footage.
5. When numbers conflict, say so and let buyers verify.

What buyers should do

Buyers who care about exact size should rely on their own measurements, the appraisal or a professional measurement, not on the plan in the listing. A short line in your listing remarks encouraging buyers to verify measurements protects everyone and is common practice.

Room labels

Floor plans carry labels like "Bedroom", "Den" and "Office". Label honestly: whether a room counts as a bedroom can depend on local rules about windows (egress), closets and size, so a windowless basement room is safer labeled "Bonus room" or "Den". Over-labeling bedrooms is one of the most common sources of disputes after a sale.

Floor plans for condos and rentals

Condo buyers compare units across a building, so a plan with dimensions is especially valuable. The official unit size often comes from the condo documents or the developer, which may be measured differently from your plan; publish the official number and label your plan as approximate. Renters use plans to decide whether to tour at all, which is why KONAH's Investor package includes a floor plan with room dimensions.

When to skip the plan

For a small, simple condo or a rental with an obvious layout, a plan adds less. For a large home, an unusual layout, a home with an addition or a property marketed to out-of-town buyers, it's one of the best-value add-ons in the listing. See our floor plans page for samples.

Measuring older homes and additions

Older homes in Arlington, Alexandria, Fredericksburg and the rest of our area often have additions, enclosed porches and finished attics built over decades. Each is a judgment call for square footage: is the space heated by the main system, is it finished to the same standard, how is it reached, what's the ceiling height? Marketing plans can show these spaces clearly with labels like "Enclosed porch" or "Finished attic", which is more useful to buyers than folding them into a single number. When the official figure and the plan differ, explain the difference in the remarks rather than leaving buyers to discover it.

Rounding and dimensions on the plan

Room dimensions on a marketing plan are usually rounded to the nearest inch or few inches and measured wall to wall, ignoring small jogs, radiators or built-ins. That's fine for deciding whether a sofa fits; it's not fine for ordering flooring. A short note on the plan ("Dimensions approximate; verify before relying on them") sets the right expectation. KONAH's plans carry that note.

Talking to sellers about size

Sellers often remember a number from when they bought, from the tax assessment, or from a renovation contractor, and they want the biggest one in the listing. Explain gently that buyers, appraisers and lenders each check size in their own way, and that an inflated number can come back at appraisal or after closing. Publishing a sourced figure and a clear plan protects the seller as much as it protects you.

A pre-listing size checklist

1. Find the tax record figure and note how it was measured, if stated.
2. Ask the seller for any appraisal or builder documentation.
3. Order a measured floor plan and label it approximate.
4. Enter above-grade and below-grade area in the right MLS fields.
5. State your source in the remarks and invite buyers to verify.
6. Label rooms conservatively: den or bonus room when bedroom status is uncertain.