Is the old school walkthrough still king or are digital tools taking over? My mentor blew up my process last month.

I had a broker I respect tell me I was wasting time doing full building walkthroughs for smaller retail spaces under 2,000 square feet. He said I should just use the online floor plans and save the gas money. But then I missed a major water stain behind a dropped ceiling on a 1,800 foot unit in Austin because I skipped the in-person look. Do you guys think the physical walkthrough is still a must for small commercial spaces or are we leaning too hard on old habits?

2 comments

2 Comments

jordan1844d ago

The broker's got a point about efficiency but missing that water stain proves why shortcuts backfire. Sure, digital tools save time on the basics like ceiling heights and door widths, but they don't show you the hidden stuff that can kill a deal. I've seen too many online floor plans that look perfect but the actual space has weird columns or bad lighting that just doesn't show up in photos. For anything under 2,000 square feet you can walk the whole thing in under 20 minutes anyway, so it's not like you're losing a whole day. Plus clients always appreciate when you can point out issues they'd never catch from a PDF. Stick with the walkthrough for the small spaces too, just maybe save the hour long inspections for the big properties.

beth_stone4d ago

Walked a place last month that had killer online photos. Everything looked open and bright. Got there and found a load bearing column right in the middle of the living room. Totally changed the furniture layout. Client almost put an offer in sight unseen. That 15 minute walk saved everyone a headache. Now I force myself to do the short ones too, no matter how small the space looks.