ARCHIVES

When a subdivision is sold out and dropped from the active Salestraq file, the floor plans are stored in the Floor Plan Archive File.

When you open the FLOOR PLAN ARCHIVE file you see this screen:

You can use any of the above categories to search for an Archived Property.

AREA

The areas you may specify are based on the Counties in and around the Chicagoland Area: Cook, Lake, McHenry, Dupage, Kane, Will, DeKalb, Grundy etc. The neighboring counties in Indiana and Wisconsin are also included.

STRUCTURE

This refers to the type of structure such as Townhome/Condo which includes both Townhomes and Condos; SF (Single Family); Rowhomes, High Rise Condos, Lofts etc.

STORIES

Only '1', '2' and '3' are legitimate entries here. Split levels have been entered as '2' stories. (As a point of interest, a few builders installing step down living areas refer to them as tri levels, when in fact, they are nothing more than two story homes with sunken living space.).

SQUARE FEET

Be leery of searching for floor plans by square feet. There are five different square footages for every home:

1. Square footage as reported by the builder
   
2. Square footage as reported by the tax assessor
   
3. Square footage as reported by the owner
   
4. Square footage as reported by the appraiser
   
5. Square footage as reported by the Realtor
   

In some cases the square footage may be empty. In some cases the square footage may be 0 (zero). In most cases the square footage will be recorded differently (at least slightly) from what you are looking for.

SUMMARY

When looking for an archive floor plan, begin your search with the name of the subdivision, if you know it. For example, if you know the common name of the subdivision is 'Excel', the simply go to SEARCH and type in the first 3 or 4 letters of the subdivision name; EXC should be sufficient, and then press enter to let the computer search for Subdivisions which starts with 'EXC'.

Utilize whatever information you have. In some cases you will never be able to single out one particular floor plan as being the one you want; you may have to narrow your search down to two or three possibilities.