How to Capture a Buyer Requirement Properly (BHK, Servant Room, Furnishing)

Ask ten agents what their client wants and you will get ten sentences like this one: “3 BHK plus servant room, furnished, in Aura valley, budget around 90 lakh, wants to move in a month.” Ask their CRM the same question and you usually get a name, a phone number and a location. Everything that actually decides which property to show has been lost in a notes box.

That gap is where deals die. Here is the exact set of fields worth capturing on every lead, and why each one earns its place.

1. Purpose: sale, re-sale or rental

This single field prevents the most embarrassing mistake in the business — sending a tenant a sale-only flat, or pitching a re-sale unit to someone who only wants fresh builder inventory. Capture it on the lead and on the listing, and matching becomes trustworthy.

2. Configuration, the Indian way

A dropdown of 1 BHK to 5 BHK is not enough. Real requirements include:

• 3+1 and 4+1 BHK — the extra room for a servant or study. Treating this as a plain 3 BHK wastes everybody’s Sunday.
• Penthouse — a category of its own, not a 5 BHK.
• Kothi, builder floor, villa, apartment — buyers say these words; your type list should contain them.

3. Size — with the unit the client thinks in

In Punjab and Haryana a buyer says gaj, marla or kanal. In Bengaluru or Mumbai the same conversation happens in square feet. Store the number and the unit together, convert exactly, and a search for 100–120 gaj will still surface a plot you recorded in square feet.

Keep the two size ideas separate too: plot size belongs to plots, land and farmhouses; built-up or super area belongs to constructed homes. A form that shows both at once invites bad data — show only what applies to the type selected.

4. Furnishing preference

Furnished, semi-furnished or unfurnished decides rental deals more often than budget does. Capture the preference on the lead, capture the reality on the listing, and stop sending an unfurnished flat to a family relocating next week.

5. Preferred project, not just a location

Buyers rarely say “somewhere in the north of the city.” They say a project name, because their cousin lives there or they saw the hoarding. A lead form with only a location field forces that detail into notes, where no filter can reach it.

6. Buying timeline

Within a week, within a month, within three months, or just enquiring. This is the cheapest prioritisation your team will ever get — one dropdown that tells an agent which five calls to make before lunch.

Fields only pay off when they are searchable

Capturing all this is half the job. The other half is being able to ask your inventory: furnished 3+1 rentals in Aura valley between 1,200 and 1,600 sq ft — and get an answer in two taps. That means filters for purpose, project, BHK, size across units, furnishing, budget, location and even whether a listing is direct or through a dealer.

It also means your WhatsApp templates can speak in specifics. A message that names the project, the configuration, the size, the rate per sq yard and the total value gets a reply. One that says “Plot no 8, price ₹52,000” gets ignored — or worse, confuses the rate with the total.

Frequently asked questions

What does 3+1 BHK mean?

Three bedrooms plus one additional small room, typically a servant room or study. It is a distinct requirement from 3 BHK and should be matched separately.

Which fields should a real estate CRM capture on a lead?

Purpose, property type, BHK, preferred size with unit, furnishing preference, preferred project, location, budget range and buying timeline — all as real fields, not notes.

Should plot size and BHK appear together?

No. Plot size applies to unconstructed property; BHK and built-up area apply to constructed homes. Show the fields that match the selected property type and hide the rest.