If you work from home and it’s time to move, your next property should reflect your personal and professional needs. This isn’t always as straightforward as it seems, so think everything through from start to finish. Read on for important tips from Shannon Cutler Real Estate.
A Designated Workspace
First things first. When you plan to work at home, you must prioritize a house that is laid out so that you can have a designated workspace. This doesn’t mean buying the largest house on the market, but the one with a floor plan that’s conducive to helping you provide a work/life balance for yourself and your family.
Ideally, you can separate your workspace from your living space by having a room far away from where your family gathers. So if your family members spend a lot of time in the kitchen and living room, this might be an upstairs bedroom or a basement-level bonus room. You’ll need enough room for office supplies, a desk, a budget-friendly laptop, and whatever else you need to grow your business.
That last part can be the trickiest. Contemplate what will be involved with your daily affairs and how you envision that looking years down the road. Will clients come to you? If so, what will they need? Separate entrances, parking, a powder room, and so forth might be part of that vision. What about delivery vans and a production area? Will you need a particular layout to be efficient? 3D renderings of homes you’re interested in can be the best way to ensure you move forward in a logical manner (working with a freelancer is a budget-friendly option for this type of service).
Protecting Your Assets
Before you fork out the money for a new home, you’ll need to do some research and take steps to ensure that your personal assets are protected. If you’re an entrepreneur, you’ll want to first confirm that you can operate a business from your future home. Many neighborhoods and even larger cities have ordinances against home workspaces if it means added traffic or a noise nuisance. Once you are given the green light, look into forming a corporation to protect your assets if you experience financial hardships.
Not Just A House
Now that you know you need a separate office and have taken steps to confirm that you can work from home, it’s time to take a look at the bigger picture. The neighborhood – and even the street – that you want to live on may not be conducive to a productive work environment.
Talk to your real estate agent about the hours you typically work. Then, scope out the neighborhood at different times during the day. If it tends to get loud about the time you settle in with your computer, you may want to keep looking. You might also want to investigate area crime information, and look into things like walkability and traffic.
A New Buying Process
As HuffPost explains, the work-from-home revolution has changed the way we buy houses. Keep this in mind as you and your agent began vetting potential properties. Remember, you do not have to be a short commute from work, and you can easily live in the suburbs or a rural area and be just as effective as in the city. And, since you do not have to move if your company relocates, you can buy with long-term goals in mind. It makes more sense now more than ever to buy with future plans, so have a clear picture of what you want for yourself and your family moving forward. And beware of purchasing a home “as is.” These homes typically have serious issues such as structural damage, termite infestation, or mold.
Working from home is a freedom unlike any other. But it does take special consideration, and if you are in the market for a new home, make sure to buy with all of your needs in mind. You don’t have to have the biggest house, but your space has to make sense for you.
Connect with Shannon Cutler Real Estate for help in making your home-buying dreams a reality in Parksville and Qualicum Beach! (250) 248-0896
- Courtney Rosenfeld