We have our house for sale – its actually perfectly setup for someone who works at home as I do – but we are selling because we want to downsize our mortgage and spend less time fighting the garden.
But it got me thinking – what makes for the perfect home if you are looking for the best house for a home business? What does the work from home professional need in their home? Well, I have quite a long list having been renting for a few years – here’s some of them.
Requirements for a “Work At Home” House
- Must have a good sized separate room, which I can call an office, or at least an extra bedroom that I can turn into an office. Having a separate office space, which you can close the door on is not only helpful psychologically – it also means that you will probably get a better tax deduction (check with an accountant or tax professional for the details on this).
- I need some space, a view and lots of natural light. I also need warmth because I live in a very cold climate during the fall and winter months. You may need something cooling if you live in a more tropical climate.
- Must have sufficient power points and phone/internet line connections – a quality and fast internet connection goes without saying. Improved wireless networking means that its no longer necessary to physically attach printers and modems to your computer, but they all still need power – so if you have the choice – you can never have enough power points!
- If you employ a staff or have local clients that visit you at home it’s probably important to have a separate entrance to your work at home office if at all possible. You don’t need the kids answering the door to the client, or have them walking through your cluttered up house to get to the office area! Equally, you probably don’t want employees encroaching on your family space – so therefore you will probably need an office with a kitchenette and separate toilet too.
As my work at home business is entirely online based, I don’t need to deal with clients or employees in my home – so rather than looking for a self-contained home office – I want a room with a view, some space, good lighting, and insulation. What I might do is take the largest bedroom and use it for an office. Where I live anything that is advertised as an “office” by a real estate agent really means “tiny cupboard” or large landing! The key thing for me is to get a property that has an excellent internet connection – this is not as simple as you may think – in new suburbs there are often not enough fast connections to go around!
So whether you are looking for your next home or your first, whether you work at home or in a more traditional job, take a moment to sit down and really think about what you want from your next home, before you hit the streets checking out houses for sale!