There has been a significant increase in the popularity of home offices of late, which if done correctly can increase the value of your property. We therefore thought it would be useful to put together a number of tips when looking to set up your own home office.
Keep your home office separate from living space
It is now relatively easy, and relatively cheap, to buy a home office which you can construct in your garden. There are many benefits to this strategy one of which is to keep your living space and your working space separate. The ability to walk out from your home and move into “work mode” is priceless as is the option to leave your office and go into “family mode”.
Check your insurance cover
Many people automatically assume that their insurance will cover all items in their home as well as the garden. As a consequence, countless people have experienced significant financial loss when looking to claim for items stolen from their home office. It is therefore vital that you check your insurance, when deciding to work from home. Yes, it may cost a few pounds extra a month but when you consider the computer equipment and other accessories; any damaged or stolen items could cost a lot of money to replace.
Private business phone line
There are potentially huge savings when moving from a commercial office to a home office but crystallising these potential savings is a whole different ballgame! You will need to become an expert in tax affairs to claim as much as possible but one starting point is to install a private business phone line. This will also incorporate broadband and ensure that the expenses for your home phone line and your business broadband are separate.
You should want to spend time in your office
When you consider how many hours a day the average person works it is imperative that you create an office environment which is enticing and stimulating. The use of different types of lighting, decluttering the area and a generally bright and breezy atmosphere can all make you want to be there. If your office is not enticing, perhaps it is too relaxed, this will obviously impact your efficiency and potential savings going forward.
An interesting addition
As we touched on above, there has been a significant increase in the number of people working from home in recent times. This was a trend forecaster to happen more than 20 years ago and while it has been a “slow burn” it is certainly starting to catch fire now. Therefore, an office in your garden could be a very useful “unique selling point” when looking to sell a property in the future. The Internet has changed the working practices of many people and this trend is only set to get stronger.
Summary
There are many different aspects to consider when looking at a home office. It needs to be enticing to the user, stimulating and not encourage boredom or an atmosphere which is too relaxed. You may also find it to be a relatively useful USP when looking to sell a property in the future. Even if the office is not use for commercial work it can still prove to be very useful to many different people.