I am in the process of creating and building my home office, not to meet clients, but to do research work, look up and print listings, work on my blog, market on Facebook and do all the ''other'' real estate task's that can be done off hours to be more productive.

Do most of you have a home office? If so, please post any suggestions and must have's for a home office for real estate and in general.

Thank you!

I've always had a home office. A small fridge is a nice thing to have.

I suggest everyone to have a home office. Especially as being an agent isn't a 8-5 job. I'm not sure how one could do without. You need a computer, internet connnection, printer, scanner, a fax machine or a fax service such as myfax. a small fridge. Unless you are a step away from your kitchen. Most everyone has everything they need already. In addition to that you will need some software such as cutepdf, and some sort of PDF software. I like Nitro PDF. That way you won't have to print and scan very often.

I don't actually have an office space at my brokers office. I have yet to use the copier there after being at that office for 10 months. And it annoys me when agents are thinking they are being helpful and drop off offers at my office instead of faxing or e-mailing them to me.

Here are links to a couple prior threads related to the subject:

Working from Home

Home Office Pictures

In the summer, my front porch is my home office. In the winter, it is my living room.

When I am at home I do not like to be sequestered away from my kids. If I am doing tasks that can be accomplished at home, I do not need to be hidden from them in a private room. If I need to make phone calls I just go in another room with the laptop, but most of the time, my home office consists of my laptop, cordless phone, and a comfy spot somewhere.

I almost always work from home. I have an office right inside my front door which works for meeting with clients if I have to do it at home. I have a computer, printer/copier/scanner/fax and a file cabinet. My office is close to my family room and kitchen so I don't isolate myself from my family.

I have a home office and fortunately it is not far from the kitchen. So I have everything else mentioned here except the fridge. If the adjacent half bath was a full bath, it could be considered another bedroom because it has a standard window and closet which is currently being used for storage. There's also a nice-sized table that is used for sorting when doing mailings or other work, a TV and a typewriter. Yes, an old school typewriter.

My home office is a bit say, although I do have one. It unfortunately is a multi-purpose room with does not make for the best work environment and can get a bit load at times with does not make real estate related work productive...when I feel like getting a move-up house, i will definitely opt for a stand alone home office.

Yea i have a home office. I think one of the important things is not having a TV anywhere near the home office! And of course having a scanner, fax, LANDLINE (my cell always drops at home!)

I work from home as much as I work from the office. When I do, I have to close the door and have work time. It is easy to work at home and get preoccupied.

I feel that if I do setup my home office, I will be more inclined to work and be more productive when my competition (other Broker's) are not!

For example, when I am at home watching TV or have nothing to do in the early morning and late evening's, I can definately start searching for listings, send e-mails, follow up, update my Facebook fan page and do all the other ''administrative'' stuff that I don't have to worry about during core business hours etc.

Sometimes I go to my office to "work" just to hide from the wife and kids. Its always a productive time though.

I have a home office that I work in but it resembles a crime scene more than a productive office....

Working from home is great if your family understands that you are "not there". I really enjoy it because it lets me work more often without wasting time in the car.

ha ha - that's what my cubicle looks like at the office...lol

Find a place in your home and make it your work place. If you don't, you could end up watching tv or doing the laundry when you should be working. Home offices are great, as there is no commute and you can work anytime; I highly suggest it.

i used ot work strictly from home....about a year ago, i moved only into the office....my pc...scanner, printer and all are now in my office office....my home office is empty...i use my netbook around the house....i dont work from home..

i am a workaholic...i really love what i do and cant stop....the only way that i have found to keep home home and work at work is to keep business out of my house....if i dont have it done by six pm...it wont get done till tomorrow...this is a business and a business has hours that people need to respect. they will only respect it if you draw a line...if they dont know that htere is a line, they might cross it...



i love working from the office and my productivity has gone up since. best move made in quite some time...next best move was docusign...wow...no more driving around to get silly things signed...people ask less questions too. they, go figure..read the information that you send instead of asking questions for the sake of asking because they feel that htye have to just because they are there. im not a lawyer.


if you have hte option of having an office in the office, try it out. i ahve done both and really love the office..when i was home, i loved that too, but now that i am set up at hte office, i would not want to go back. i feel better and sleep better now that i am set up with my current configuration.

good luck setting it up, either way.

IMPORTANT Insurance tip: The homeowners/renters policy LIMITS coverage for business personal property usually to $2,500 and that would be for anything in your home used for business like: computers/desk/phones/lamps etc. Also, the home/renters policy excludes liability from business which means if anyone fo any reason comes to your home and slips/falls gets hurt there would be no coverage. There are 2 endoresments you can add to cover both the property and liability coverage, the Computer Rider endorsement & Permitted Incidental occupancies endorsement. Make sure you talk to your homeowner agent to make sure you are properly covered for the business activity done at home.