Where are the best places for today’s location independent real estate investors, agents and CEOs to work at?
Remote working is pushing through tipping point to becoming the way the majority individuals will work and run organizations. Perhaps there will be a revival and new trend in returning to factories and corralling individuals into physical offices and cubicles in a few decades, as a way to stand out. For the foreseeable future working remotely delivers on the lifestyles that people crave, and it is providing incredible efficiency. But working at home isn’t the answer for everyone. So what are the alternatives?
The Challenges and Myths of Working at Home
Working at home or while traveling full time can be a dream. In fact; it’s one of the top reasons that individuals get into real estate. Some thrive working on the sofa, kitchen table, or in a real home office. Yet, in reality it just isn’t a good fit for others. It can lack structure, cause friction in personal relationships, or just be too much with kids running around and bouncing off the walls. Others will find that the glare on the screen when working on the beach makes it impossible to get much done, or the lack of control of temperature and consistent access to charging stations makes working at the local Starbucks far less enjoyable and profitable than imagined. If you experience this, what alternative remote working choices are there?
- Coworking Spaces
Coworking spaces are everywhere today. It still means traveling to an office, and that time drain and expense. Yet, the overhead is much lower than old school offices, and the daily engagement can help turn up business. Shop around, find an affordable one, with a good business address, and test it out.
- Another Home
Just because your primary residence doesn’t offer the ideal conditions for productivity doesn’t mean that working from a home is a bad move. If you are buying and selling real estate there is a good chance you’ll always have a vacant property. Maybe it is being rehabbed, is waiting to be rented, or you are just waiting for a bite from a buyer. How about working there? You can essentially host open houses all day, every day, and attract new live leads while working on other business. This might be the most productive move many real estate pros can make.
- Finish the Basement
Have a basement at home that you still haven’t gotten around to fixing yet? How about finally getting around to that? It could add to the value of your residence, and provide a quiet safe haven to work from without having to travel every day.
- Finish the Attic
Not everyone has a basement, but most have some underutilized attic space. It may require a building permit, but finishing this space can add extra square footage, and appraised value to a home, as well as a separate private space to work from. Chances are that it can be more cost efficient and produce a higher ROI than renting an office, or a traditional home addition.
- Portable Outdoor Offices
Elegant sheds and innovative shipping container architecture is hot. Why not put one of these portable spaces to work as your office in the yard? This is especially powerful for real estate pros that plan on moving in the future. Just have it loaded up and moved with you. Get creative, and make it as fabulous and stylish as you like.
- Sublet Office Space
Owning your own office condo might be better than simply renting an office and throwing away money every month. But what about subletting a small single office from another company in the industry. It can lower their overhead, it’s more affordable, and could put real estate pros right in the middle of substantial new lead flow. Consider what a spot in a busy mortgage office, real estate attorney’s office, or title company could do for your business. There may be dozens of leads floating around all day; and who better to step in and save the day than you?
Summary
Working at home or on the road can be incredibly freeing. Yet, some real estate pros are going to eventually find they need to get a little more creative in order to keep up their best work. There are plenty of options here, and there is no reason agents, investors, and executives can’t mix it up too.
