For many people these days, their home is also their office. Working from home is becoming more and more popular as so many tasks are being computerized and video conferencing opens the communication channels.
However, if your home is also your office, it might be that much more disruptive to sell your home and move. Here are a few tips that you can follow to make the transition smooth.
Set A Schedule And Stick With It
Having open houses is a great way to increase the interest in your home. While online listings provide far more information than listing mediums of the past, buyers still appreciate being able to walk through a home they are interested in and get a feel for the space.
However, if you work from home, having a walk-through or an open house might be very disruptive. This is especially true if you work from home as an employee of a company and have set office hours that you are expected to keep.
Make sure to talk with your realtor about your work hours and when it would be the most convenient to schedule an open house.
Keep Your Work And Living Spaces Tidy
For some people, walking through your home and seeing an office setup in it might be kind of a turnoff. These are people who don’t understand the work from home culture and feel that home should only be a place where you relax and spend time with family.
For others, seeing a home office might be inspiring and something that they are looking for. They might really appreciate how you have your work space integrated with your home space and be impressed by the fact that your home is already equipped to support that setup.
However, for both of these groups of potential buyers, an untidy or disorganized home office space is going to be major red flag. Keep things decluttered and organized to make a good impression.
Plan To Not Be Home
If there is a time when you need to be working but, a potential buyer is asking to see your home, it is best that you find somewhere else to work during that time.
For a potential buyer, they want to walk through the home and envision how they are going to live there and where they will put their belongings.
If they turn the corner or open a door and see you working – it will feel awkward and ruin the illusion that it is their home.
Be Prepared For Interruptions
Whether you work from home or not, your agent is going to be interrupting you when there is a potential buyer that wants to view your house. This is a good thing and it is their job.
However, when you work from home your agent’s interruptions not only mean a phone call interruption but also a scheduled walk-through of your home. This means that you will need to tidy up your workspace and then leave your home to go and work somewhere else.
Just remember, all of these interruptions are good news and a good sign that there is a lot of interest in your home. The more interest, the faster your home will likely sell. When you put your home up for sale, just accept that there will be interruptions until the selling process is over.
Consider Co-oping A Workspace
It might be a good idea to consider sharing a workspace with a friend or colleague. When you share the space – you share the monthly rental fee. This might be a good idea to do for the time while your home is up for sale.
This could significantly open up the days and times that your home is available for walkthroughs, and you may decide that it is something that you want to keep doing after your home is sold.
Working from home is a great benefit and many people would love to be able to do it. Don’t let the positive disruption of selling your home make working from home feel like a negative.