Tips on setting up a realty office at home.

Here are some tips on setting up a home office. High-speed Internet access is almost mandatory in the long run. A modem connected to a standard telephone line is insufficient and time-consuming. There should also be three lines of communications, each dedicated to the following: high speed Internet access, fax line, and a voice line with voice mail. Also, consider forwarding your calls from your regular head office. The set-up of your office equipment is also important. It can increase efficiency and prevent soreness from lack of ergonomics. Invest in a phone headset, which allows freedom in your arms to perform other duties. Although desktop computers are less expensive and more powerful, laptop computers provide portability.

After 20 years of real estate sales and driving back and forth to my office a couple of times a day, I yearned to simplify my life, make it as efficient as possible and have a home life to share with my partner and family.

For me, moving my office home has been my best real estate decision ever. If this thought has begun to lure you, here are some of lessons that have helped me.

Establishing your home office has front-end costs and requirements. Equipment is a major consideration and, of course, should start with the lines of communication.

High-speed Internet access is absolutely necessary in the long term. As you get more proficient, you’ll find regular modems attached to telephone lines will not provide you with enough speed.

Ask around and find out if the Internet service providers offer 24-hour technical support. Some companies, it seems, are spending more money getting new subscribers than they are on servicing them. It is important that your home office have three lines of communication: High-speed Internet access, if available, connected to your computer, a separate phone line connected to a plain paper laser-quality fax machine, and a voice line with voice mail.

If your computer, phone and fax machine share the same phone line, the component retrieving information will make the others inaccessible, hence the need for three lines. However, an ADSL line can give you all three in one.

If your head office has call forwarding, its phone system can connect directly to your home office. Your clients will be impressed with the hours you keep and the amount of time you spend at the office, when you are really at your desk in a relaxed home atmosphere.

Your family will appreciate seeing more of you, even though you are at your computer, and you'll have begun your workday by saving drive time. Your office environment is vitally important. In setting up your workspace, assume that the phone is ringing off the hook and you must achieve the most work within the shortest time and with the least movement.

Visualize how you will work and keep changing the pieces until they reach the best arrangement for you. Remember: great kitchens work best with all materials within reach in their proper places.

Knowing that I would spend many hours there, I filled my home office with my favorite art. The office is brightly lit and I sit on a comfortable, rotating chair with my back to chests of drawers. These contain active files on top, historical files inside, as well as information that might be needed on a day-to-day basis at hand.

To the right, adjacent to a separate printer and great amounts of paper and stationery, is a dedicated plain-paper laser-quality fax machine. Although plain-paper fax machines cost more at the outset, it is much easier to forward documents printed on plain paper.

Next is a voice phone and headset. The headset allows the flexibility of keyboarding without risking a sore neck and, at the same time, allows your arms the freedom to work. Some new cordless phones also have headsets and allow one the flexibility of doing business while you water the plants and enjoy your home.

The center of my business life is my computer, which sits in front of me on a large table completing the “U” that I sit inside. Whether you choose a laptop or desktop computer, realize that even though you’ve left the store with all the latest and greatest features, they are redundant by the time you get home.

Desktop computers are less expensive and more powerful, but if you spend weekends in winter skiing and summers at the cottage, for instance, a laptop computer is a must. As your business increases and finances allow, you may want both. If you plan to be at your desk a lot, pay the extra dollars for the larger screen.

Today's color printers are cheaper and the print quality has increased. Full-color presentations, cards, and all printed materials are easily and economically done at home today. Spending extra for "bright white" premium paper will serve to demonstrate your professionalism, as will merge-print envelopes instead of labels. All your photos, including yours, should be in color.

By Richard Silver