Do you work from home? Buy your next home with your office in mind!

If you work from home, and it is time to move to your next home, there are some factors you should consider carefully before making your decision.

The flexibility afforded by a “zero-commute” combined with the skyrocketing price of gasoline has strengthened the case for full time teleworking and telecommuting. According to an Environmental Protection Agency (2004) study:

“Americans spend an average of 46 hours per year stuck in traffic. Gridlock produces more than $63 billion in congestion costs per year”

The artist community has been well acquainted with the use of work/living spaces for years, but improvements in technology have made the benefits of teleworking and occasional telecommuting more attractive to general consumers. According to the key findings form the International Telework Association & Council (ITAC) Telework America (2000) study:

“Home-based teleworkers also have larger homes, on average, than non-teleworkers; the difference amounting to about 500 square feet. The most popular place for an office in these larger homes is a spare bedroom, with the living room a distant second. The primary home telework activity is computer work (55% of total activities), followed by telephoning, reading, and—averaging 7% of the time—face to face meetings.”

As you purchase your next home, there are certain factors to consider if you need to set up a new home office:

Make sure that your high-tech needs can be met. Have a qualified electrician inspect the wiring of the house to see if the system can handle the extra power load that your home office requires. Older homes may need significant upgrades to handle the extra power, while newer homes are built with more energy-efficient systems to handle the additional power along with heating/air conditioning requirements. If you use cable, DSL or satellite internet access, check with your local service provider to see if access is available in your new neighborhood. Shop around for your telephone provider—in some cases, business service bundles may be more cost effective than regular residential service.

Designate where your office space will be. Determine the amount of space you will need to accommodate your work style and space. In many cases a spare bedroom or living room space can be used, if a formal den option is not available. If your work requires heavy telephone usage or just heads-down concentration, you may want to consider utilizing a room with a door. Doors can be closed to reduce interruptions from other family and household noises.

Plan your office blueprint to include all required furniture, bookcases, computers, fax, and printers. Make sure to allow for filing and storage space for files and extra office supplies. Lighting is critical for computer or assembly work, so make sure to allow for direct sunlight along with any specific task lighting that may be necessary. Select flooring options that will allow you to work comfortably—you may wish to go with hardwood or laminate flooring to allow for your chair to move smoothly across the floor. Install enough phone lines to cover your home, business and fax machines needs.

Is the office easily accessible? If you will expect regular package deliveries, make sure that your designated office is easily accessible to the front door of the home. This is also necessary if you will need to meet clients or visitors in your office and would like to ensure a professional appearance for your business.

Find out about local business requirements. Some cities have zoning restrictions and guidelines for work/living spaces along with tax implications. Make sure to check with your local government to determine if special restrictions exist.

Are you ready to find a home that could allow you to work from home? Or...do you need more room in the current home you own? Give me a call - lets get you started!

HELLO....Life is Calling

We live in an "instant" world and I think that has caused us to be a society of selfish, inpatient and sometimes uncaring people.  Life steps in sometimes and decides to slow you down whether you like it or not.  During this "Lull" in my career it has made me appreciate the little things in my business and in my life.  It's the little things that matter.  Like taking a few minutes to just breathe and be grateful for the little things.  

Have you ever just stopped what you are doing in your busy world and just "LOOK".  I mean, REALLY look!  Yesterday I was walking my pups and decided I needed to stop looking down.  I made a HUGE effort to slow down and look at the things around me.  Guess what I saw?  BEAUTY.  California is beautiful.  You do not have to be by the beach to appreciate the simple beauty among the hustle and bustle of city life.  Now, I am not sure you know that I am a true country living girl.  Not cowboy rodeo type, but rolling country side, bluegrass, garden fed, run through the yard barefoot, type of girl.  When I grew up, I had fields to play in.  I remember laying in the grass and just watching the sky and finding animals in the clouds.  Somewhere along the way we stop this process.  We get caught up in business, in life, in raising children, being a wife, being everything to everyone.  In that tornado of life you forget there is a beautiful world calling out to you.  Things get rushed and pushed to the next day, only to find your list never gets done.  

SCREECH...back to the walk?  I stopped to breathe. Here is what I saw. Tall, lean, majestic palm trees, wonderful vines full of pink delicate flowers, a clear blue sky and the smells of home cooking coming from the homes around me.  There were kids playing in the front yards, laughter coming from the distance, a church bell calling people to worship, you know...the little things you tune out in the busy daily life that you lead when trying to get to your next destination. So now, I have decided that each day I am going to take at least 15 minutes to just hold my head up and use my true eyes to see.

Yes, that's all spiritual and stuff. (giggle)  But I noticed when I  made that decision it made it easier to study the material in front of me.  I even stopped to think how blessed I am that I can even take my Real Estate Course online.  Really...no joke...just a few years ago you would have to go to classes but I have the luxury of sitting in front of my computer and getting it done in the comfort of my home.  Which made me think of how I do business.  I have a cell phone, a fax machine, a copy machine in my home and IN MY CAR! I am a fully functionally office where ever I am.  If I need to look up a property or a fact it is at my fingertips.  Who needs the World Encyclopedia book set anymore.  Yes, indeed, this Realty Goddess is blessed and happy to live in a world where I can access info at a snap of a finger, but for this weeks lesson I am glad my spirit called out to me and made me slow down.

Because of this little spiritual awakening, I finished my course, passed the school test and now I am awaiting a state exam test.  I'll keep you updated!

Peace, love and blessings from the Realty Goddess!

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Reflections of the Journey.....Denver to Los Angeles

My life consists of a few things at this point.  Studying, walking my pups, and looking for jobs.  Now I know that does not sound very exciting, but there is some lessons to be learned in my daily items.

First, California real estate is very different than Colorado real estate.  Some of what I have learned in the past five years has to be unlearned and re-learned in a different way.  Now, this isn't a bad thing, just a difficult thing at times.  The excitement of learning new things, new rules, new areas get's me all tingly inside, but taking the practice tests frustrates me so much at times I just have to get up and leave the house.  Hence, the walking of the pups.  I don't think they have been walked this much in their whole lives!  I am sure they hope my frustrations get the best of me at this point, but I digress!

So I have a hump to get over, ok....I can handle that, but can get I get over it quickly and move on because I am SO ready to get to work.

This "downtime" in my real estate career has made me realize just how much I LOVE what I do.  The thrill of helping someone buy their first home excites me.  I think I get more excited than my clients at times.  The idea that I have been a part of something so important and life changing makes me want to do it even more.  My clients are more than "clients" they become friends and what more can a "people loving" person ask for?  I have photos of my clients first babies, graduation photos, Christmas cards, thank you notes, etc.  The list goes on and on!  I LOVE IT. And all that excitement just comes from being a buyers agent.  There are new thrills on the listing agent side.  Makes my teeth buzz!

All this leads to my revelations of the job market.  You see, you don't just get your real estate license and promptly close on a house the next day.  (I WISH!) You have to find the clients, let the relationship bask in the listing or searching, go through escrow, financing, closing...etc.  You know all the background noise that is necessary to get to the really fun stuff.  You didn't think it was all just confetti and party horns did ya?

So, back to the job topic.  I was a secretary for over 15 years before becoming a Realtor, so I just KNEW I would not have any issues with finding a part-time, full-time, temp job while I am building my other part of my life.  I just thought I'd sign up with a few temp companies and everything would be fine.  Guess what folks....NOT.  At this point I have over 275 resumes out and I have three temp companies in my pocket, who have yet to produce any job, not even a one day job!  This unemployment thing....well, it's real.  There are so many people unemployed and looking for any type of work that I am in the many numbers who apply for any job they see. Cover letters, resume's, online posts, interviews (if you can get them) are what most unemployed fill their days with.  It is a very eye-opening experience and it makes me feel so much more for my clients when they let me know they have lost a job.  It's so simple to say, Oh you will get another one" when in actuality it may be months before they find one.  So all this will just prove to make me more compassionate to my clients in the future.

I don't know what tomorrow may bring on the job horizon but I do know this girl is not wasting any time with getting her real estate testing complete.

But in the meantime....can a sister get a job? Resume is ready and waiting!

Peace, love and blessings from the Realty Goddess!

Follow me on twitter, facebook, yelp, google+ and foursquare! Maybe we can share some laughs and smiles along the way.