A recent survey of Leaders Romans Group customers (which Gibbs Gillespie is part of) has shown that in the six months from October 2020 to March 2021, the reasons for people moving home have significantly changed.
With the pandemic changing the way we work, possibly forever, the need for ‘another room to work from home’ has increased. For many, having somewhere to work from home was a big influence on them deciding to move, in fact overall it was a bigger influence than the reduction in stamp duty!
If you’re looking to sell your home, it could be really beneficial if you set up some sort of office space before you put your property on the market. Having a dedicated area where someone can visualise themselves working comfortably from home could make a big difference in attracting offers on your property.
Whatever your property’s size, there are ways you can do this.
Change up your guest room
The most obvious one if you do have a spare room is to stage this as an office, or if there is space, include a desk and chair alongside the existing furniture to show the room is multi-use. This demonstrates to buyers there’s somewhere out of the way that they could work in, with the added benefit of not encroaching on other living areas.
Convert space under the stairs
if you live in a home with a staircase, you could convert the space underneath it into a work area. This is obviously a bit more time consuming but it’s a great way to utilise existing space which isn’t being put to good use. The key thing is to make sure you have a chair that can be pushed neatly under the desk or folded away when the work area isn’t in use. This will show potential buyers that there’s still room to move around easily.
Utilise an unused corner or alcove
Some properties have corners or alcoves that aren’t used for anything but could make a comfortable work from home area. This idea works especially well if you’re short on floor space as you can build upwards instead. Incorporating shelves above the desk is handy for extra storage and makes it feel like it is a dedicated space for working.
Empty out a closet
If you have built in wardrobes, some of this could be used for work space instead. Playfully known as a ‘cloffice’ (combination of closet and office) it is up to you whether you want to remove the wardrobe doors so the office is always on show, or keep them so it can be shut away when not in use. It could be quite a wow factor on a property viewing to be shown an office that’s secretly hidden in a wardrobe!
Image credit: shelterness.com
Buy a small desk
Using a smaller desk is better if you need to fit it within an existing living space like a living room or bedroom. If you’re concerned about the space working for you whilst you still live there, you could even get a foldaway desk that you get out and stage before viewings, and put away afterwards. It doesn’t have to be a desk that’s the same size as what you’d get in a commercial office - as long as it’s large enough for a laptop (and perhaps a cup of tea or coffee!) that will be workable for a lot of people.
The important thing to remember is you don’t need to spend much money on an office space, you just need to show buyers your property’s potential. Following the trends we have been seeing regarding remote working and its continuation into the future, it could definitely make a difference as to whether potential buyers consider putting in an offer on your property.
