Having a home office is a huge convenience for many potential buyers. Whether they work from home or just use it to pay bills; having a designated space where they can set up a computer, printer and have all their tax records and financial items organized in one space has become a “must have” item when searching for a new home. When you place your house on the market having a designated home office will increase the value of your home.
If you already have a home office, there are a couple of things to consider before you place your home on the market. First, where is your office located? Do you have a designated room? Or are you working at the dining room table? Your office should function solely as an office, so when staging your home for sale use a spare room as your office and leave the dining room as a place for special occasions. Do you have a nook in the kitchen, off a hallway or in a loft area? These make for excellent workspaces, but will have heavy traffic so make sure to keep any documents neatly tucked out of sight. A messy space is the quickest way to make your home unappealing to potential buyers. Secondly, how do you use your office? If you work from home, you will still need access to your office on a daily basis while your home is on the market. How will you be able to conduct your business and still keep your home show ready? The key is in organization. No doubt you have many sensitive documents that you wont want potential buyers noticing on your desk. Make sure that you have a good filing and storage system. Put away all documents, clear off your desk and place office supplies into decorative boxes or baskets with lids. This way you know where everything is, but potential buyers wont see the results of your daily office grind. If you use your home office mostly for paying bills it will likely be easier to keep show ready, but you will still want to de-clutter and de-personalize the space.
No home office? That’s ok; you can create a space easily enough. There are likely many places in your home where you can add a desk, chair and computer. Depending on the number of bedrooms in your home, you can convert a spare bedroom into an office. However, be careful to not make any permanent changes if you are using a spare room. Potential buyers may need more bedrooms than you. Adding a desk at the end of a long hallway or in a loft is a great way to use awkward space and give it some function. You do not have to do a major remodel to incorporate a home office, just get creative in your space and use multifunctional furniture. Try a beautiful decorative armoire with a fold down top. This piece of furniture is stylish and can hide away your office supplies. Or use a leaning wall desk. These compact desks function as both a workspace and bookshelf. All you need is an unused space; the right piece of furniture and you can create a workspace that not only functions for you but entices potential buyers as well.