Like many of our buyers, I tend to work both from my office and from home

Like many of our buyers, I tend to work both from my office and from home.

As I chat to buyers, I soon realise that, in a world where we have become time poor, a space to work is becoming as important as a good entertainment space or well fitted kitchen.

That way, we don't have to stop when the traditional office doors close or stress out over wasted time spent in traffic jams during rush hour. The flexibility of a home office allows us to spend a few valuable hours working from home, waiting for rush hour to abate.

Of course, the reasons for needing a work space at home extend beyond simple convenience. If you own your own business or work as a consultant, there's no reason to hire office space.

More and more executives are locating their families in beautiful residential areas such as those on the KwaZulu-Natal coast and Midlands or the Cape wine lands or coast. That not only means ensuring that your new home allows you to commute easily but has space for you to work.

Last but not least, more and more parents are choosing to work from home - and many large corporates are choosing to allow their top talents to go this route rather than losing scarce skills or having them spend large amounts of time on maternity or paternity leave or giving up their careers altogether.

Although there are no official stats for South Africa, experience tells us that we're seldom different from our counterparts in the US. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics, about 24% of employed people worked at least part of the time at home last year and 42% of those with a tertiary education worked from home at least part of the time.

In a separate study by John Burns Real Estate Consulting about 30% of the 23,000 new home shoppers surveyed worked at home between one and four days a week. 13% worked at home full time.
If that's you or likely to be you in the near future, there's a lot to be said for finding flexible spaces that can serve as both office and guest room, for example. Also, you don't have to look for an office perse - often existing spaces can easily be converted into offices when they're needed.

While some businesses can be run from home needing only access to Wi-Fi and good coffee, others need a more formal set up with larger spaces as well as separate entrances, ablutions and kitchens as well as parking for staff or clients.

If you're looking for a simple work space for a single laptop and a desk, then look for what used to be called a study or library. But shelve the mahogany panels and instead look for a comfortable space with good lighting and the right flooring to accommodate office chairs. Although it's something we often overlook, you'll also need good electrification to accommodate additional equipment such as routers, printers etc.

Make sure that you ask your agent about connectivity. Has your potential new residence been home to an office before, are internet connectivity and cell phone signals good and has the optic fibre roll out reached this neighbourhood yet? In our experience, increasing numbers of buyers consider fibre optic networks and properties offering high-speed internet access an important factor when selecting homes.

Although the advantages of working from home are many, we do need to warn you of a couple or potential pitfalls, too.

First, there are pros and cons when it comes to property values. A home that is very well equipped as an office may reduce the pool of buyers who will consider it. It will be seen as "niched" and will only appeal to those that require the space for offices. So make sure the room that future buyers could use it as an additional guest room or play area for children.

Secondly, especially if you are setting up an office for multiple workers, check the zoning ahead of buying. Smaller home offices often go unnoticed but if your home business is larger, you might need to check rather than irritate your neighbours or have the municipality close your doors before you've started out.

When it comes to estates or complexes, check the rules of the body corporate upfront.

Alternatively, check if you can apply for consent from your neighbours to use the premises for business. They will consider issues such as the number of additional vehicles and noise.

If your property is to be used predominantly for offices, look for areas where zoning has been granted or where the zoning is likely to be granted.