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Networking your home office
Plan for productivity Sources for home office products Buyers Guide vendor chart
To learn more about home offices, visit our Home Office Advisor section. Advisors are for registered users of Realtor.org (formerly onerealtorplace.com). | | The Comforts of the Office
Create a haven for work with one of these home office packages.
BY MICHAEL ANTONIAK
Want to make more productive use of your time?
A fully equipped home office may be the key. The selection offered in today’s home office essentials make it easy to work from home, no matter what your budget or how limited your space. In fact, even with a relatively modest investment, you can have technology at your disposal at home, whenever the urge to work strikes. (One word of caution: If you’re thinking of making home your main office, check your state laws first. Although anyone can get extra work done at home, some states prohibit use of a home office as a primary place of business.)
What equipment you need to set up your home office depends on how you like to work. Most real estate professionals depend on their phone, so a second phone line, backed with voice mail or an answering machine, represents the absolute minimum.
The next essential ingredient is a computer system, as both a gateway to e-mail and the Internet and a repository for all the information that keeps you productive. Today’s entry level systems are less than $1,000 and will be adequate for most needs. Add a basic application suite (with word processor, database, accounting, and graphics applications), Web browser, e-mail program, and contact manager, and you’re in business.
For as little as $200, you can add a multi-function machine that prints, scans, and copies. For the best of each function, though, you’re still better off buying a dedicated printer, scanner, or copier.
There are a few other tools you should consider if you plan to work from home. A digital camera can be a very affordable solution to promoting listings online and putting together your own fliers and marketing materials. For as little as $200, you can find a camera adequate for your basic needs.
And since you’ll have to leave your home to make sales, consider carrying a PDA when you’re out of the office. At the very least, a PDA affords mobile access to contact information. And current high-end PDAs are true computers, much smaller than a laptop without sacrificing essential functions.
The equipment shown here demonstrates the range of products you can expect to find at the low, middle, and high price points. By the time you read this you may even find even more features and lower prices in the marketplace.
Networking your home office
If there are several computer users in your office or your household, you may benefit by setting up a network.
A home network offers several advantages: It provides an easy way to share files or applications among two or more users; it allows all on the network equal access to equipment like printers, scanners, and hard drives; and with broadband Internet access, several users can access the Internet through one account, simultaneously.
Setting up a home office isn’t nearly as complicated or expensive as putting together a local area network in the traditional office. It can be as simple as plugging your equipment into phones jacks already in place. Both the Fallaron Home Line Starter Kit and D-Link Systems Home Network in a Box create a small local network, linking a limited number of users and equipment over existing phone lines. For Apple users, Airport provides a solution for wireless networking in the home, connecting as many as 50 computers (Mac or PC) scattered over 150 feet.
If you like the idea of wireless connectivity but don’t need a network, look for products that support or can be adapted to the Bluetooth standard, which allows wireless communication among machines that sit within a 30- to 50-foot range.
Plan for productivity
Carefully planned, a home office can serve as the hub of activity in your real estate practice. To maximize productivity, consider these points before setting up shop.
Keep it separate. Unless you live alone, your home office needs to be removed from the buzz of the typical household. Devote a room, or at least a corner, to physically and psychologically define the boundaries between personal and professional life.
Maximize use of space. The right equipment, such as a multifunction machine or a laptop that you can fold up and put away, allows you to do more in less space.
Buy only what’s necessary. Before you start equipping your office, assess how you’ll use various home-office tools. Your home office need not include everything, only what you actually rely on for work. If you can use a digital camera or color laser printer at the office, for example, you may be able to forego some expense.
Remember, it’s a home first. A home office can overwhelm the house and all who live there. When you’re working, shut the door or improvise some other type of barrier, so the house can continue operating as a home.
Sources for home office products
Here’s how to reach some leading suppliers of home office equipment. Most offer a range of equipment addressing all price points.
Computer systems - Apple Computer Desktop and laptop solutions for those who value ease of use over Windows compatibility; www.apple.com; 800/692-7755
- Compaq Aggressively priced turnkey Windows systems and peripherals for all users; www.compaq.com; 800/888-0220
- Dell Computer A market leader in Windows compatible systems; www.dell.com; 877/883-3355
- Gateway Full line of customizable desktop and notebook systems at all price points; www.gateway.com; 800/846-4208
- IBM NetVista and ThinkPad lines for the business user at home or at work; www.ibm.com; 888/426-5800
Digital cameras - Eastman Kodak A broad selection of cameras, from entry level to professional models; www.kodak.com; 800/235-6325
- Hewlett-Packard Several models of PhotoSmart cameras and related printers; www.buy.hp.com; 800/613-6372
- Olympus Camera maker brings its expertise in optics and imaging to the digital arena; www.olympus.com; 888/553-4448
- Sony Full line of digital cameras, including models using video floppies and MemorySticks for image storage; www.sel.sony.com; 800/222-7669
Telephone systems and accessories
Printers/scanners/copiers/MFMs - Brother International Full line of copiers, printers, and MFMs; www.brother.com; 877/552-6255
- Canon USA Printers and MFMs based on proprietary Bubble Jet inkjet technology; www.usa.canon.com; 800/652-2666
- Epson America Full line of innovative color inkjet solutions; www.epson.com; 800/463-7766
- Hewlett-Packard Color inkjet and laser printers, scanners, and MFMs for all office types; www.buy.hp.com; 800/613-2222
- Umax Complete line of scanners, from consumer to high-end professional models; www.umax.com; 800/562-0311
- Xerox Small and big business solutions for copying, printing and document production; www.xerox.com; 800/275-9376
PDAs - Casio Several types of PDAs including Cassiopeia Pocket PC; www.casio.com; 800/962-2746
- Compaq iPaq line of Pocket PC PDAs; www.compaq.com; 800/888-0220
- Handspring Full line of Palm OS Visor PDAs with Springboard expansion slot; www.visor.com; 888/565-9393
- Palm Developer of Palm OS with full line of PDAs; www.palm.com; 800/881-7256
- Hewlett-Packard Offers Jornada line of Pocket PC PDAs for business and consumers; www.buy.hp.com; 800/613-2222.
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