For many real estate investors, real estate isn’t their full-time job. It’s something they do on the side to earn passive income. They don’t need a full office building or to hire a staff, especially if they’re a turnkey investor!
Every investor, however, needs some kind of workspace. A home office is essential! You want a space where you can have the clarity and drive to be productive. When you sit down, you want to get stuff done. That means you aren’t working for your couch, the kitchen table, or a beanbag chair. Those might work in the short-term: but you need a dedicated space.
When crafting the optimal home office, there are a few things every investor will need to ensure they’re set up for long-term success:
8 Home Office Essentials for Real Estate Investors
1. Backup Data Storage
ioSafe SOLO G3 ($350)
There’s nothing wrong with cloud storage per se. We just happen to think having an external hard drive is your best bet. These things have capacity far behind that of most clouds, and you’re not paying for expanded storage every month. On top of that, you never have to worry about a hacked account.
The ioSafe SOLO G3 is fireproof and waterproof, ensuring that no disaster will separate you from sensitive financial data.
2. A Document Destroyer
Fellowes 73Ci ($200)
Every home office needs a good paper shredder, and not just because there’s a visceral satisfaction in turning documents into confetti. It’s about keeping sensitive information safe. The Fellowes 73Ci not only is strong enough to do a number on paper, but it can tear up CDs and credit cards, too, while also having a sensor to detect hands and stop shredding: perfect for home offices where children might be present from time to time.
3. High Speed Wifi Internet
Netgear AC1750 ($170)
The number one killer of productivity for any occupation that requires the internet is slow internet. A wired connection will always be faster than a wireless connection, but using wifi means that you can take your connection with you on a laptop, smartphone, and throughout the rest of your house.
The Netgear AC1750 is one of the best wireless routers out there for delivering high-speed wireless connections.
4. A Laptop Computer
Even if you have a desktop computer in your home office, having a laptop is always a good idea. Sometimes you need a change of scenery to spark your creativity or generate new ideas and strategies. Maybe you want to take your work to the coffee shop or outdoors for a little while.
You can go with a Macbook or check out PC Magazine’s list of Best PC Laptops of 2016 to get an idea of where to start.
5. Quality Furniture
You should never be getting cramps and aches in your office. Feeling uncomfortable and restless is only a distraction from getting things done; so ergonomic, functional furniture is an absolute must. You don’t want to be nap-time comfortable, but you want to be feel good where you are.
Check out Gear Patrol’s list of 13 Best Ergonomic Office Chairs, which offers a good mix of high-end and more affordable options.
6. Good Lighting
Every office needs adequate light. If at all possible, have natural light in abundance. Too much artificial light can drag down your mood, if not make you depressed, and staring at a screen in a dark room for too long can cause eye strain.
Remember: a single light source is not enough. Don’t rely on one lamp alone. Mix-and-match with floor lamps and desk lamps.
Amazon’s Best Seller’s in Office Lighting is a good place to start.
7. Surge Protectors
Never neglect a surge protector! When you don’t use one, any electrical surge or outage (commonly caused by storms, but can be caused by other things), can ruin your electronic equipment. You don’t have to use fancy, expensive ones. Just select one or two with the number of plug-ins you need and go from there!
8. A Door
Your home office needs a door: no ifs ands, or buts. You office should be its own space, not in combination with another. Why? Because it’s so easy to get distracted by other things! Even if there’s no one else in the house, the mentality of having a division between work and home will help you be more productive and live a healthier life in general.
