Office in the home could be worth £30,000+
Recent research has shown that working from home can both save and earn you money.
The research suggested that gains of up to £30,000 can be made just by choosing to set up an office in the home rather than in a designated office building.
The study, by Homefinder UK and The AA, found that adding an office to the home comes hand in hand with an average surge in house value of £28,000.
Add that to the £2,000 per year saved on fuel costs and the figure reaches £30,000.
It also suggests that if working from home makes it possible to negate the need for a second car, the figure could be pushed up to £34,000.
Enterprise Nation Founder Emma Jones specialises in helping entrepreneurs set up their business from home.
The Spare Room Start Up author advises that now is a better time than ever to set up a home office.
"When people ask if this is the right time to be starting a business from home, my response is 'most definitely, yes!' - not only do you start earning your own income but as these results show, you’ll also be profiting from the rise in value of your house and saving on fuel costs by keeping off the road," she said.
"For anyone thinking of turning the spare room, cellar or attic into an office, this will surely offer yet more reasons as to why they should."
The study concludes that cutting out a one hour commute could allow time for the equivalent of an extra day's worth of work each week, making more efficient use of time.
The AA president Edmund King says the costs of commuting can add up, and by cutting out the commute, both the wallet and the environment will benefit.
"Our figures show you can save £8.40 per day by working from home," he said.
"That adds up to more than £2,000 per year and if you can do without a second car, that leads to annual savings of in excess of £;6,000.
"These are cost savings that any family would be pleased to see. What we like to see is that not only are home workers saving costs, they are also saving the environment."
The advent of technology such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), wireless broadband and video conferencing has made a home office a more viable solution in recent times.
There is a growing trend in the number of people wishing to 'remote work' and, given the evidence in favour, the desire to do so is understandable.
Increasing the value of the home while saving on travel provide the financial benefits, while extra time to work or play helps make more efficient use of time.
It seems the time is right for new businesses to flourish in the home, while changing from an office-based role to a home-office-based one makes more sense than ever.
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