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TODAY'S OTHER NEWS

Are your tenants about to switch to permanent home-working?

There are a growing number of companies planning to shut their offices, with a view to having all their staff work from home permanently, and that could have an impact on the amount of time your tenants spend at home.  

Last week, Denton’s law firm became the latest company to announce that it will continue with their current virtual working arrangements, while others are planning to follow suit. 

New research commissioned by Attic Self Storage has found that although restrictions are being lifted, 41% of office workers are expected to continue their jobs from home, with 44% saying it is the most productive place they have ever worked. 

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For office workers, with 67% working for SMEs and 33% global heavyweights, more than a quarter - 28% - said their leaders see no point in returning to costly office spaces; and 19% are shutting down the office so that their staff can work mobile from home. 

With many workers getting used to a work from home lifestyle, some people are having to get creative.

A quarter - 25% - are now making their homes multifunctional; 27% decorating or converting their homes; 36% decluttering to carry on working from home. 

The most productive places to work from home are:  

1.      Kitchen table / dining area 

2.      Sofa / living room

3.      Bedroom 

4.      Home office/ study

5.      Garden / garden shed 

6.      Balcony

7.      Garage 

8.      Children’s room

9.      Campervan 

10.   Bathroom

 

Some 37% of Brits surveyed said that they are considering their own venture as a result of the pandemic.

Those wanting to start up on their own stated 12% - wanted to become their own boss; 10% - are inspired by location independence; 9% - want to spend more time with loved ones. 

Top industries Brits want to start businesses in: 

1.      Technology and software

2.      Freelancer / Consultant

3.      eCommerce

4.      Finance/ investments

5.      Arts & crafts

6.      Property / construction

7.      Travel / tourism

8.      Hospitality

9.      Health/ Fitness

10.   Education

Frederic de Ryckman de Betz, founder and CEO of Attic, said: “We have seen an increase in business leaders and Kitchen Table Talent opting for storage over office space or upsizing their properties over recent months.” 

Want to comment on this story? If so...if any post is considered to victimise, harass, degrade or intimidate an individual or group of individuals on any basis, then the post may be deleted and the individual immediately banned from posting in future.

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    I think this work from home is good and the way forward, I won't have a problem with any of my tenants working from home, then we can buy the redundant office space and convert them into flats.

  • Andrew Stanton PROPTECH-PR A Consultancy for Proptech Founders

    Totally what is going to happen, with localised shops servicing these flats, if Boris gets his 'commercial property plans' through in the Autumn - bonanza time to convert/demolish commercial and rebuild as residential with NO planning, fast forward the future.

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    • 19 July 2020 20:22 PM

    I believe major cities will become veritable ghost towns.

    WFH will be the way work will now change.
    Employers have direct empirical evidence that their business activities have hardly been constrained by WFH and many business have actually seen performance improve with WFH.

    There will be a massive decanting of city office workers out to where they reside.

    It makes economic sense to get rid of the expense of city centre office buildings.

    I believe there will be a change to a sort of hybrid way of working.

    So that perhaps once per week workers will commute to an office building somewhere.

    Such an office building doesn't need to be in expensive city centres.
    Office buildings on or near the M25 will be where such offices will locate to.
    This will enable people to drive to work saving fortunes on very expensive train fares.

    LL would do well to consider the merits of WFH workers.

    It would be the case that LL should consider making properties effective for WFH workers.

    I believe that for LL with houses the attractions of their rental properties will be greatly enhanced if they have a shoffice at the end of the garden.

    Whilst WFH is going to be an increasing desire of many renters the facts are that working within the current domestic environment won't be feasible in the long run UNLESS there is a suitable separate area that can be made into a study etc.

    With a mostly dead space at the end of a garden it makes eminent sense to construct a shoffice.

    This would be very attractive to those WFH tenants.
    Anecdotal opinion seems to suggest that if no suitable separate space within a property for WFH that having a separate workspace from the residential property would be desirable.

    It has certainly changed my perspective.
    I was considering a giant garden shed.
    In light of the CV19 crisis and WFH I have now concluded that a far better offer would be for a property with a shoffice.
    More rent should be achievable for such circumstances.
    I would still have a smaller garden shed/s for 'stuff'.

    WFH will result in massive savings of expenditure for workers.
    You could easily see savings of about £8000 per year.

    We could see the situation where WFH tenants are able in about 4 years time to have saved sufficient for a healthy deposit.

    This will give opportunity for tenants to become OO.
    We could see a massive shift of spending in city centres to poorer outlying areas.

    This will be very good news for such areas.
    It will unfortunately be very bad news for businesses dependent on the daily migration of workers into cities.
    Essentially city centres will become veritable ghost towns.

    LL should give great attention to the requirements of the WFH tenants.

    LL should invest in HOUSES outside the M25 etc.
    Ideally near railway stns so access to London could relatively easily occur.

    Govt will have little alternative than to renationalise a no longer PROFITABLE rail network.
    Without commuting office workers the rail network can no longer be profitable.
    The service needs to be nationalised and operated as a public service as efficiently as possible but with profit no longer being the main aspiration of the service.

    Taxpayers should subsidise the rail infrastructure as an affordable transport methodology for all.
    PROFIT should NOT be the guiding mantra for the rail service.

    There is no doubt that LL need to consider a major reset of their business from city centre flats to houses etc out in the 'sticks'

    About 300 years ago the migration of country dwellers to the cities began.
    It seems that this situation is to be reversed with the WFH method of working.

    Those involved in servicing all the needs of office workers must expect to be out of business.
    They simply won't be needed in the numbers that they have been traditionally required in.

    I would also suggest that for those tenants with children having a shoffice would be of great assistance for children as quiet place for homework to be completed.
    So such a shoffice used during the day as an adult workspace and then for children in the evening to carry out homework.

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