Business address

tyllwyd

I'm a sole trader working from home as a proofreader/editor, so all it involves is just paperwork and one desk with a pc in the corner of a room. I get a few letters through the post but never visitors to the house.

We are thinking about moving house and renting for a while, but I'm a bit concerned that the landlord might be worried about me using the rented house as the business address. I've looked at getting a serviced office temporarily for 12 months or so, but the costs are probably more than I earn.

Any ideas of other options would be greatly appreciated!

crazyguy

Its no big deal working from home and most landlords will not be worried about it in the slightest, the only thing is check for correct insurance as you should by rights declare that you are a business to the insurance company it is of little difference to the cost though I think it is more about the t&c's also the rates are slightly different to.

Speak to potential landlords and tell them upfront as I think it will not be an issue for you.

bengalknights

You could always use a po box service if need be.

Savvy_Sue

We've been discussing PO Boxes recently sorry can't find immediately and no time to search. Costs have doubled, it seems.

Anyway, I'd definitely talk to the landlord and say that you work from home: it should not be an issue even though running a biz is often a 'no' in the tenancy agreement. What a landlord is trying to avoid is 'nuisance' from a biz: you shouldn't be causing any.

I wouldn't talk about it being a business address, just say you work from home and what it involves, if that makes sense. Obviously you'll arrange to have post forwarded at the end of the tenancy.

Alternatively if you have another 'reliable' address, see if you can use that. DS1 is still getting letters from HMRC here, and he moved out over a year ago. As he's about to move again, I haven't insisted he changes it. I suspect his driving licence is still registered here too, but as he doesn't drive I'm not fussed about that either!

Savvy_Sue

OK, here's the post about Royal Mail PO boxes and the like.

moneysaverboy

crazyguy wrote: »

Its no big deal working from home and most landlords will not be worried about it in the slightest, the only thing is check for correct insurance as you should by rights declare that you are a business to the insurance company it is of little difference to the cost though I think it is more about the t&c's also the rates are slightly different to.

Speak to potential landlords and tell them upfront as I think it will not be an issue for you.

Actually, as long as you're only doing phone and admin up to a set number of hours you don't have to change your insurance I believe, it's only if you're producing something or having clients in your home that you have to adapt the insurance. - Though I still agree with you regarding speak to potential landlords and explain you work from home etc. I'd have thought most would be ok about it, though some may prefer you not to advertise that address. You could opt for a virtual address like the sort they offer here: http://www.crc-essex.co.uk/ (I'm not recommending them, was just the first company I saw who do them when I googled it lol).

tyllwyd

Yes, I've told the insurance company I am working from home, and that was fine as long as it was just paperwork (lets face it, most people have a desk/pc/printer in their homes anyway).

I'm leaning towards getting a virtual office address with mail forwarding. I'm trying to balance up costs between ones that offer mail forwarding included in the price and ones that just give a mailbox, or alternatively getting a P.O. box.

One thing that worries me is having an old address on file with my clients - I had no end of trouble a while back when a client decided to send parcels to an address that I'd moved away from three years earlier, despite having sent letters to my current address a couple of months earlier, and me informing them of their mistake before they sent the second parcel! (And finally they sent a courier parcel to my correct address, which the courier managed to deliver to the wrong house ...)

crazyguy

I wouldnt bother with an virtual office and or po box as to be honest a po box seems to appear as an illusive address and may put off potential customers, you can as you have advised the insurance save yourself any money and work from the address and most landlords wouldnt realy be bothered about you working from home.

It is allways a good idea to check with the house insurance as they can in the small print fail a claim if you have not declared that you work from home for the likes of a pc or printer if it were stolen whilst most households own these items you do need to tell them to cover yourself.