Working from home?

[meechnails]

Hi, can anyone help with my confusion???
I am considering relocating my salon to my home to cut down on overheads and stress but all I seem to keep hearing is that you need to contact the council planning office, inform your mortgage lender etc... my hairdresser has never heard of these things and she has worked from home for 5 yrs and works 5 days a week, so im confused?? what was supposed to be a simple, stressless way of working is turning into alot of hassle, can anyone help??

 

[mrsfrancis]

I have a home Salon and you DO have to inform your Council. Only because it is their job to see what kind of business you are running from home in order for them to see if you need to pay Business rates.
In our line of work you rarely have to make the change but it's good to inform them to cover yourself.



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Rheah Francis
CND Education Ambassador Midlands

 

[treasure]

Yeah exactly as said above you must contact your local council and they then assess it and decide if you require planning permission and if you have to pay business rates or not. Some mortgage lenders will not allow business to be conducted from the property so you do need to check that too to be on the safe side. And also your contents insurers, as this can become invalid if you have not let them know that business takes place from your home. It all worried me too when i was setting up from home but it all turned out to be an awful lot simpler than i was expecting xx

 

[smooth]

You only need to notify your mortgage lender if you are renting out the property. Normally you just have to notify the council to see if you need to pay business rates and get environmental health out if necessary.

Your insurance will be the biggy, your current insurer may not like you working from home and it may invalid your insurance so check this out. You may have to chane to specialist insurance company with a more expensive premium. :irked::cry:

 

[toffeepop]

Having done some homework prior to getting training, I had also wondered about council issues/business rates. I remember my mum's ex running his business from home and him not being happy about the rates etc (we did live in quite an expensive area at the time). I've since moved elsewhere, and I know even the cost of renting an indoor market stall (not that I would be) is vastly cheaper where I live now.

However, I'm aiming to work mobile, rather than setting up a salon in my own home (unless we get a nice lottery win for a nice big extension :wink2, but haven't sussed out yet if being mobile is still classed as working from home?

There is such a lot of things to consider when planning on working for yourself, and it's making it a lot easier being able to read other geeks experiences and ideas - must say a huge thanks to everyone!

 

[My Gorgeous Bod]

Oh my! Such varied views. Some of the following may not be relevant to the original poster but I hope it helps.

What councils are worried about (apart from claiming any extra rates they can get their hands on!) is whether the footfall (people visiting your salon at home) will impact on the neighbours and environment such as parking space and extra deliveries; and also any logistics regarding waste disposal. It is not scary or difficult to sort out and do your initial enquiries semi anonymously so that you can get an idea of what their issues might be, and what you can solve to make it easier and cheaper for you. For example, it could be that if you retain a lovely couch, that also happens to be a sofabed, in your salon, so then it might be there are no extra rates as it is a "spare room". Worth a thought and asking the question!

You need to look into your your deeds or rental agreement. There could be a clause that prohibits work at home. But some of these clauses were written in the dark ages to stop smelly animal rendering and glue production and other such activities. Again they may also be there to guard against the impact on neighbours with footfall and deliveries etc. Don't stress over this and it may not be as difficult or impossible as it may look to sort or work around.

Your mortgage company may need to be contacted but quite frankly, unless there was a serious reason why you could not have a salon at home I tend to think they would rather you maximised your income potential so that you can pay the mortgage. Again do not stress over this.

Also to take into account if that salon is exclusively a salon then you may be liable to capital gains tax when you come to sell. Just ask your mortgage broker or a property/financial expert. But we are not talking about selling your soul to the devil, it is a matter of a % of profits from the sale and nothing to be scared about.

And then there is the chestnut of insurance. With some home-based businesses you may find that your insurance goes down simply because you are at home and are a deterrent to burglars! Just phone then up and ask them! No charge for just asking. And ask around different insurance companies for quotes and change if need be. Insurance may go up but this might not be as much as thought as it is balanced against you being at home.

And if you are mobile based then inform your car insurer. I am mobile and was rather chuffed when I contacted my car insurer to find out that I could be covered for using my car and carrying my stuff and that it was no extra cost. In fact, I did it at a time when my insurance was up for renewal and my broker found me an even cheaper rate so mine went down!

When you are working mobile, I understand that you can bag up the waste you produce and give it to them to include in their household rubbish. So you are not producing loads of waste that you need to dispose at your own home. I am not 100% sure what the position is regarding the higher risk waste but I give my clients own wax waste that includes slight blood spotting for them to include in their rubbish and am under the impression that is OK. After all, if you cut yourself at home you clean up and dispose in the normal way.

Now. Do not take my word as gospel on any of the above as rules and regs vary from county to county and country to country. But there are a few pointers to ask.

I hope that helps!

 

[meechnails]

Thank you all for ur input!! Think I'm worry about nothing!!
Xxx

 

[fozzyo]

For all your insurance needs I would recommend talking to H&L Balens. They are the best in the business in my view, and will sort out everything for you. Including a household policy that allows working from home with clients visiting.

Mat

 

[JuicyLucy]

I run a salon from a room at the back of my house that has its own entrance. In a nutshell:

I pay Business Rates for the room and the WC attached to it (both are sole use for my business). To be honest I don't know why the Council bother to collect these rates, its such a small sum.

I have Professional/Product Liability insurance (which you have to have anyway).

My household insurance includes a special clause that states that my household goods are covered if there is an act of violence by a client. Meaning that if a client was allowed to roam my house and either caused damage or removed an item, I would not be covered. If however a client attacked me and then went into my house, I would be covered!!
The policy was slightly more than the normal policy, but not much.

There is a difference between "working from home" (where you would be working mostly alone) and "running a business from home" (where you would have clients on the premises). The latter has an impact on your normal household contents insurance and you must tell your insurance company so that you have the right cover.

My household insurance covers loss or damage for the furniture and fittings of my salon, but I have a separate insurance to cover stock.

My mortgage company had no problems with me running a business from home.

It all sounds a bit complicated, but it was very easy and worth being totally covered for peace of mind - you never know and believe me, I had cause four years ago to make a massive claim!!!!!