Contributed by Agency HQ
Has the day and age of the humble real estate office come and gone? In recent times, it has become a challenge to run a real estate office, but is there a way to have a successful real estate agency without the cost and hassle of managing an office? Agency HQ delves into the benefits of doing away with the old-school office structure and embracing the minimalist approach to office space.
Since Covid-19 restrictions and health orders imposed work-from-home orders for many Australian real estate agencies, it has become more apparent than ever that having a large office with onsite staff is not always practical, and is also an added expense for the business.
One of the biggest expenses a business can incur is running an office space, and it’s not just the upfront expense of leasing a commercial premises that needs to be considered. It’s all of the other costs that can blow out your business’s P&Ls.
When running a physical office, you will need to factor in the cost of office furniture, signage, lighting, décor, electricity and water usage, phone and internet, stationery, desktop computers, staff parking and more.
The bottom line is, it can be costly to a real estate business to manage a large-scale office, but that doesn’t mean having a shopfront is without merit. Considering a revised business model with a smaller office space could save your business tens-of-thousands of dollars per year.
The minimalist shopfront
Rather than leasing a large commercial space in order to house your team, consider going for a much smaller office space and implement some of these strategies to keep your business operational on a smaller budget.
Hot desking
Instead of having a desk for each staff member, hot desking allows a smaller number of staff members to be present in the office only when they are required or choose to be there.
Desks aren’t allocated to particular staff members, in order to minimise redundant office space. Staff require laptops in order to move between desks, and this also allows them to work remotely when they are not in the office.
One of the pros of hot desking is you can also more simply make the move to paperless as the hot desking doesn’t make it as easy for staff to leave personal belongings or printouts on communal desks.
Outsourcing tasks
The real estate industry has a high staff turnover rate, which means not only do you have to go through the rigmorale of recruiting, but there is also expense in onbording and training a new staff member.
This is where you can take advantage of the opportunity to outsource tasks to a virtual agency offshore. There are many different packages and options available for offshore employees, from administrative tasks through to virtual assistant roles.
Offshoring can be a cost-effective solution to take the back office functions out of the office and into the hands of trained employees overseas.
Tasks a VA can complete include sales compliance, lease renewals, smoke alarms, arrears, processing applications, data entry and database work, to name a few. With these tasks removed from onsite duties, this allows you to structure your business accordingly to minimise your staff headcount and need for a larger office space.
White label your rent roll
White label your rent roll – is that even possible? Indeed it is.
If you want to focus all of your energy into the sales department, why not consider having Rental HQ run your property management portfolio on your behalf? You can outsource the entire Property Management business to Rental HQ while still maintaining 100 percent ownership of the asset.
The Rental HQ team of professional property managers will handle the day-to-day running of your property management business, and you can even white label it so your customers only see you!
Alternatively, you might opt run the property management arm of your agency under the RentalHQ brand name while maintaining complete ownership of your business. The benefit of a complete department outsource is it frees you up from the hassle of recruiting, training and managing staff, and allows you to focus on building your sales department up and increasing your sales targets.
Agency HQ helps make your dream of owning your own real estate business, a reality. Contact Agency HQ to discuss your business needs.