Also check the fine print on your lease, just in case your landlord does not allow you to run a "business" from the property.

Not sure if you *have* to tell them what you are going to use it for.... make sure you make lots of ahhhh noises about the bathroom and the kitchen...

Ang

Anthony given the amount of space on the market in the city is renting a house a cheaper option?

Edit: Though actually taking the time to read and think no doubt you also don't want other tenants nearby for noise issues. So maybe a CBD is not the best option.

Originally Posted by Angsty

Also check the fine print on your lease, just in case your landlord does not allow you to run a "business" from the property.

This is probably the most important thing. While you would have few/no issues running a small business from a residence you are actually living in, you may find that your lease is not actually enforceable (i.e. void) if using the property for the sole purpose of running a business. A lease is a contract between you and your landlord, and most leases are registered through a central body in order for them to have authority over both parties. If the arrangement (i.e. running a business, or lodging instead of sole-tenancy) does not fit the scope of the agreement, then the tenancy body has no authority to enforce the lease and any disputes must go through small-claims instead.

This doesn't negate a private lease external to the state tenancy body, however I think you would be hard pressed to get a real estate agent to agree to a binding but unofficial lease.

There may also be local council laws for your are that would prevent a residential property from being used solely for business purposes.

So:

1) Contact your tenancy body and find out if a residential lease is sufficient
2) Contact the council and find out if there are laws against it
3) Contact the real estate agent and ask if, given a positive answer to #1 and #2, if they are willing to give you a lease.

Forgive me if I am wrong, but didn't you buy a house a while back Anthony?

In which case I understand the question as you want to rent a separate house purely as a business premises? i.e. not the house you live in?

Originally Posted by Ozracingwrap

Anthony given the amount of space on the market in the city is renting a house a cheaper option?

Edit: Though actually taking the time to read and think no doubt you also don't want other tenants nearby for noise issues. So maybe a CBD is not the best option.

Yeah, that's the thing - all the space in the CBD that would get me something solitary (i.e: a floor of a building, or something detached) is too expensive

Originally Posted by grfxninja

Forgive me if I am wrong, but didn't you buy a house a while back Anthony?

In which case I understand the question as you want to rent a separate house purely as a business premises? i.e. not the house you live in?

Yep, I am currently sucking away at a mortgage on a house I live in. I want to rent a house purely to use for business.

And to Banjo and everyone else that replied - thanks for that. It seems while it's not impossible, it would be up to the discretion of the landlord and agent and have to be in writing that it is being used solely for business.

Prob should be able to claim 100% on tax too, as it's being used 100% for the business purpose. As others have said, I think the council/landlord is the main concern.

Originally Posted by mitty

that you can retrofit with sound proofing etc

Prob don't need much for recording podcasts. The cave is brilliant now and it has no treatment... it's just a quiet room. Worst case, you'd just need to hang some heavy drapes.

Depending on travel concerns most area's will have the "old" part of town which housed lots of small businesses before everything moved into the "new" part of town (or the new major shopping centre development).
What this can mean is if your happy to compromise on location you may just find some commercial space available on the cheap.

Another alternative is to have a look at services that just hire out office space for meetings, ie only hiring it out once a week for a number of hours. The downside of course is this space is at a premium (although probably nicer facilities) and you can't leave stuff there and you can't just front up and use it at will.

While I under stand the need/want to separate work and home, especially since it means you can pass it onto someone else when the time comes, is there any reason one of the MacTalker's premises can't set aside a room for recording the podcast(s)?

While I am thinking outside the box, in these times of GFC and all that, have you considered approaching an existing business that may have a spare room/office you could rent off them? (maybe even a sponsorship deal). Since most stuff you do is after hours, something like this could work very well, but means you have to track down the "right" person/group to share with, preferably with a dedicated room you can lock your gear up in rather than a shared environment.

The_Hawk - I want to spend more to get something more like what I want
Upgrade the digs, not downgrade.

Another alternative is to have a look at services that just hire out office space for meetings, ie only hiring it out once a week for a number of hours. The downside of course is this space is at a premium (although probably nicer facilities) and you can't leave stuff there and you can't just front up and use it at will.

This is what we used to do, heh.

While I understand the need/want to separate work and home, especially since it means you can pass it onto someone else when the time comes, is there any reason one of the MacTalker's premises can't set aside a room for recording the podcast(s)?

We all live too far away (imagine poor Chris having to travel from Frankston to St. Albans every week)

While I am thinking outside the box, in these times of GFC and all that, have you considered approaching an existing business that may have a spare room/office you could rent off them? (maybe even a sponsorship deal). Since most stuff you do is after hours, something like this could work very well, but means you have to track down the "right" person/group to share with, preferably with a dedicated room you can lock your gear up in rather than a shared environment.

This is what we do now and want to move up in the world

I'd be checking council zoning issues on this one - if you aren't living there you're basically talking commercial premises (even if it's a house, your use makes it a commercial premises). If the area is zoned residential you may find yourself being kicked out regardless of what your lease says. This varies from area to area so you'd need to check.

Depending on your location/situation though, you may find the type of premises you want in an area that's been re-zoned as commercial but still has houses in it - these might even be cheaper to rent if the type of commerce makes them less desirable as a residence.

David