Home-office checklist: what to verify at the address before you buy

Because service, signal and the house itself vary from one address to the next, even on the same street. I do not say that one West Austin community has better internet than another, because I cannot source that and neither can anyone selling you a ZIP code. Everything below is a check you can run on the specific home.

Look the address up on the FCC National Broadband Map, then confirm with each provider for that exact address, in writing if you can, before you are under contract. Ask them for the plan, the technology (for example fiber, cable or fixed wireless) and the upload speed, not only the headline download number.

• Ask whether service is available at that address today, not nearby, and what installation involves.
• Ask about upload speed, which matters for video calls, large file transfers and cloud work.
• Ask the seller which provider they use and what it costs, and whether they have had outages.
• Ask if a second line from another provider is possible as a backup.

Stand in the planned office during a showing and test your own carrier’s signal. Then, if the seller agrees, run a video call or a speed test from the room at the hour you would work. A strong signal in the driveway and no signal in the office is a common and fixable problem, but you want to know before you close.

Look at the room the way I look at a listing: layout, light, doors and sound. A good office has a door that closes, a wall behind you that looks professional on camera, and light that does not wash out your face at the time of day you work. If the best room is a bedroom, ask whether the house has a second option for guests or a partner who also works at home.

• Two workplaces in one home: two quiet rooms, or one room and a plan.
• Outlets and wiring: count them, and ask where the router and any wired network ports are or could go.
• Natural light and glare on screens at your working hours.
• Where a standing desk, shelving and a second monitor will actually fit.

A room that overheats in summer is a room you will stop using. Ask whether the office is on its own thermostat or zone, how the home is cooled, and how the room performs in the afternoon sun. Have your inspector and, where something looks off, an HVAC contractor look at the system serving that room. Ask what it costs to cool the home, using the seller’s utility bills rather than a guess.

Ask first, then verify. Ask the seller how the home has fared in outages and who provides electric service, then ask a licensed electrician what a backup battery or generator would take for that house and whether the home’s panel and layout make it feasible. I do not promise reliability for any address; my job is to make sure you ask.

Visit at the hours you will work. Listen for traffic, landscaping crews, school traffic, neighbors’ pools and the sound of the home’s own systems. A room that is silent at a Sunday showing can be loud at 10 a.m. on a Tuesday. If a second visit is possible, book it for your actual work hours.