She put her construction skills to work this summer. The results are pretty amazing
One thing that can definitely be said about mortgage brokers is that they’re an industrious bunch. Throw a challenge or newly discovered desire their way and nine times out of 10 you’ll get in return a workable solution most people wouldn’t have seen coming.
The challenge for TMG The Mortgage Group broker Rhonda Lavoie was the dreary day-to-day that went along with setting up shop in the basement of her home, an exquisite farmhouse lying on an acreage a short distance from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Lavoie had been working remotely since October 2019 as a way of eliminating the expense of driving into the city each day, but the lack of natural light and scenery got old real quick.
There were also the birds.
Lavoie and her wife are what one might describe as non-conventional pet-sitters. No dogs or cats, but plenty of reptiles, small mammals, and birds like cockatiels and parrots, whose alluring plumage is often accompanied by paint-peeling shrieks.
“The bird noises get under my skin,” Lavoie told Mortgage Broker News. “I love them, but they make noises I don’t love.”
Knowing she couldn’t spend another winter in the basement, Lavoie, in April, began planning and pricing out the construction of her own office, which would be built a short distance from her home. Pre-COVID-19, business had been slow in Saskatoon; Lavoie needed a few more deals to cross her desk before cutting a cheque and getting her hands dirty. By August, the COVID boom had shaken loose more than enough cash for her to secure the materials and DIY plans she needed to get started.
Having been responsible for her home’s general contracting and much of its interior finishing, Lavoie was more than comfortable knocking together a much smaller version to become her ‘she shack’.
“My parents actually built my family home when I grew up, so those values were instilled in me – that you need to know how to do these things,” she said.
Lavoie enlisted the help of her 75-year-old father when it came time to do the rafters and affix the tin roof, but the project was primarily a one-woman show. The only hiccup came in the form of a price tag: The materials she had priced-out in April had swollen in price by around 40% by August due to pandemic-driven lumber shortages across North America. Lavoie said the project wound up costing roughly the same as six- or seven-months’ worth of expenses at her old location in Saskatoon.
“If I had ordered in April, I would have saved myself about $1,500,” she said. But the expense has clearly been worth it for Lavoie. Adding more light, colour, fresh air, and movement to her days has made her a happier broker.
“It’s certainly more motivating,” she said. “I don’t have to amp myself up to do things because I have all that natural light coming in to make me feel energized. If you’re working in a home office, which is often a kitchen table or spare bedroom or basement, you’re not getting yourself up and out, which is not as motivating.”
Lavoie has also invested in making her office comfortable – A/C, heat, a flatscreen for casting conferences or getting caught up on the day’s news, and, most importantly, a view of the outside world. She says the importance of the latter component means brokers considering a similar project should think hard about the placement of their offices.
“When I placed my office, I wanted to make sure that when I looked out the windows, I would see things that I wanted to look at all day,” she said. “That was the number one reason why I wanted to get out of the basement. I needed the light. I needed to be able to see what was going on outside.”
Not all brokers have the luxury of a sprawling backyard in which to construct their own dream offices. For those still struggling with the limitations of working from home, Lavoie suggests creating a dedicated workspace that feels distinct from the rest of the house and investing in a UV-B lamp as a substitute for the sun’s rays.
“Don’t work in the dark,” she said. “It’s not productive and it’s just going to put you in a funk.”
