Working from home/change of use

[crofty1984]

Quick question, if I start doing a bit of work from home, a bit of freelance CAD in the evenings for example and make myself a Ltd company, how does that affect the use of the building? are there planning issues?
There's be no clients, literally just me in the spare room with a laptop.

[marshalla]

crofty1984 said:

Quick question, if I start doing a bit of work from home, a bit of freelance CAD in the evenings for example and make myself a Ltd company, how does that affect the use of the building? are there planning issues?
There's be no clients, literally just me in the spare room with a laptop.

That's how I work most of the time - except it's all daylight hours and a few more...

AFAIK it would only become an issue if the ltd. co. paid rent/took ownership of the premises or you had regular visits from clients/suppliers etc.

Not that different to teachers etc. taking marking home.

[Jasandjules]

Also check your house insurance......

[Eric Mc]

crofty1984 said:

Quick question, if I start doing a bit of work from home, a bit of freelance CAD in the evenings for example and make myself a Ltd company, how does that affect the use of the building? are there planning issues?
There's be no clients, literally just me in the spare room with a laptop.

No - in the vast majority of cases.


You don't NEED to set up a limited company. In fact, it doesn't make a lot of sense if the freelance work is going to be at a fairly low level.

[crofty1984]

The software I'd need costs a significant amount of thousands, so my understanding is if I need to take a loan to pay for it, or lease it for x months, then as a limited co. my house/assets are protected should it all go tits up.
That's right isn't it? it seems like 16 quid well spent at companies house for the insurance!

[marshalla]

crofty1984 said:

The software I'd need costs a significant amount of thousands, so my understanding is if I need to take a loan to pay for it, or lease it for x months, then as a limited co. my house/assets are protected should it all go tits up.
That's right isn't it? it seems like 16 quid well spent at companies house for the insurance!

Perhaps - but then you have a requirement to file annual returns & accounts - with their associated charges and additional time required to produce them in the right format.

[Eric Mc]

Personal assets are USUALLY protected if your trade is set up through a limited company. However, there are circumstances where a director may be held personally liable.

[Amateurish]

crofty1984 said:

The software I'd need costs a significant amount of thousands, so my understanding is if I need to take a loan to pay for it, or lease it for x months, then as a limited co. my house/assets are protected should it all go tits up.
That's right isn't it? it seems like 16 quid well spent at companies house for the insurance!

It's quite likely that you will have to personally guarantee any loan if your limited company has no trading history or assets.

[Engineer1]

I'd look to find "evaluation" copies or similar till you are well set up, the cost of a decent CAD package means you need to be earning a hell of a lot to pay for it.

[Siscar]

crofty1984 said:

The software I'd need costs a significant amount of thousands, so my understanding is if I need to take a loan to pay for it, or lease it for x months, then as a limited co. my house/assets are protected should it all go tits up.
That's right isn't it? it seems like 16 quid well spent at companies house for the insurance!

Except for the fact that its very unlikely that anyone will lend or lease to you on that basis. As a new company you are only likely to get anything if you personally guarantee it in which case you are in the same state as if you weren't ltd.

There are a number of pros and cons to incorporating but avoiding debt in this way isn't really one of them unless you find a real mug to lend you the money without security.

[Hysteria1983]

I would certainly consider fronting/saving a large portion of the cash to set up yourself. Relying on being a limited company purely for cash security reasons is not very professional or clever.