Working out of our homes has been part of the American culture since the country was founded. But the pandemic has forced more of us than usual to do so. And some folks who have lost their jobs as a result of the virus have started home-based businesses to get by.

There’s no telling how many people now work from home, or WFH in today’s jargon. Ten years ago, the Census Bureau said 6.6% of the working population worked from their residences. But in 2016, according to a Gallup poll, 43% of all workers said that they spent at least some of their time working in a location different from their co-workers -- up from 39% in 2012.

As recently as 2018, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said 35.7 million -- a whopping 25% of the total workforce -- worked out of their houses. And those numbers have undoubtedly increased as COVID-19 continues to run rampant.

Many laid-off people have started in-home businesses -- sewing face masks, cutting hair or mowing lawns, for example -- just to survive. Some of the other popular home-based businesses include tutoring, personal training, catering, daycare, home repairs, bookkeeping and housecleaning.

But whether you run a business out of your abode or just work there remotely, you should be aware that you could be breaking the law -- or at least the rules of your homeowners’ or condominium association. Even if you are legit, you should make sure you are properly insured.

There’s good reason to regulate home-based businesses. After all, they can alter the residential character of a neighborhood by generating unwanted traffic, taking up scarce parking spaces or creating objectionable noise, obnoxious odors or unsightly conditions.

Local zoning laws address these issues, as do most owner associations. Many at-home workers hide their enterprises, fearing they could be shut down, but questions rarely surface unless a neighbor complains or the worker flaunts the law. And neighbors don’t usually speak up without good reason. For example, my wife’s mechanic was forced to move his backyard business elsewhere when neighbors complained about cars parked all over the place.

If you operate a business out of your house, take great pains not to annoy those living around you. Just in case you do raise the wrath of a neighbor or the authorities, it’s a good idea to look around -- on grocery store bulletin boards or in the local paper, say -- for other businesses that may also be in violation of the rules. The owners of those businesses could become your allies in any confrontation.

When it comes to insurance, most home-based business owners don’t think they need additional coverage because they are protected under their homeowner’s policies, or that their businesses are too small to insure. Wrong on both counts!

Generally, a homeowner’s policy provides no more than $2,500 to replace damaged or stolen business equipment, and doesn’t include business liability or business interruption coverage. These, according to the nonprofit Insurance Information Institute, are essential if an employee or customer is injured on the premises, or if a loss requires you to shut down for an extended period.

Insurance companies differ widely in the types of business coverage they offer, so it is best to shop around. The best choice will depend on the nature of your business. A tax preparer, for example, will have different needs than someone who operates a daycare. The three main types of coverage are:

-- Endorsement. For an additional premium, you can raise your policy limits on home-business losses to $5,000 or $10,000. Such a rider is your least expensive option, but it may not be sufficient to cover a lot of expensive equipment, and it does not include liability or interruption coverage.

Generally, a home-business endorsement is good for folks who have only a few business-related visitors, or none at all -- such as syndicated columnists or other writers. Tutors and piano teachers may be eligible, too, depending on their number of students.

-- Separate policy. Somewhat more comprehensive, an in-home business policy covers business equipment and liability. It will also reimburse you for the loss of important business papers and records, such as accounts receivable, and cover off-site business property. Some will pay for lost income if your house becomes unusable due to a fire or natural disaster, and some might even pay for the extra expense of operating out of a temporary location.

The cost ranges from $250 to $500 or more, depending on the type of business, number of employees, safety features in place and amount of coverage.

-- Business owner’s policy. Known in the trade as BOP, this type of coverage is based on the size of the premises, the limits of the required liability, the type of commercial operation and the extent of off-site servicing and processing activities. It also covers any personal vehicle that is used for business purposes.

To keep your costs down, industry nonprofit III suggests starting your hunt for coverage with trade associations or business groups. These outfits often provide coverage at reduced rates based on the volume of business they can offer an insurer, and negotiate coverage specific to your type of business.

Absent that, make sure you work with an agent who understands your type of business. And again, shop around.

Most professions restrict the payment of referral fees. But they run rampant, and are somewhat controversial, in real estate.

According to the latest report on the inner workings of the industry from the Consumer Federation of America, these fees can go as high as 50% of the sales commission -- when the referring agent is a relocation company -- to as low as 10% when a homebuyer’s exclusive agent refers him or her to another so-called “buyer’s broker.”

Typically, referral fees are hidden from buyers and sellers. The accounting and investment professions require disclosure, and most businesses in which referral fees are common do the same. But the National Association of Realtors’ code of ethics does not require their disclosure, and most agents don’t feel the need to do so. A handful of states require disclosure, but not always in writing or in a timely manner, and the CFA could find no evidence those laws are enforced.

In most other businesses, referral fees are in the 5% to 10% range. But the CFA found that 25% was the average for realty referral fees.

So, if you bought a $250,000 house using an agent referred to you by another agent, your agent would pay part of her share of the commission to the referring agent. If the commission was 6% and the referral fee was 25% of the agent’s half of the commission, she would send the referring agent a check for $1,875.

Earning referral fees can add up, too. According to a 2008 study cited in the report, nearly nine out of 10 agents received income from referrals, with more than half taking six paid referrals within the previous 12 months. Nearly half said they earned at least $10,000 in income from them.

Moreover, 8% said they made $50,000 from referrals over that period! Some agents go so far as to “sell” their referrals to the highest bidder, said Steven Brobeck, the report’s author. Pedaling referrals is “not a practice most agents would engage in,” he told me. “Nevertheless, it appears to exist.”

Still, it’s not likely that referral fees will cost either the buyer or seller any more money. Even though commissions are supposed to be negotiable, they are all but set in stone in real estate. Agents aren’t likely to raise their rates to recoup the fee, but they are not likely to agree to a smaller cut, either.

However, as the CFA report points out, these fees can cost you in other, more insidious ways -- like in the quality of service you receive. While it’s possible a referral fee could ensure that the agent being referred does excellent work, it also could encourage the agent to recommend someone willing to pay a fee above the going rate.

Or, since the referred agent will have to fork over a big chunk of his earnings, maybe he won’t provide the level of service he should. Or perhaps referred agents are willing to pay a fee because they are inexperienced or have a tough time finding clients.

Any of those are strong possibilities, said Stephen Brobeck, the CFA’s former executive director, who has been researching realty brokerage issues for nearly 30 years.

Here’s an example, from one of Brobeck’s footnotes to the report: “Many real estate professionals see referral agents as simply parasites.” Another: “Secret referral fees (result in agents) stealing billions of dollars from consumers.”

But the worst offenders aren’t realty agents themselves, but companies like relocation and referral agencies. The former are often hired by businesses to help relocate employees; the latter, by outfits like HomeLight, Rocket Homes, Clever, Yelp and Thumbtack.

To see how well 15 referral companies performed, CFA put them to a test. They didn’t perform well.

When asked to refer an agent, most of the companies provided names (via email) either immediately or fairly quickly. But two didn’t respond at all, and some did not offer their service in all four of the test cities. Overall, the names of 100 agents were received. But 18 were agents in other geographical areas, and two were agents not engaged in residential real estate.

Of the other 80 referred agents, 18 had one sale, at most, in the previous year, and 15 had at most one customer review. And every agency that supplied names included one out-of-town agent with five or fewer sales.

Put another way, 38% of the referred agents were either based outside the designated search area or had at most one sale.

“Consumers cannot rely on agencies for referrals to experienced agents located in the geographic area of the home search,” Brobeck said. People “should be extremely wary of many of them. I can’t say all offer no value, but you are taking a risk” by using them.

It should be noted, too, that agents who are listed on referral sites pay to be there as a way to secure leads. And in some cases, an agent told me, those listed have voluntarily placed their licenses into “inactive” status.

So what are sellers and buyers to do? First of all, realize that the existence of a referral fee will make it difficult to negotiate a lower commission: Selling agents aren’t likely to give away any more of their stake in the deal than they already have.

Think twice about using the services of a referral agency. You’re unlikely to get what you pay for. Besides, you have the ability to search efficiently and effectively on your own for an agent at sites providing extensive information about a large number of active agents.

Sellers who need to bring their kitchens up to date, repair foundation cracks or make other fixes before putting their places on the market might not have to reach into their own pockets to do so. Over the last year, several options have emerged that allow sellers to pay for the work out of the proceeds from the sale.

Better yet, perhaps, these outfits promise to sell your place faster, and for more money, once it goes on the market all nice and pretty. One even vows to do the work cheaper -- and better -- than if you had hired your own contractor.

A number of real estate franchises now offer to foot the costs of renovations and repairs, agreeing to be paid when the sale closes. Some don’t charge an extra fee for the service, and some don’t even charge interest. Some will even pay for staging: a service to make your house as appealing as possible to as many buyers as possible.

Real estate professionals have always offered advice about boosting a property’s appeal so that would-be buyers can visualize themselves living there. They’re also quick to point out improvements and repairs that need be done in order to sell quickly and at the highest price. But when it comes to actually taking action on their recommendations, about the best most can do is offer the names of prized contractors and professional stagers.

But late this summer, the Coldwell Banker chain expanded its RealVitalize program to its entire network of some 94,000 agents in 3,000 offices. The move came after what the company maintains were “remarkable results” from the program’s pilot, in which participating houses sold as much as 25% faster than their competitors and 4 percentage points closer to list price.

With RealVitalize, listing agents connect their sellers with a dedicated project consultant from HomeAdvisor, which matches homeowners with local service professionals. The consultant manages the work from start to finish, including finding experienced, pre-screened contractors.

The brokerage will cover the upfront costs of the repairs, which will be repaid by the seller when the sale closes or the listing expires. There are no additional fees and no minimum listing price. Available projects include staging, appliance purchasing and installation, simple repairs, painting, and kitchen and bathroom upgrades.

Under the Concierge program from Compass, another realty franchise, the agent works with the seller to decide which projects can most increase the home’s value and sets an estimated budget for the work. Among the more than 100 covered services are pest control, moving and storage, landscaping, fencing, custom closets and deep cleaning.

When a seller is ready to start the work, Compass says your agent will help find a reputable contractor and “be by your side” during the work. Once the job is complete, the house will be listed for sale. You’ll pay for the services either when the house sells or when you terminate your listing with Compass.

But if the place doesn’t sell within 12 months from the Concierge start date, you’ll have to reimburse the company out of your own pocket.

Redfin also offers a presale renovation service. But the chain, which charges only a 1.5% listing fee (as opposed to the typical one-half of the entire commission), charges 2.5% to cover the design and project management of the work. Moreover, sellers are responsible for funding their own renovations, but the program includes preferred pricing from a list of trusted vendors.

Real estate franchise Keller Williams has been testing a concierge program in Texas, Georgia and California, with the goal of making it available nationally. Like Coldwell Banker and Compass, the Keller Williams concierge program will front the cost of improvements and modifications. During the pilot period, the company is compiling data to determine what projects give sellers the best return on their investments.

Meanwhile, Curbio, an independent presale renovation company based in Maryland, works through real estate agents -- regardless of their affiliation. As a licensed contractor, Curbio handles the entire project: everything from selecting materials and hiring subcontractors to supervising the job and backing the work with a one-year warranty. It currently operates in and around 22 major markets, but projects must cost at least $15,000.

Under Curbio’s system, the company will provide a ballpark estimate during a telephone conversation. Then a technician will arrive to take a 3D video that allows the company to prepare a fixed-price proposal. Once a deal is agreed to, an on-site project manager will handle everything, from pulling permits to completing any punch-list items. Clients receive regular text, photo and video updates.

Curbio claims it completes projects 60% faster than the average general contractor, allowing sellers to sell quicker and at higher prices. The company is paid at closing and never charges interest or fees, but sellers must agree to lower their listing price by 2% every 30 days until the property is sold.

No sale? Just pay the cost of the project, nothing more, and move on.