Thinking of adding a granny flat to your house?

Adding a granny flat to your house is a great way to improve your lifestyle, increase your living space and earn additional income. These are really good reasons why many Aussies are building granny flats on their land (particularly with the increasing costs of real estate, as well as banks not lending as much money to homeowners and the cost of actually moving to a larger home), however sometimes trying to build an additional home on your block can be difficult.

These difficulties arise from the actual cost of adding a granny flat to your house, so the solution is to build a granny flat at the same time as you build your main house. This approach can save you money during the build, and you can benefit from any additional rent immediately.

Saving money when adding a granny flat to your house

If you build two structures on your block of land at the same time (your home and a granny flat), you only have to submit one application to council; if you build a granny flat in the future, you will need to apply for council approval all over again.

It also costs the builder less to build two structures at the same time than it does to come back and build a granny flat in the future. These savings can be passed onto you! For example, all the materials for both buildings can be delivered at the same time, saving thousands of dollars on delivery fees.

Another good reason to consider adding a granny flat to your house during the initial build is site access. Established houses can have limited access to the back yard, causing problems delivering construction materials to the site. If you have to pay for these materials to be craned over your house, your costs will escalate significantly, but if you build both structures at the same time, you won’t have this problem.

So if you are building a new home for your family, consider adding a granny flat at the same time and you will not only save yourself additional money, but you can also increase your income if you decide to take in tenants.

Cal us on 07 3209 4623 or shoot us an email and ask about adding a granny flat to your house.

What do you need to know about building a kit home?

With the increasing price of real estate and the banks reluctance to lend borrowers money, many Aussies are missing out on owning their own home. All is not lost however, because a kit home can be your ticket into the real estate market.

These homes go up quickly, offer just as much space as traditional homes and are much more affordable. So if you have your own land, it’s definitely worthwhile considering a modern kit home for your first home. They are also a great option for investors who can increase their rental yield by leasing a brand new home to tenants and for homeowners who want to build additional accommodation on their land for elderly relatives.

What is a kit home?

This is a home that is designed off-site with all the materials delivered to your land by trucks. It’s a really quick way to build a new home, because everything is there on-site and just has to be erected. However, just because it’s quick doesn’t mean it’s low quality – far from it, a kit home is architecturally designed and made from high quality materials!

  • Fast builds: These homes are erected quickly, because everything comes in a kit form and it’s designed to be a fast and efficient build.
  • Affordable: Compared to traditional builds, these homes cost much less, often as little as a third of what others pay for their homes.
  • Eco-friendly: Our kit homes are based on using as many green materials as possible, including glass, steel and timber, along with solar panels, energy efficient heating systems and environmentally friendly insulation.
  • Customisable: It’s easy to make changes to our designs, before the manufacturer finishes the final technical details of your home and the materials leave the factory.
  • Difficult blocks: Sloping or narrow blocks can be difficult for traditional homes, however a kit home is ideally suited to these type of blocks, because it can be customised to suit any environment!

Even though a kit home is very affordable, you can save even more money if you enrol in an owner-builder course at your local TAFE. Why not give us a call today on 07 3209 4623 or shoot us an email?

 

Overlooking granny flat approvals and other building mistakes

Forgetting to obtain all the correct granny flat approvals is just one of the common mistakes made by homeowners when they are building additional accommodation on their property. These mistakes can cause the entire building process to come to a screeching halt or at the very least, cause everyone involved serious headaches.

If you are ready to build a granny flat on your block of land, here are four mistakes that you need to avoid so that everything runs smoothly.

  1. Forgetting granny flat approvals: As mentioned above, many homeowners forget that you still need council approvals even if you are building on your existing block of land. These approvals will cover the size of the granny flat allowed on your block of land, it’s height and whether it blocks light to your neighbours.
  2. Not budgeting properly: Your builder is going to assume that you have the funds for the build, so if you haven’t done your sums correctly you can be in a difficult spot when the bills are due. Always make sure that you have the money to pay for the granny flat and its build, as well as landscaping, appliances and furniture before you sign on the dotted line.
  3. Not checking out the builder: Does the builder have the right type of experience to design and build a granny flat? Always make sure that they have a builders licence and that it is up to date, and don’t forget to make sure that they have all the right insurances in place. These include Home Building Compensation, Contract Works, Professional and Public Indemnity, as well as Workers Compensation.
  4. Not creating a plan: All of the above (granny flat approvals, budgeting and checking out the builder) should be included in your building plan, so that you can feel confident about going ahead with the build. If you forget any of these steps, you can be setting yourself up for a serious fall, so it pays to have all these boxes ticked before making your final decision.

Queensland Granny Flats are a family owned business with extensive experience in designing and building granny flats (and we arrange all the granny flat approvals for you!). Call us on 07 3209 4623 or send us an email today.