Granny flat #4, although technically I received the OC before #3 (recently posted). This one is only 30sqm. Disclaimer: I am completely aware that there are better ways to invest, and I had little to do with the planning of this one as it was on the back of my dads property (the property I use to put my subway money into to save as a 17 year old - nostalgia). Granny Flat Breakdown: Soft Costs (Architect, CDC, HOW, etc): $10,000 Contract Cost of Construction: $60,000 Variations + Additional Works: $21,000 Fittings (Blinds, AC, Clothes Line, etc) : $5,000 Total Cost: $96,000 Rent: $250/week (rented 1 week before Christmas, applications on first viewing) ROI: 13.54% Lessons Learnt Construction: - Had footing issues, and a drainage line running through the back, required deep piers. Delays at Council, etc. Cost of that alone was $3,000 - 4,000 (don't have my spreadsheet one me atm). - Property was large enough to allow a 60sqm granny flat, however my dad is a sentimental old fella, and wanted to make a small footprint leaving the main house essentially intact for the current tenant. - I'm doing some personal/private study on better design and believe this would have been a great opportunity for a well thought out Tiny Home design. Unfortunately due to personal circumstances I wasn't too involved with this one. Use of a cottage style facade, sliding doors, and a loft style construction would have made this an amazing residence to rent out, and likely achieved a significantly higher rent. - There are no rentals at this price bracket in the area, the next cheapest I saw at the time of viewing was $350/week. So I believe there is certainly a market for lower priced rentals in this area. This house was purchased 12 years ago, so doing an analysis on ROI would be irrelevant, if purchased now (Dec 2015), with granny flat, likely only 6.5% ROI.
There are other granny flat threads between here and somersoft. Just to differentiate between my projects and the other ones. Thats all.
I attended a Garden Flat expo at Springwood in the Blue Mountains last weekend and several builders were there with "display homes" to cater to this emerging market for 20m2 - 30m2 dwellings (sometimes referred to as flat pack homes, transportable homes, studios etc etc). Some were offered for $16k constructed on site, ready to go. The town planning side seems to still have some gray areas though.......