Granny flat build

I highly recommend doing this because that's what I did and provided them the quote from my builder who has done a couple of renovations for us. I intend to use my builder for the landscaping, driveway, fencing and carport for both properties because he is cheaper and provides a great service. To be fair my builder does not specialise in granny flats therefore this was the deciding factor.

As a future project, I am keen to do a project in Qld to provide a good quality home and granny flat for tenants. Def something to convince the wife but I think after the successful completion of these two projects, it should be easy. I know some friends who are involved in completing a duplex but I am not really convinced with the capital outlay and the risks associated.

I'll follow your thread with interest too. As I seem to get older, I prefer to have sufficient safeguards, buffers and risk mitigation strategies in place.

 

Update - 10/05/2022
Talked to the builder today and he will arrange for his demolition guy to commence as soon as possible, but he will get back to me on a confirmed date. If there is any garage or structure blocking the workers from having clear access, this will need to be removed as this would allow the excavation equipment to be used in the area. I should also add for people to do the right thing about proper asbestos removal.

The builder also advised that currently granny flats are taking around 12-16 weeks to build at the moment due to the bad weather. I would encourage people to take the worst case scenario and have enough buffers in place. I still have a tenant in the main house so I am still receiving rent (reduced).

Talked to Granny Flat Approvals about the DA granny flat. Advised us it is almost ready to be submitted to Council and it addressed the stormwater issues. They were pretty confident of the approval being granted but acknowledged it is still some time away before we can meet to discuss the fixtures, colours and etc like we did with the CDC granny flat.

 

Update - 13/05/2022
Asbestos guy visited the site to complete a report to submit to Council which should take another week. I can't say I am liking the 'delay' because we have completed everything on our end to speed the process along and hopefully all other steps/processes should have minimal delay. Of course I am all for doing the right thing and not taking any shortcuts.

We visited my 1st IP with our builder on the weekend. We couldn't believe the amount of stuff that the tenants have in the house! It was so bad that we couldn't see the ground at all. It was a good visit because we have some ideas on how to improve and renovate the property. This tenant has been with us for close to 6 years, but it was important for us to give the place the renovation it deserves and to increase the rent to market. The builder should commence in June and this should be completed in August 2022.

On a personal level, my wife is expecting in November 2022 so I am pretty optimistic that a couple of investment projects can be completed prior to her going on mat leave. Not worried about the reduced household income at all and I guess that's a sign that you have a robust portfolio.

Furthermore, my Nissan Silvia S13 is going through a renovation too. Complete engine rebuild and upgrade, sound system, panel beating and etc. Hopefully this should be complete by June or July 2022.

Finally, the reason why we decided to go for a two storey granny flat - See below

 

Disappointed in the view....
No pic of S13.

 

Still in a thousand pieces and it's been collecting dust at the mechanics since October last year. I'm not worried as the mechanic's workshop security is pretty good and there are many other better cars there. Personally if I was a car thief, I wouldn't steal my own car in the current state.

 

Curious to know what the build price is for both of these, and if the builders has increased their quotation with you during the time that you started up until now. If you can PM me jins13, that would be appreciated. Understand if you don't want to disclose that information though.

 

I think I would prefer to discuss the build prices for both granny flats at the end when it is constructed as this would provide an accurate picture. At this stage, the CDC quotation has remained the same but it's still too early to say.

Most people forget that with any construction projects such as granny flats, duplexes, etc, there is a contribution amount payable to the local council. Funny thing is that each councils are different from one another even though you may have the same exact project.

Also, the DA granny flat we have not received the quotation for this yet, because we have not lodged the DA for Council approval.

The engine rebuild and turbo upgrade is going to be roughly $16,500 which is going to give the engine a nice refresh. Not planning to do anything crazy with the car but something to keep for the long term as each year there are fewer and fewer of these cars around.

 

@jins13 I've gone through a granny flat build myself already so I'm aware of the costs that come up - council approval, stormwater, etc. I was just curious to know what the cost is now for the build.

Your situation is similar to me haha - property and old school japanese cars. I'm restoring a 240z but doing it mostly myself - weld repairs and mechanical assembly, as I used to be a mechanical engineer.

 

How are you intending to rent out the additional GF? All councils I've looked at do not allow dual occupancy rentals on the same lot with house + GF

 

@yipowej459 which councils are you referring to? In NSW you are allowed to rent out the GF separately provided it is an approved granny flat.

 

@trunks Northern beaches council mainly. I am assuming this is an IP not PPOR.
Is there state legislation that overrides councils in this area?

 

look at the State Environmental Planning Policy (SEPP). There are loads of granny flats are available for rent on the northern beaches.

 

Update 20/05/2022
Finally we have a confirmed demolition/ construction date for the CDC granny flat! The builder is going to commence demolition on 30 May 2022 which should take about two days to complete. He advised me that light rain weather is fine for them to continue on with the work but heavy rain is a no no.

 

Which councils have you checked? I'm genuinely curious as my understanding is SEPP overrides a LEP unless it says otherwise.

Unless this is a new thing, I would say you are incorrect as my parents have a house and granny flat rented out in the Northern beaches.

 

At present thats optimistic.

 

Update 30/05/2022
Demolition work started today to remove the current garage and at the moment it seems like the demolition team will complete by tomorrow. A small truck was used to transport the frames, roofs and etc but tomorrow they will be using a bigger truck to move the heavier items such as the concrete you can see in the pictures.

I should add the actual granny flat is located further down from the land and we needed to remove the garage and all the existing concrete to allow the excavation and etc to work on the site.

From my conversation with the demolition boss, expect to have your driveway damaged during the process. We are ok with this because the existing driveway needed to be repaired/replaced anyway.

Should be interesting to see if we can continue with a strong momentum for the whole project and minimise any hiatus periods. As I've mentioned in a previous post, the purpose of this thread is to share what's really happening on the ground and hopefully anyone who is interested in building a granny flat can make their own informed decision then listening to all the naysayers.

 

Love the updates, thanks!

So far so good with GF approvals communication etc? Are you dealing with Serge?

 

Why is negative gearing such a big thing, it makes being positively geared(having income) sound like a punishment. The more tax you have to pay means the more money you have made, no?

 

This is fascinating and very educational, please keep us updated jins13!