10 benefits of owning a Granny flat

When buying a home, one with a built-in Granny flat can bring several benefits. Or, building a Granny flat into your current home. Here are 10 benefits of having a Granny flat as part of your home.

1.   Save money

If you own a home business or work from home, a Granny flat can be used as a workspace; an office or a salon, saving you from renting an expensive commercial space. You will also save on travelling to and from work, expensive lunches out, and allow you to create a better work/life balance.

2.   Make money

A Granny flat can be rented out as a small home. Even if you only charge $100 a week, that's an extra $5,200 a year. If you have invested in building a Granny flat into your existing home, this can be paid off in a few years, and will give you a nice bit of extra income once its paid off.

3.   Financial security

Most people rely on one source of income to fund their lives; their job. Extra income coming from renting out a Granny flat provides just a little more security. If you own another investment property and rely on that rental income, you have money to fall back on if you are unable to receive that rental income for any reason.

4.   Separate from your home

Of course, this depends on the way it is built, but a Granny flat is usually quite separate from your actual home. If you’re using it as a work space, it allows you to keep your work and home life separate, whilst you are still saving travel time. If you are renting the space, that person is able to keep their life separate from yours, and you may often forget they are even there.

5.   Demand for cheap rent

Many students or young people saving for a home need a place to stay which will not be too costly for them. If you live near a University, demand will be high for a cheap space to live, thus you will not find it hard to find tenants.

6.   It adds value to your home

Many tenants prefer Granny flats to apartments or entire houses. They have access to a backyard, are often able to create a good relationship with the home owners, and bills are usually covered, since separate metering can be difficult. When selling your home in the future, investors will be likely to have a high interest, as they will be able to rent out the home as well as the Granny flat, or just the Granny flat. Either way the home is appealing to investors. And with the benefits of having a Granny flat, the home is likely to be more appealing to anyone!

7.   Adding more bedrooms

There are several reasons you might need more bedrooms; having more kids, or needing to take care of an elderly relative, and you might not want to move to a bigger home. Building a Granny flat with one or two bedrooms is cheaper than renovating your house, and you can rent the space once it is free. If you have teenagers, a Granny flat will give them the space they often crave, whilst still being under parental control.

8.   It can allow you to travel more freely

If you have retired or just want to travel the world, you could move into your Granny flat and rent out the rest of your home. This will provide you with steady income from rent payments, and your home will be looked after whilst you travel.

9.   No Council approval

Since it is still your land, it is unlikely that you will need the Council’s approval to go ahead with building a Granny flat. Council approval can take months, and avoiding this is definitely ideal.

10. Keep your family close

With housing prices on the rise, and the low number of jobs compared to high number of University graduates, people are living with their parents for longer. A Granny flat provides your kids the opportunity to “move out” without needing to sacrifice ridiculous amounts of money every week for rent. It allows them to have independence while still being around, keeping your family together for longer.

If an elderly relative is unable to live alone anymore, it can be cheaper to house them in your Granny flat (the traditional purpose of a Granny flat, hence the name), than to put them in an elderly care home. It will also keep the relative close to you and your family, something that it is of high importance as they get older.

This blog post is the intellectual property of Peter Taliangis of Professionals Fremantle and is being used on this site solely as a representation of my work.