What is Granny Flat? Why You’ll Want a Granny Flat?

November 4, 2020
What is Granny Flat? Why You’ll Want a Granny Flat?

So, you managed to get your new home constructed in a prime location in Sydney with the spacious backyard you’ve always dreamt of. Great! Life couldn’t be more perfect for you and your growing family—or could it?

As your family gets bigger, the space in your house tends to become smaller. You could use a little bit more room for yourself or for guests who are visiting. Of course, a bit more privacy could vastly improve their stay, or it could allow you to escape your kids now and then. These ideal scenarios aren’t too far of a reach, and a tiny space in your backyard should do the trick. What we’re talking about is building your granny flat and its design.

As the name suggests, a granny flat is a self-contained living area that is popular for families to accommodate aging parents. It’s usually detached from the main dwelling and located on the grounds of a single-family home. A granny home is relatively small and can accommodate one or two people, making it an ideal guest house.

Other people call the granny flat the granny pod, mother-in-law unit, in-law apartment, bonus unit, casita, carriage unit, ohana unit for those in Hawaii, and “escape room” for parents who are seeking a little peace away from their kids.

The granny flat designs fall under the tiny home category, which is gaining popularity among various generations including boomers and millennials. And who can blame them? Tiny homes are fantastic! They’re cheap, low-maintenance, cozy, and aesthetically pleasing.

Here are some benefits of having your own granny flat:

  • Your aging parents will appreciate a place of their own and with proximity to you. Let’s face it, your mom and/or dad are not getting any younger. At this point in their lives, living as close to them as possible might be the best decision you’ll ever take. Giving them their cute little flat is like the icing to the cake. It’s a form of giving back to your parents, to honour them for raising you as the person you are today. Take our word for it. They’ll love the tiny house you’ll build for them!
  • Your guests will visit you more often. When was the last time you impressed your guests when they had a sleepover? Can’t exactly recall, can you? It’s most likely because sleeping on your couch isn’t exactly the best sleeping experience they had. Giving your guests a rest house of their own when they visit you certainly solves this issue. They’ll appreciate the privacy a granny flat offers and will thank you for a peaceful night’s sleep when they greet you in the morning. The tiny nome in your backyard will lead them to pay more visits to your place any chance they get, be it a holiday, poker night, or Taco Tuesday—you might as well charge them! Which leads us to our next benefit.
  • You can earn extra dough during tourism peak seasons. Some homeowners use their granny flat as a rental unit. Doing so is extremely popular in Australia’s major cities like Sydney and Melbourne where apartment rent prices can skyrocket during tourist peak seasons. A well-built and designed granny flat can quickly edge your competitors and capture tourists who are looking to feel living in a (tiny) Australian house instead of an apartment unit.
  • You can use the granny flat as an escape room. As mentioned above, a granny flat will allow you to have a portion of your property that can give you privacy, peace, and space away—but still within reach—of your family. You might have experienced this before, at least once in your life. You’d like to be off the grid and stay out of sight, or you and your spouse would like to get a date night without the kids. A granny flat can offer you the space for all those while not getting out of your backyard. Keep this in mind. You’ll thank us later.

Taking Things with a Grain of Salt

Although having a granny flat is overall an excellent investment, constructing one can cause a few headaches here and there. These include municipal statutes, zoning laws, building restrictions, neighbourhood covenants, and other government regulations. Some ignore most of these regulations when they are converting an old garage or shed into a granny flat, but when you’re building a new structure from scratch, it’s almost impossible to bypass such regulations.

Same with the management of other construction projects, building a granny flat can be quite expensive and laborious. But overall, if you look at the benefits an additional, detached living space can give you and your family, you can say it’s all worth it.

Build With Us: Construct Your Granny Flat The Right Way

Building an accessory apartment or an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) such as a granny flat for your home takes a lot of courage, especially amidst a pandemic. Choosing the right partner in this tremendous undertaking is as important as buying or building the house itself. After all, you deserve the best services and value for your money. 

That said, BuildQ properties are certainly a great choice. Our home and land packages are located in prime locations, at the same time, suitable for most budgets.

Choose a win-win purchase where you can get comfortable living spaces perfect for the life you’ve always dreamed of.

Suburbs in the West, North-West, and South-West have lots of residential areas that are quickly rising in terms of value. These have more space with easy access to amenities. BuildQ’s top selections include properties found in these new star districts such as The Ponds, Marsden Park, Riverstone, Caddens, and more. The best part is in the feature-rich inclusions we incorporate to our projects which have elements clients can customise to their liking.

It’s only fair to know that the firm you’re buying the package from has a good reputation. BuildQ Group has more than 500 projects successfully finished and has a strong relationship with past clients. Our build history, completed projects, and customer reviews will definitely help you with your decision-making process.

At BuildQ, living is not just about having a roof over your head, it’s about how better you can live your life at home. 

Let us help build your dream house. Sit back, relax, and leave it to us.

We are the BuildQ Group – builders you can TRUST.