Attached granny flat?

Hi all,

I'd like to hear from those who have a house with an ATTACHED granny flat.

How much difficulty do you have finding tenants who are happy to share the property?

I see it differently to a duplex or units that share a wall, and feel that you would have to find an extended family to be a good 'fit' for the property.

What are the experiences here?

Thanks!
 
This may not be useful to you but we are looking to buy a property with a granny flat and have rejected a few because of the configuration.

For example; shared entrances - if tenants have to share the same entrance then the amount you can ask goes way down (privacy issues).

If it's upstairs /downstairs, with separate entrances, what tenants don't like is the probability of noise coming from above, especially if it's a property owner.

I looked at a property to rent northside Brisbane where a beautiful old QLDer had been remodelled so that the owners were living downstairs and the tenants would be upstairs. It would have been good, only they took all the garden with them leaving the upstairs with nothing but a blank wall. Ugh.

Had we wanted the upstairs flat - we would have insisted that we meet the owners living downstairs prior to signing a tenancy agreement. Living in close proximity to the owners is a very different situation to having a remote LL.
 
I'm actually living in an attached granny flat.

I hardly ever see or hear the LL or their family. I have my own entrance and car space, the only area i share is a beautiful elevated deck and although my rent is crazy cheap, i think i would've accepted it at the same rate as comparable properties as the LL is really nice and the place is very nice and neat.

If the granny flat is to be managed by an agent though, if i were you i'd want to meet the tenants and needless to say they'll want to meet you.

I must say i looked at a few other attached granny flats and i wasn't impressed, it's all about the set up. Make sure you get something that you'd be comfortable with having a stranger in and that you'd be comfortable to live in yourself - i don't mean it has to have all the best amenities and extras, just that you could see someone living in it too.
 
Layout is very important. It gets more important the higher the vacancy rate is. Mine is attached but on a corner block. The garage is between the two so tennants rarely meet. It comes down to rental demand as to what people will put up with.
 
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