Hi, I'm looking at buying an investment property that I want to positively gear. I've been looking around the Doonside/Blacktown area of Sydney at potential properties that would enable a simple addition of a Granny Flat to increase cash flow. I was wondering if anyone out there has had experience with this and can offer any advice. Do granny flats scare off potential renters ? Are they worth the hastle ? Thanks in advance for any thoughts/ideas.
Doonside/Blacktown Dual Occ
- Thread starter swombat
- Start date
Hi and Welcome,
Big fan of granny flats here !
We have done 3 in Sydney and it was a great way to be able to hold onto a good block of land. Without the extra yield from the granny flats I am sure we would have sold at leat one and missed out on the current growth.
If you do them well (separation and privacy) then there is a wide rental market for both the house and the granny flat. There is a lot of good information about this at http://www.grannyflatapprovals.com.au/news
Doonside/Blacktown should benefit from the building of the second airport - so it should be relatively safe to invest there - however there are probably better initial growth opportunities in some other areas..
Big fan of granny flats here !
We have done 3 in Sydney and it was a great way to be able to hold onto a good block of land. Without the extra yield from the granny flats I am sure we would have sold at leat one and missed out on the current growth.
If you do them well (separation and privacy) then there is a wide rental market for both the house and the granny flat. There is a lot of good information about this at http://www.grannyflatapprovals.com.au/news
Doonside/Blacktown should benefit from the building of the second airport - so it should be relatively safe to invest there - however there are probably better initial growth opportunities in some other areas..
I doubt you will be able to do it and still come out cash positive in those areas at the moment. Then what have you done? Plonked 600-800k on the outskirts of Sydney where it has already done it's dash for this cycle. A slither of cashlow in a few years and likely no growth & negative equity even in the short to medium term.
It is always hard to compare and there are always variables.
The last one cost us $115K completely turnkey for a 2 bedroom granny flat - but it also included cladding of the main house, airconditioning, outside shed on slap, path, landscaping etc). We signed up in September (2013) and it was completed by Christmas and we hardly visited the site. It was leased out in January 2014 and the tennants are still there - so a good story.
Of the other two - one is an attached conversion and the other one would have cost close to $140K but we may have over engineered that one. However the rent on the front house was not impacted and the granny flat has had 100% occupancy at $450 per week - so still very happy with it.
The last one cost us $115K completely turnkey for a 2 bedroom granny flat - but it also included cladding of the main house, airconditioning, outside shed on slap, path, landscaping etc). We signed up in September (2013) and it was completed by Christmas and we hardly visited the site. It was leased out in January 2014 and the tennants are still there - so a good story.
Of the other two - one is an attached conversion and the other one would have cost close to $140K but we may have over engineered that one. However the rent on the front house was not impacted and the granny flat has had 100% occupancy at $450 per week - so still very happy with it.
Hi Tonibell, Thanks for your insights. Can you suggest any other suburbs/areas that I should be looking at ?
May I suggest the northern suburbs of Campbelltown? Everyone is looking at Blacktown and somewhat forgetting the south-of-Liverpool areas. There's the M5 right there, the new railway connection to the city and big blocks. I know Campbelltown has a stigma but so did Blacktown 5 years ago.
My personal hot (budget-priced) prediction > Campbelltown. It has to come up and meet the rest of the market eventually. The rest of Sydney is just too ridiculous now.
How can Riverwood/Narwee have a 4 bedroom median price of $870,000??? I rented there in my university days because it was cheap..and slummy. It looked no different when I drove through it the other day.
I actually moved to Campbelltown when I graduated and it was perfectly fine; situated on the doorstep to the M5, 20 minutes to the city, wide roads, good town planning. I like it!
I just think people need to remember that with Sydney fast moving to >$1m median house prices, the rest of the new home-makers have to live somewhere.
Blacktown is at $590k for a 4 bedroom house now. wow! If you'd told me that 3 years ago I would've said you're taking crazy pills!
Brazen.
My personal hot (budget-priced) prediction > Campbelltown. It has to come up and meet the rest of the market eventually. The rest of Sydney is just too ridiculous now.
How can Riverwood/Narwee have a 4 bedroom median price of $870,000??? I rented there in my university days because it was cheap..and slummy. It looked no different when I drove through it the other day.
I actually moved to Campbelltown when I graduated and it was perfectly fine; situated on the doorstep to the M5, 20 minutes to the city, wide roads, good town planning. I like it!
I just think people need to remember that with Sydney fast moving to >$1m median house prices, the rest of the new home-makers have to live somewhere.
Blacktown is at $590k for a 4 bedroom house now. wow! If you'd told me that 3 years ago I would've said you're taking crazy pills!
Brazen.
http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-doonside-119146171
Wonder what this will go for?? yields sure to attract buyers
Wonder what this will go for?? yields sure to attract buyers
Further proof though of what i was saying in the other thread about valuations. These properties go for a premium not 80 cents in the dollar.
Even in the crazy market we are in at the moment that house alone would sell for at most 480k, granny flat isnt even 60m2 by the look of it so another 100k including approvals. 580k development all up. Not a bad margin there if it goes for 650k or so.
Even in the crazy market we are in at the moment that house alone would sell for at most 480k, granny flat isnt even 60m2 by the look of it so another 100k including approvals. 580k development all up. Not a bad margin there if it goes for 650k or so.
Lived in both Riverwood and Campbelltown growing up Brazen - I can see what you mean!
Although i'm not sure I've ever made it to the City in 20 minutes!! Not even from Riverwood, unless its 3am.
Difference is blacktown is pretty central to western sydney and campbelltown is in the middle of nowhere..
