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HIA Homeshow 2015 Vision Granny Flats, your local Granny Flat Experts had a booth at the recent HIA Homeshow in August and it was exciting to see the buzz around granny flats as an investment. Watch the video above to hear what Sonia had to say about the weekend and check out the photos below. If you own an existing property in the Logan area which may have subdivision potential, give us a call -we'd love to talk to you. Call Sonia: 0403 309 136
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Logan Granny Flats, your local Granny Flat Experts, bring to you another interesting snippet : Jillian Clifford Smartline Personal Mortgage Advisors 7.9.15 RP Data have just sent Smartline some fascinating property information. We have constructed the following two tables from this data so you can quickly see how the entire country is performing.  Interesting points: 1. Melbourne has more dwellings than Sydney (NSW has a more decentralised population). 2. Melbourne residents hold on to their houses for the longest term (11.8 years), Darwin has the shortest term (7.1 years). 3. Perth and Brisbane have the highest percentage of their dwellings on the market whilst Canberra has the lowest. 4. Houses in Sydney sell the quickest with just 49 days as the average "on market" period. 5. Melbourne had more house sales than Sydney over the last 12 months.  More interesting points:
1. The gap between the highest Median house price (Sydney $800,000) and the lowest (Hobart $350,000) is a whopping $450,000. 2. Rental yields for Sydney and Melbourne are now well below 4%. 3. The difference between Sydney's average annual growth rate over 10 years (4.9%) and Melbourne's result (5.8%) is surprising given Sydney's recent boom. 4. Despite extremely solid growth over 10 years, Darwin's rental yield of 5.8% is very high. 5. Although Perth's 12 month median price growth is low, the rental yield is still reasonably strong at 4.3%. 6. Brisbane's rental yield is a full 1% p.a. higher than Sydney whilst the median house price is 39.4% lower. Logan Granny Flats, your local Granny Flat Experts, bring to you another interesting snippet : Sonia Woolley Logan Granny Flats 19.9.15 At Logan Granny Flats we provide free advice to all of our property investors. We get a huge number of inquiries including phone and email asking whether they can build a granny flat on their investment property, the approval process, how do they rent – what is the rental market like in Logan, where should I buy an investment property to how do I finance the whole project ? Is it feasible and do the numbers stack up ?  So many questions … Lets look at how a granny flat can cost you – ZIP! That’s right – it can be free, if done right. So let’s do the rough numbers. You have an investment property chances are its going to be mortgaged. As part of your financing a granny flat build, it’s probably going to be an equity loan or a construction loan. You will be borrowing 100% of the build cost which we’ll set at $145,000. It’s essential that you make your granny flat as attractive to any potential tenants as you can if you want to achieve a maximum rent – for 70m2, two bedroom you can achieve around $300pw, $15,600pa. If you own your own home with little or no mortgage, your tenants are paying back the loan at a rate of $300pw. The time taken to repay a loan of say $145,000 is about 12 years. After this, any income received from your granny flat is yours – FREE, forever more !  You will be making money from your backyard – you will be creating a passive income. If you’re an investor, this second dwelling will be paid off in 10 years, give you full capital depreciation on the new build, then you can pocket the money or pay the mortgage down on the original existing house. Imagine if you had 3 or 4 investment properties where you can do this – early retirement’s looking good … Begin with the End in Mind You need to start the journey with the end in mind using such words as separation, privacy and vacancy rate. It’s paramount to understand what type of property to buy that is going to be ‘granny flat friendly’. We want all of our homeowners or investors to : 1. Prosper 2. Have a good understanding of what to look for 3. Minimize construction costs 4. Maximize return on investment 5. Minimize tenant vacancy 6. Stick with us ! we’ll look after you We build a superior product, and find you the best tenants! 7. REPEAT ALL OF THE ABOVE and have fun whilst doing it  Granny Flat Experts Some of our investors are now building their third and fourth granny flats, both in Ipswich and Logan. When they retire, they can look forward to having a passive income from these dual living properties – already having paid them off so zip out of pocket costs – ZERO, FREE ! As an example, one investor’s property had five major trees and two sewer lines in the back yard. This was a large, flat block of land that was in the process of sub division. We determined the building envelope on the proposed two new lots. In the backyard of the front block, which was under 600m2 even though there were two sewer lines at 90 degree angle to each other, our architect still managed to fit a granny flat in the very small building envelope – but it by no means feels small and cramped as a finished product. If you’re unsure about your existing investment property, give us a bell – we can easily check it out for you AT NO CHARGE !  Our ultimate goal is to teach YOU, the homeowner or investor what to look for so that as soon as a property becomes available, you can pounce on it armed with full knowledge. All investors, Australia wide are now wanting to buy in SE Queensland, it’s still so affordable and a rising market – so it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find something suitable. And we don’t see that changing any time soon. Stay with us – we can help that journey. We have built more infill granny flat builds than any one else in SE Queensland. We are truly the Granny Flat Experts! We can help you : 1. Develop a knowledge of what to look when searching for a granny flat friendly property; efficient ways to search eg the internet, buyers’ agents 2. Think about how to create the privacy and separation between tenancies 3. Allowing for all the extras : new dividing internal fences, any landscaping, removal of sheds or outbuildings, parking, heating / cooling, storage space, where to put the clothesline! 4. Finding the right real estate to managing your investment – THAT’S US ! We manage it like we own it – because we do own the business, and we are mad property investors ourselves! 5. Finding the right granny flat builder who is experienced in building them – THAT’S US ! We build a granny flat like we own it – because we do own the business! And we have built granny flats for our investment properties – so we practice what we preach.  TOP TIPS for the RIGHT GRANNY FLAT FRIENDLY Property … 1. Flat, level block or sloping to the road for stormwater run off. Council’s first preference for stormwater is to kerb & gutter, otherwise tapping into an existing system or worst case scenario the need to allow for $2 – 2,500 for a dispersion pit 2. Corner Blocks are great – two street access is good for separation and privacy for the second dwelling 3. Rear yard access from a car parking point of view. Any prospective tenant will want unemcumbered access for their vehicles 4. Minimum 15m from the back of the existing house to the back boundary 5. Look for a 1.5m+ setback from the house to the side boundary on the side opposite the driveway to allow a separate walkway entrance for your granny flat tenants 6. No significant trees in the backyard. They can be costly to cut down and grind the stumps. We often come across people wanting to build granny flats that have to spend $3 – 5,000 on vegetation and tree removal. Try and avoid this situation ! I hope this helps you in your decision to find a suitable property in which to build your granny flat ! If you have any questions about any potential property you may be looking at purchasing, don’t hesitate to give us a call – we are the granny flat experts ! Logan Granny Flats
Sonia 0403 309 136 Want us to find the right tenant ? Call Julie 0411 073 747 Logan Granny Flats, your local Granny Flat Experts, bring to you another interesting snippet : Sonia Woolley Logan Granny Flats 16.9.15  Cash is King. Cash flow to a property investor is vital ! Positive cash flow to a property investor is an absolute Bonus ! Are you maximizing your investment property to it’s true potential? That’s something that we at Vision Property Group look for in every property, whether it’s for ourselves or our clients. What is the highest and best use of the property … If I said to you that we could double your rent return, what would you say ? Not possible you say? Well, here are 5 simple ways to double your rent return – used by the astute property investors ! 1. RENOVATE You would think most landlords would have a handle on this – yes, a simple coat of paint does wonders. An interesting case study is one of our interstate investors. The property hadn’t had a lick of paint in 10 years! The previous property managers had not once mentioned the condition of the walls inside. As the condition of the property deteriorated, the quality of the tenants did so accordingly. The landlords couldn’t understand why the rent was going down. We believe it’s important to remember that your asset becomes someone’s home – in theory their pride and joy! If you are trying to maximize your rent return ask yourself – would you be happy to live in the property? We would hope your answer is yes! In this instance, amongst other things, a coat of paint, new light fittings and window coverings ($400 from Spotlight and Ikea) saw the landlords achieve an increase of $80 per week rent return!!! Are they happy landlords - you bet!  2. SECOND DWELLING More commonly known as a Granny Flat. Under Logan City Council, they are called Auxiliary Dwellings, but are also known as Secondary Dwellings (ACT) or within different Council’s in Queensland such as Lockyer Valley – they are called Apartments! Go figure … In Logan there are a large number of older style properties that are traditionally on over 1,000m2 blocks. So why not use your backyard to gain either a passive income or if it’s an investment property – double your rent return! And there are many options for this – either within the existing building or a completely new build in the backyard. 1. New Granny Flat construction. A complete new home + granny flat, attached or detached. As the changes to the Logan City Council are relatively new, urban infill utilising existing properties is only just beginning to take effect. There are already some of the dual living investment properties starting to pop up in the new housing estates and proving to be very popular with interstate investors. Unfortunately some marketing and wealth creation groups are building a large number of them on really, really small blocks – not a good look ! These Dual Living packages as they have been dubbed amongst the investment community are divided by 6’ treated timber fences for acoustic & privacy reasons. They are serviced by separate meters for both water and electricity and proving to be popular to rent amongst mature age or single professionals. 2. Extensions. Extend your existing house on either the side or back, wherever space permits. Logan Granny Flats is also instrumental in assisting a number of their investor clients in raising the existing house to build under – another first within the local area. All part of the Granny Flat Solution . 3. Conversions. This could either be internal within the existing house, or we are now looking at a separate stand alone large rumpus room for a client with a view to converting this to a granny flat!  3. HOLIDAY RENTAL Have you considered renting the main house and living in the granny flat or vice versa, for people wanting to stay on holidays. You would be surprised how popular this actually is in some areas. Perhaps you have a rural setting with a granny flat – people love to stay on ‘rural’ or ‘farm stays’. By renting out your granny flat for holidays only, this leaves you with the flexibility of being able to have family and friends stay when they unexpectedly pop in for a few days 4. STUDENT ACCOMMODATION We have a large university with a great number of students within the Logan City Council, and a large hospital with associated medical specialties as well. Renting out rooms is popular, but as more granny flat projects are being completed, students and hospital staff will be looking to this type of accommodation.  5. EXECUTIVE ACCOMMODATION There is very little of this style of accommodation here in the Logan area – perhaps you could be the one to change this. We have an investor that is now looking at this as an option – we could increase his rent return to nearly 14%! A great increase from the measly 4% he was getting … It’s all about smart granny flat design and construction ! Is your Investment Property Achieving it’s Best and Highest Use ? No ? Unsure … No use asking the builder ! Ask us at Vision Property Group LOGAN Granny Flats Let us show you what we can do for you !  Call Sonia 0403 309 136
Logan Granny Flats Logan Granny Flats, your local Granny Flat Experts, bring to you another interesting snippet : Madeleine Wedesweiler Domain Reporter 3.9.15  For the last eight months I have lived in a granny flat out the back of my aunt and uncle’s house, forking out just $100 per week.
I’m not the only Aussie embracing these daggy dwellings. The Department of Planning and Environment reports there were 4818 granny flats and dual occupancies approved in 2013/14; an increase of 68 per cent in a year. People use them for home offices and art studios, extra storage and for housing their teenage children or elderly parents (close enough to keep an eye on them, enough distance to keep the peace). Indeed, if family folklore is correct my own granny flat once served as an office to sell the display homes on our street. In a world of million-dollar medians I’m likely to be calling my little pad home for quite some time to come, which is perfectly fine by me – a granny flat is a bit like all the other types of dwellings, only better. And here’s why. While similar to apartment living, there’s the bonus of not having to share a building with other pesky residents. Not once have I had to deal with noise coming from the apartment above or below me. A granny flat is a bit like a Tiny House but it has a more humble reputation; people don’t make Pinterest accounts and write blogs about the #journey of their granny flat and how it has transformed them. My granny flat is minimalist, but not in a cool Scandinavian way. I’m not even one of those people who is passionate about downsizing; it’s just that I haven’t had much time to accumulate a lot of things. Then there’s the name. Saying you live in a granny flat definitely does not sound cool, but it does kinda sounds hip in an ironic way. It looks like a miniature house. The reason people like babies so much is that they’re tiny humans and they like cats so much because they look like tiny lions. This principle can also be applied to granny flats. There are two types of granny-flat residents; those who spend time with their landlords up in the normal-sized house, and those who don’t. I’m grateful to belong to the former category. For me, renting a granny flat from my super cool (assuming they’re reading this) family members in the house adjacent means I benefit from the good parts of living with other people. I get to eat dinner with them (and not cook), and watch ‘quality’ shows with them at night. Sometimes, they even pick me up from the bus stop when it’s raining. It is also brilliant because we don’t have to have social interactions before midday – my peak time for brooding, caused by my hatred of mornings. It’s also mostly like living by myself. I can stay up as late as I want because no one tells me not to watch Netflix. Sure, life in a granny flat isn’t perfect. I don’t do a lot of cooking but if I did I would probably feel disappointed by my “kitchen” (a bench top with a little camp oven, sink, toaster and kettle). There’s also the issue of the smell of brewed coffee hanging around for two days, which feels inappropriate when I’m trying to sleep. My granny flat is the right size for me. I’ve grown so much over the last year but it’s still just the right size. All the words from all the stories I’ve read, all the songs I’ve listened to, all the hopeless meals I’ve eaten, all the long-winded phone calls I’ve made, they all fit perfectly inside my little flat. All the things that belong to me – tangible and intangible – are there. Granny flats definitely aren’t suited to everyone, but they are perfect for grandparents, young couples, or for a sentimental individual like myself. Who are Your Most Likely Tenants for Dual Living Properties? The Downsizers – sick and tired of a big yard to maintain and over paying the mortgage every month. Many people just want a break from the constant commitment of maintenance and mortgages. The Savers/Newlyweds – young couples, first home buyers, saving for their first home. The Single Mums – Granny Flats provide security and independence and also usually have a small, easy care garden for the kids. The Retirees – time to retire and have a place that you can lock up and go travelling for 3 or 6 months and still maintain independence.  What Sort of Rent Return can be Achieved? Rent is usually the same if not slightly more than a 2 bedroom unit in the area. Most of the appraisals I do for Logan and surrounding areas range from $250 - $300 per week, depending on the final product, area and demographic for that particular suburb. An outdoor deck, landscaped garden and car parking facilities all add to the appeal and improve the gross yield. What is Tenant Demand Like? Enquiry for Granny Flats for rent is increasing every day. Just this week I had an enquiry from a lady and her son willing to go on the wait list for 3 months to get the right 2 bedroom Granny Flat in the Right Area. The appeal of living independently, paying reasonable rent but also having the basic security of someone close by is appealing - and it’s a growing the trend! Are there any Extra Costs Associated with these Properties that Tenants need to Factor in? No. No extra costs associated with renting a Granny Flat. All new Granny Flats have individual electricity, gas and water meters meaning these costs are incurred by the tenant. This is the same as renting a 2 bedroom house or unit with individual meters. Of course there is a bond of 4 weeks rent and 2 weeks rent up front when first moving in, standard procedure in Queensland. What Sort of Features Appeal Most to Tenants in Logan?  DESIGN – At Logan Granny Flats we create modern buildings, all individually designed by an architect with full passive solar orientation, and with visual and acoustic privacy between the two occupants. LOCATION - Consider access to shopping centres, schools and transport. FINISHING TOUCHES - adequate soundproofing, quality fittings, ease of access, good-sized bedrooms and bathrooms. For more information on Granny Flats for Rent
Logan Granny Flats Call Julie Adams on 0411 073 747 Logan Granny Flats weekly update : Thinking of investing this year? Queensland IS THE PLACE TO BE BUYING YOUR NEXT INVESTMENT PROPERTY, and here are more reasons as to why … In the big scheme of things, that whole big property clock – Queensland is coming from the bottom of the clock but now on the rise! You need to get in now before it’s too late!  Terry Ryder, Hotspotting September 2014 As the ripple effect clicks into action, markets in our major cities are shifting. A standard pattern in property cycles is that an upward movement starts in the Top End suburbs and gradually ripples out to the middle and outer ring suburbs. We’re seeing this playing out in Sydney and Melbourne as 2014 winds on. The pattern of activity in Sydney shows that sales levels in many of the millionaire suburbs have tapered off. In the Price Predictor Index, which tracks sales volumes in cities and towns across Australia, many of the Top End suburbs in Sydney have been downgraded. But several markets in the middle and outer ring areas have been upgraded, because sales activity has picked up. The Sydney precincts that still have strong growth momentum are mostly in the far west and south-west. The municipalities centred on Parramatta, Blacktown, Penrith, Liverpool, Campbelltown and Camden have numerous suburbs with rising activity levels. The pattern is similar in Melbourne – where the market with the strongest growth pattern is the Mornington Peninsula. In Brisbane and Adelaide, which are less advanced in the property cycle from the two biggest cities, we’re also seeing middle ring and outer ring suburbs putting their hands up. Brisbane’s run, which started with the inner and middle-ring suburbs north of the CBD, as well as the inner-city apartment market, is starting to spread. The Moreton Bay municipality, which encompasses the northern growth corridor heading up towards the Sunshine Coast, has emerged strongly as a growth market. So too has Logan City, which provides a suburban bridge between Brisbane City and the Gold Coast in the south. Ipswich, in the far south-west, is lagging a little, but starting to show signs of life. Ask any local real estate in Logan or Ipswich and they will all agree – we are definitely showing signs of positive life ! Since late 2014 when Terry Ryder wrote this article, Logan City Council has amended their planning scheme to allow Granny Flats – and boy hasn’t this turned up the anti in the local Logan City Council area … Brought to you by Logan Granny Flats, your Granny Flat Builders and Experts – market leaders in their fields.
Do you have a question about investing in Logan ? Call Sonia 0403 309 136 Having problems with the property management of your investment ? Call Julie 0411 073 747 |