Granny Flat Alternatives – What are your options?

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that having a granny flat has become one of the biggest trends related to increasing the value of your home in the past decade. With the rise in Australia’s property market, the granny flat has become a very popular alternative to housing accommodation. 

So what do you do if you do not want a granny flat?

You look for granny flat alternatives.

What are these so-called alternatives?

Try a detached studio instead!

5 reasons to consider getting a detached studio 

From having a space to profit from to having a private place where your in-laws can stay when they visit, granny flats are being used for myriad reasons, so we don’t see this trend slowing down anytime soon.

If you’ve been considering getting a granny flat of your own, you know it’s a big investment on a variety of fronts, but here’s why you might also want to consider the other extra space alternative of a studio rather than a granny flat:

1. You’ll be saving money

While granny flats can serve as an investment (by turning it in to a rented space) or increasing the overall value of your home, as you know, it can also be quite a financial undertaking.

If you’re looking to create an extra space just to be utilised for your own personal use, you can save big bucks by getting a pre-built studio. This saves you on costs related to construction materials, building labour, and wasting time with your council to make sure your plans are up to par with their regulations.

2. You Can Upgrade As You Go

Studios also offer the option of upgrading various features later rather than being required to have them from the start.

For example, if you go the route of building a traditional granny flat, a functioning bathroom is required. However, a pre-built studio, that has the option of adding on a bathroom, can be the perfect solution for being able to gain the extra space you need now without having to wait on building up your savings.

3. You’ll Also Save Time

Unless you’re an architect or construction manager, you likely have a limited knowledge of those council rules and regulations that we mentioned must be met when building a granny flat.

There are restrictions related to property ownership, square footage of your home and community guidelines. These can put a halt to the plans on your new addition if you don’t hire the right people from the get-go, or change your mind regarding the details of your granny flat.

Because studios are considered a lower impact development than a primary or secondary dwelling (granny flat) they also have easier guidelines and benchmarks to comply with and this means a much quicker approval process

4. Faster Turn Around

In addition to saving yourself the hassle of having to deal with council regulations, pre-built solutions that are already council-approved can have as quick of a turnaround time as one day.

And since life isn’t always smooth sailing, these alternatives to granny flats are perfect for scenarios when time may not be on your side, like when you need to free up your home office for the new bundle of joy arriving in mere months.

In a situation like that, the last thing you want to worry about is having a construction crew at your home for months, or having plans get upset by council regulations. Studios are by far the path of least resistance when you’re on a time crunch. Up in one day sounds perfect!

5. Options are Flexible

At this point, you may be thinking that anything this seemingly easy and affordable can’t be nearly as nice as your customised granny flat, but that’s far from the truth.

Many pre-built studios still have customisable features such as an added skylight ridge cap, extra windows and doors, partition walls, and workbenches and shelves that can be added on to the variety of studio styles available to create a unique space that fits your lifestyle needs. They can come in many styles, colours, timbers and designs. There is certainly one that will knock your socks off.

Of course, you may have your heart set on a granny flat and there’s little that can sway your dream of your new space, but with some careful research and listing of your own pros and cons, you may realise a studio is the better alternative space solution for you.

If you’re still on the fence, just ask yourself this; do you like saving time and money? If you answered yes to those questions, why not come down and visit our show rooms and see for yourself why studios are a great alternative to a granny flat.

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