Four Important Factors to Think About Before Adding A Granny Flat to Your Vacant Space
29 March 2022The addition of a granny flat or “in-laws home” to your current residence can provide living accommodations for grandparents or other older relatives, nannies or housekeepers. These convenient living spaces can also provide guest accommodations for your visiting family members and friends.
Yet before you make definite plans to build a granny flat adjoining your home, there are specific aspects of this project to consider. You want to ensure that using the area of your property where you plan to construct this additional living space will not prevent you from adding other needed construction to your home later on.
Major Factors to Consider Before Adding a Granny Flat to Your Vacant Space
Important factors to consider before you add a granny flat to vacant space on your home property include the following:
1. Construction Budget. Before finalising plans to add a granny flat to your home property, understand the costs of this addition. If the complete building and finishing costs of this construction project fit easily into your current spending budget, you can proceed with your plans to build. However, realise that adding rooms to your home will increase your energy costs and require extra upkeep and maintenance. The cost of your home insurance coverage may also change once you have added a separate apartment to your home.
2. Experienced Contractor. Hire a highly experienced and respected contractor for building your new home addition. A contractor who is accustomed to adding apartments to current homes can easily obtain the necessary building permits for you. This contractor will also have experienced plumbers and electricians for hooking up the necessary water lines, drains and electrical connections for your granny flat to the ones that you currently have for your home.
3. Maintenance Costs. Once our granny flat is completed, you will have additional ongoing maintenance costs for this added living space. You may need to pay for cleaning services, occasional repair services, lawn mowing and landscaping, gutter cleaning and other services. If a parent or other older relative moves into this new living space, you will most likely also need to buy replacement appliances and other household equipment for your granny flat periodically.
4. Higher Utility Bills. If the new resident of your granny flat is a parent, grandparent or senior relative, you may need to cover the extra cost of their utility bills. The costs of quality HVAC services can be higher than you expect, especially if you live in a locale where extreme temperatures can be common at certain times of the year.
By consulting our experts at Prestige Construction and Design located in Roseville, NSW, you can obtain excellent advice, designs and construction services for adding an attractive and practical granny flat to your home property. Our experienced design and building team will guide you in selecting the ideal design for this new addition to your home. They will ensure that your new “in-laws apartment” completely satisfies and even surpasses your desires, expectations and needs.
