Our top 3 “take home tips” from our recent Granny Flat Seminar

We were absolutely thrilled to see so many people turn up to get tips and insider knowledge for their own granny flat project, from Leimac Building and our trusted colleagues.

Attendees to our free granny flat seminar asked a lot of questions which helped everyone in the room. Lots of information was shared by the experts, so everyone learned something!

Scroll down to read the top 3 “take home tips” from each of the experts.

Top 3 tips from Gavin Leiper

Although we introduced Gavin as someone who doesn’t enjoy public speaking, he certainly hit his stride with answering all the questions asked of him. It was clear that building and finding solutions that work is a true passion! In fact, one attendee wrote: “I thought the builder’s voice was a great addition, no problem with public speaking!”

Gavin, being the “granny flat expert” of the south west, had these three “take home tip” from the seminar:

1. Consider the location of your granny flat… Tight spaces cost a bit more due to material delivery and getting tradey’s equipment to site.
2. We work with many clients who want input into the building process. We are fine to be flexible with a couple of parameters, such as painting. Painting can be a good saving, (but we don’t always promote this as our guys are great and guarantee their workmanship!) Clients can also do their own floor covers and window treatments, but again, we have great product and service from Trevors Carpets in Busselton on our side, so weigh up the peace-of-mind of having work guaranteed, versus saving dollars in the build. Landscaping is another area that clients generally do themselves to save money.
3. If on a tight budget, consider building with 2.7m flat ceilings as raked or high ceilings add to costs quickly.

And a bonus tip… (because he can’t stop at three!)

Sometimes it’s possible to go straight to building  without a planning permit. (Do not try this at home — please consult with an expert (such as Gav!) who can  guide you through this process.)

Top 3 tips from Mark Murray

Mark was very generous in sharing his knowledge of local real estate, what renters are interested in, and likely rental returns for those who invest in a granny flat / studio apartment. His top three take home tips are:

1. Planning is key, ensure to get your financial info, building info and real estate info together to assist you to make a sound decision.
2. Consider the future in placement, layout, appearance and privacy.
3. Consider planning policy primarily so you don’t get caught with a no at submission of plans.

For more information, contact Mark directly on 0427030301

Top 3 tips from Rebecca Ritchie

Rebecca “Bec” Ritchie was on-point and objective about the benefits of building a granny flat, as well as providing handy general advice*. She demonstrated an excellent understanding of financial strategies for de-cluttering finances, simplifying your budget, and getting the most of your property investment. Bec’s top three take home tips are:

1. Leverage existing equity as a platform for investment in a manner best suited to your circumstance [Line of Credit or Cash Out]
2. Maximise your rental yield with a dual key residence — on average 3-4% higher than a single key investment
3. Engage with professionals to guide you through the various council, financial and regulatory hoops to ensure the best outcome.

For more information, please call Bec directly on 0427 240 984.

And a big thank you to…

One of our clients, Steve Hayman, spoke about his experience with building with Leimac. Steve and his wife Trudy (owners of Harvest Tours) built a “Yield Maximiser” — that’s a house and granny flat (or studio apartment as Steve prefers to call it!) built in unison.

He said the benefits were fantastic, with the top three benefits being:

1. The studio apartment could be built first, and lived in while the house was being completed (save on rent!);
2. Two families could live on the one block of land in relative privacy to each other; and
3. Not only did they save money and time by building both at once, they continue to save money with rates, utilities, and even pet-sitting services!

Thanks again to everyone who attended. It was very gratifying to meet savvy property owners asking intelligent questions, doing excellent research for their granny flat ideas.

Please stay in touch, and if we decide to run another seminar, you will be the first to know 😀

All the best,
Gavin, Anita, Donna, Grant (the Leimac office team), and Rebecca and Mark

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Just a cheeky montage of a gorgeous granny flat we built in Parkwater (Cowaramup). Even with the extra $ for stumps & finishings, this 2 bedroom 1 bathroom granny flat came in under $140K. Very proud to hand this one over to its happy owner.

As seen on instagram… “Just a cheeky montage of a gorgeous granny flat we built in Parkwater (Cowaramup). Even with the extra $ for stumps & finishings, this 2 bedroom 1 bathroom granny flat came in under $140K. Very proud to hand this one over to its happy owner.”