Ipswich Granny Flats brings you an up to date extract for all those budding investors wondering where to purchase their next investment property …

And you’ll never guess what area is mentioned (Check out Number 4 …)

 Terry Ryder’s Top 10 Queensland Hotspots

Property Observer

Jessie Richardson, 26.8.14

Terry Ryder was one of a number of property commentators who tipped that this year would be Brisbane’s time to shine.

The hotspotting.com.au founder stands by his claims, releasing a new report detailing his 10 Queensland “hotspots” – areas Ryder and his team believe show good potential for price growth and are strong investment material.

Ryder names 10 areas in Brisbane and regional Queensland that he predicts will benefit from tourism, infrastructure investment, agriculture or resources. Unfortunately, it’s not all sunny for the sunshine state. According to Ryder, areas including Emerald, Mackay and Gladstone are all suffering from over-supply and don’t present good prospects for investors.

“Markets to avoid include Gladstone, Mackay and Emerald,” writes Ryder. “Gladstone continues to have enormous economic growth factors, particularly from the LNG infrastructure under construction, but its property market has been destroyed by over-building by property developers.

Mackay and Emerald have both been afflicted by oversupply as a time when demand from the coal industry has weakened. Emerald is likely to recover first, once one of the Galilee Basin coal mining projects start construction.”

Ryder also cautions those who are hoping to jump into the Gold Coast market.

The seeds of the next over-supply are already being sown on the Gold Coast and any gains are likely to be short-term. This is a market for speculators, rather than long-term investors,” explains Ryder. Ryder names 10 areas in Brisbane and regional Queensland that he predicts will benefit from tourism, infrastructure investment, agriculture or resources. Unfortunately, it’s not all sunny for the sunshine state. According to Ryder, areas including Emerald, Mackay and Gladstone are all suffering from over-supply and don’t present good prospects for investors.

TERRY RYDER’S TOP 10 QUEENSLAND HOTSPOTS:

1.     Brisbane Northside

2.     Cairns

3.     Hervey Bay

4.     IPSWICH

Ryder’s reasons for growth:

–     Cheapies with prospects

–     Government decisions

–     Transport infrastructure

–     Urban renewal

Big projects coming for Ipswich, in Brisbane’s south west, include the $2.8 billion Ipswich Motorway Upgrade, $12 billion Springfield project, the $1.5 billion Springfield rail link and the Orion shopping centre, along with expansions to the RAAF base, and large industrial estates. Ryder also claims the area has a strong economy, with multiple employment hubs and affordable properties.

“The Ipswich corridor is now well-known as a growth region. Prices rose strongly in the five years to 2009 (before tapering off), giving the suburbs of Ipswich City the strongest capital growth averages ?in the Greater Brisbane region,” writes Ryder.

“Ipswich has shown strong growth in the past but we believe its evolution into a headline hotspot of national standing will continue well into the future. There remain many suburbs that are attractively affordable for first-home buyers and investors on a budget.”

For those after an affordable option, the report states that a $250,000 house is typical for North Ipswich. The two bedroom home pictured below sold for $245,000 this month.

“The Ipswich [Local Government Area] is dominated by couples-with-children households with an above-average proportion of single-parent households. The average age of 33 is younger than the Brisbane average and the average income is lower,” states the report.

Ryder recommends investors look at the town’s Redbank precinct, the inner eastern suburbs and the southern precinct.

Ryder’s summary of Ipswich’s house market:

5.     Kelvin Grove

6.     Logan City

7.     Redcliffe

8.     Sunshine Coast

9.     Toowoomba

10.     Townsville

All 10 of Ryder’s hotspots are characterised by strong current infrastructure or planned infrastructure investment.

For up to date information on Property Investing, stay tuned with Ipswich Granny Flats …

Ipswich Granny Flats bringing you an update on the current property market

Cameron Kusher
4 August 2014

There is likely to be a continued variance in performances from city to city and region to region. Much of the growth over the year has occurred in Sydney, Melbourne and Darwin however, more recently the figures being reported for Brisbane suggests that value growth is experiencing a moderate pick up. Subsequent purchasers and investors are the main drivers of the market currently spurred by the low mortgage rate environment.

From an investor’s perspective, the best opportunity to enter the Sydney, Melbourne or Perth markets has likely passed, especially considering the strong value growth over the past year and falling rental yields. It will be interesting to see whether investors start to turn their attention away from these cities and towards higher yielding markets that are much earlier in their value growth phase such as Brisbane and Adelaide where value growth is now becoming more evident …

* Based on data to year ending May 2014. Statistics will only be calculated for areas with at least ten observations

Another industry expert saying Brisbane (and Adelaide) early in their growth stage !

To all those astute investors, you should be buying NOW in the SE Qld Growth Corridor – and Ipswich is leading the way …

Talk to us about Dual Living or buying an existing property and building an Auxiliary Dwelling, more commonly known as a Granny Flat!

Ipswich Granny Flats

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Chosen Leaders in our field

EXPERT GRANNY FLAT BUILDERS

0403 309 136

Ipswich Granny Flats brings you :

AUSTRALIAN PROPERTY INVESTOR, June 2014 issue

Investors west of Brisbane are taking advantage of town planning guidelines to double their rental income.

Kieran Clair
Australian Property Investment magazine
@kieranclair

It was once intended to be Queensland’s capital, but Ipswich is now the western satellite city that’s become commuter central for affordable real estate. Ipswich has undergone a makeover during the last past decade. Once thought of as a rough neighbour, there’s been a push to create a more cosmopolitan centre with a vibrant feel. Great restaurants, top notch private schools, a university campus and a burgeoning arts scene are all playing their part in building the sophisticated profile of the city.

Ipswich was founded in a rural setting and once you travel beyond the city limits, there appears to be endless strips of land suitable for expansion. The Ipswich City Council (ICC), however, are proactive. They’re looking for ways to create opportunities and to boost housing in the more densely populated central suburbs.

Auxiliary units and dual occupancy

Part of the programme includes planning provisions allowing single allotment properties to have double the occupancy. There are two types of development available that investors are homing in on.

An ‘auxiliary unit’, or ‘auxiliary dwelling’, is a building used as a secondary residence which is attached to, or associated with, a dwelling on the same lot.

‘Dual occupancy’ refers to a main structure that holds two functional living areas, like a duplex. These require separate entry at ground level and sufficient onsite parking, recreation space and must meet privacy requirements for the two tenancies.

According to the ICC, a primary difference between the two is an auxiliary unit is currently limited to a maximum of 65 square metres gross floor area (GFA) and will not normally require development approval (DA). A dual occupancy can be greater than 65 square metres GFA, but will require a DA.

Multiple dwelling units on a single title – or ‘Granny Flat’ provisions as they’re popularly known – have been around for a long time, but guidelines have become more accommodating recently, according to Planning and Development Committee chairperson, Councillor Paul Tully. He says Council has been supportive of additional dwelling spaces on properties so there can be a diverse range of housing options for residents, while maintaining affordability and flexibility. They’re a great option for housing extra family members, Tully says.

“The current Ipswich Planning Scheme continues to provide for relative’s accommodation, either in the form of a dual occupancy or as an auxiliary unit. An implementation guideline also provides further flexibility through the relaxation of dual occupancy development standards where it is intended to accommodate relatives.”

Tully says this type of development is suitable in most residential zones as long as they meet planning requirements.

“The development of a dual occupancy requires development approval and the lot would need to be of sufficient size, dimensions and land quality to cater for the use. Normally a minimum area of 800 square metres with a maximum ratio of depth to width of 3:1 would be required.

“An auxiliary unit may be constructed for this purpose without requiring land use approval on most residential lots and limited in size to 65 square metres gross floor area.”

Tully says while provisions for both are based around having family members use the space, there’s no restriction on having an unrelated party as the tenant – so ‘hello investors’! Tully points out, however, you must be careful what you apply for – i.e. don’t ask for a relaxation on your guidelines so you can accommodate a relative, and then rent it to an unrelated tenant.

“Development of a dual occupancy will not normally restrict the occupancy options of the dwellings and the dwellings will generally be capable of being separately titled. This is restricted where the development standards have been relaxed based on the dual occupancy being requested and used for the purposes of relatives’ accommodation. Similarly, development of an auxiliary unit does not restrict the occupancy options, though the auxiliary unit remains associated with the primary dwelling on the same lot.”

Tully says overall, the legislation has achieved its objectives, but they are monitoring for any negatives in their plan.

“As with all regulation, unanticipated impacts can arise. It has recently become evident that auxiliary units are being promoted and constructed as two-bedroom, two-bathroom de facto dual occupancies. In one instance, up to 15 lots in a row were utilised for auxiliary unit products. This unintended increase in residential density could lead to impacts on infrastructure, services and car parking.”

Investor benefits

Sonia Woolley, owner of Vision Property Group, says the improved flexibility that came in 18 months ago on doubling living spaces has been a boon for investors. Woolley project manages granny flat constructions for her clients and distinctly remembers discovering the opportunity through a contact at the ICC.

“He said, ‘Yeah, we can now do granny flats.’ I said, ‘We could always do Granny Flats,’ and he said, ‘No, you can now do them but it doesn’t have to be for an immediately family member.’ Well, I tell you what – I couldn’t get off that phone fast enough to ring Julie (her business partner).”

Woolley says the great advantage in Ipswich granny flat builds is flexibility.

“There’s really no minimum or maximum land size. There’s no minimum frontage required. There’s actually even no requirement that you have to give side access… There’s actually no requirement for you to even give them car accommodations.”

She says there are some standard guidelines in the planning scheme you need to adhere to like normal setbacks and heights limits, but it’s all a matter of designing to both the planning rules, and the tenants expectations.

Julie Adams, property manager and co-owner at Vision Property Group, agrees there are must-haves in granny flat design if you want to secure good tenants.

“They like decks, especially in Queensland and they like the design and the end product to be of good quality.”

Adams says open plan, ergonomic design is also appealing, and if you can create a courtyard with fencing, all the better.

“(It’s) all about having your own little piece of space for the existing dwelling and the granny flat.”

Woolley says the cost of constructing the flat on a standard block with no dramatic slope or services issues would be around $110,000 to $120,000. She says this would be in total, including transfer fees and charges. The cost of buying the parent property in the first place is also very accessible in Ipswich.

“You can still pick up stuff in Ipswich for around $250,000, although our market in the last three or four months has bottomed out and turned around… but you want a reasonable house at the front.”

At a total cost of around $365,000, Woolley says the retained dwelling should rent for around $285 per week, while the new flat would get $275 per week. At $560 per week that’s a gross yield of eight per cent. Tax depreciation benefits come with the new flat too.

Adams says the flats are popular with particular renter profiles, and demand is good.

“There’s single mothers, there’s empty nesters, there’s grannies and retirees and young, newlywed couples saving up to buy their first home… I’ve got the no vacancy sign up, and that’s a good thing.”

The downsides

The changes in legislation have resulted in a couple of negatives. One is large subdivisions being developed in Ipswich with numerous duplex structures may not stack up in the longer term as supply increases. The push to get double incomes out of a property shouldn’t be done with disregard to the normal rules of investment. Ensure both rental returns and capital growth are factored into your considerations.

Woolley says she prefers to see auxiliary properties built on infill sites, as there are plenty of established homes in Ipswich with big enough back yards to accommodate granny flats.

“Do your research. With the way the market is at the moment I would look for infill opportunities. I wouldn’t look for housing estates.”

David Hyne, a director and valuer with Herron Todd White, says buyers need to realise granny flats can often end up being an overcapitalisation in terms of what value they add to a property in total.

Another factor is “risk ratings”. Risk ratings appear on mortgage security valuations and are used to highlight areas that might present added risk to the lender in relation to a particular property or market. These factors are rated on a scale of one (low risk) to five (high risk), with any factor scoring a three having some part to play in the banks deliberations.

“It’s a property that appeals to a more narrow market segment in comparison to conventional single-use residential property. Therefore, a ‘three’ would most likely be selected for the ‘market segment’ risk rating.

“The other risk is being within an area where this form of development/construction becomes the norm. A higher density of this could also result in the likelihood of a lesser residential location being created.”

Granny flat projects are seen as an easy way to boost your income, and Ipswich offers an affordable entry-level price plus good rental prospects, but they aren’t for everyone. The big tip is to run the numbers carefully and, whenever possible, visit the location of your new investment. A couple of hundred dollars on an airfare may translate in savings in the thousands.

Click HERE to see a photo gallery and video blog of a granny flat build.

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 Ipswich 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 …

Here in Ipswich there are a large number of older style properties that are traditionally on over 1,000m2. 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.  This is proving to be really popular in new housing estates within the local Ipswich area.  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 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. Ipswich Granny Flats is also instrumental in assisting a number of their investor clients in raising the existing house to build under – another first for Ipswich Granny Flats 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

Here in Ipswich we have a large university campus close to the CBD, and a large hospital with associated medical specialties within this same area. Renting out rooms is popular, but as more granny flat projects are being completed, students and hospital staff are looking to this type of accommodation

5. EXECUTIVE ACCOMMODATION

There is very little of this style of accommodation here in Ipswich – 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 – ask us at Vision Property Group / Ipswich Granny Flats what we can do for you!

Call Sonia 0403 309 136

Ipswich Granny Flats

With a limited number of homes available for sale and more buyers coming to the market, it’s certainly increasing the competition in the market place.

Rising buyer demand along with lower supply of stock on the market results in becoming a sellers market. It also usually means that generally speaking, homes sell faster and sellers don’t have to discount their list price by as much in order to sell their property.

Strong market conditions are also evidenced by auction clearance rates which are close to record levels.

And the housing market continues to strengthen. According to RPData, there is a -4% decrease in the number of homes advertised for sale this past year, and a 13% increase in the number of home sales during this same period.

Interesting statistics that apply to us here in SE Queensland, Brisbane in particular. The Top10 Most Affordable suburbs (based on median value) for Brisbane are :

Russell Island
Leichhardt
Ebbw Vale (train line)
Dinmore (train line)
Riverview (train line)
Gailes (train line)
Basin Pocket
One Mile
Lamb Island
North Booval

Pretty good for our local Ipswich area and great for the property market !

Speak to any local real estate agent in the area and they will all agree – the market is definitely on the move up. Leave buying that investment property until the end of the year, and you could miss the boat!

And the astute investors are also seeking investment properties that have the potential to add a granny flat – why not double your rent return ? It’s a no brainer really …

The Granny Flat Solution

DO YOU WANT TO DOUBLE YOUR RENT RETURN

BUT NOT SURE HOW?

Ring Sonia on 0403 309 136

There are a number of things to consider to maximise your Granny Flat Design. We’ll cover a number of them here below, but not necessarily in the order of importance :

1.     Granny Flat Design itself. Some states require that you must have a front door and window facing the street. This is not necessary within Ipswich City Council requirements. We have a very generous allowance from a planning, building and design point of view. We are currently in the planning stages of a custom build that actually has no front door, but a magnificent set of 4m stacker doors – virtually taking up the whole end wall! This will be a beautiful bespoke building on completion, designed by our own architect Russell Wombey

2.     Passive Solar Orientation. We have discussed in previous articles the importance of good design along with passive solar orientation. North facing living areas, maximizing solar and thermal efficiency, allowing the winter sun on the concrete slab to act as a thermal energy bank, no western facing windows – simple things. If they are included in the initial design phase, as part of the approval and Granny Flat construction process, it doesn’t have to cost the earth. Nothing is more cost effective than smart design

3.     Alfresco dining area. In all our designs, we recommend an outdoor alfresco dining area under roofline. From a tenants point of view, to have an outdoor entertainment area is an absolute must here in Queensland, both from a sun point of view but also because of the unpredictable nature of sudden summer storms. The extension of the roofline for such is not included in the 65sqm maximum living space

4.     Foundations – concrete slab or piers. It is generally an easier and cheaper option to build concrete slab on ground rather than piers. Within the Ipswich area there is often Mining Influence, sloping land, land that may have flooding issues or what’s locally called moving black soil (highly reactive soil). In these instances it maybe necessary to design the granny flat on steel adjustable stumps

5.     Flooring. The climate for SE Queensland, particularly here in Ipswich can be cool in winter but quite humid in summer. Our Granny Flat designs tend to have tiles to wet areas as well as non slip tiles to all living areas. Carpet is generally applied to bedrooms

6.     Wet areas. By designing your custom build granny flat with the end user in mind, simple things such as the placement of the bathroom and kitchen close together reduces the length of plumbing and drainage lines resulting in a more cost effective Granny Flat Solution

7.     Wall heights. The industry standard is 2.44 internal wall height, but it’s not that much more to have a ceiling height of 2.9m. This will add around $2,750 to the total build cost but more importantly will give you the feeling of added sense of space and height

8.     Access for the Mature Age or Disability access – access ramps, bathroom rails, wider hallways are just a few things to consider in your Granny Flat Design. In the ACT your Granny Flat Designs must clearly show future options to include in your initial drawings as part of the Disability Access Code. In Ipswich, this would only be required if you are building and designing a purpose built Granny Flat

9.     Car accommodation. Whilst there is no requirement for such, from a property management point of view we consider it essential. It doesn’t have to be a single lockup garage, but a carport design is quite adequate. We recommend that all Granny Flats have covered car accommodation to achieve a maximum rent return

10.    Hallways. An unnecessary evil – good design should preclude the need for any hallway. It’s an absolute waste of space. Even if you are consider constructing a studio style or complete open plan design, screens or cupboards will act as a room divider

11.    Compact style inclusions. Items such as single bowl kitchen sink, mini laundry tubs, low profile toilets, linen or broom closet integrated into a corner, dishwasher (initial setup such as power point, water tap and floor drain to be included for future installation), allowance for minimum of 10 double power points

12.    Other considerations. Security screens, pet friendly doors, kitchen benchtop heights, heights of wall switches and door knobs

By using an architect that produces a Granny Flat Design site specific for your property, you are assured of a quality outcome, not compromising costs for smart design. Our Granny Flat construction and build is second to none – I have not seen anything that comes even close to what we produce. And we are acting in the spirit with which Ipswich City Council had originally intended …

A great job by a great team !

Granny Flat Solutions

Ipswich Granny Flats

Ring now for your free initial consultation

You will not be disappointed!

Sonia : 0403 309 136