With more people today trying to get into the housing market at a more affordable price, it has left many people wondering – Is it possible to build a granny flat for under $10,000?
Unfortunately, no. Although a granny flat can be purchased for just under $10,000, you still need to take into consideration delivery prices, labour prices for assembly and council prices for permits.
In today’s blog, I will teach you how to assemble a granny flat at the lowest possible price – including transport fees and saving money on labour by erecting it yourself as an “owner-builder”.
And share two example of granny flats that take hours to assemble so you will save time as well as money, and get you as close as possible to the $10 000 mark.
DON'T PAY A FORTUNE FOR YOUR GRANNY FLAT. Find out how to deal with council and build a granny flat for the lowest cost possible. Learn More.
When the TransPack granny flats came on the market, they made people sufficiently excited.
With a price under $10 000, people began wondering – was it really possible to build a granny flat for less than $10 000?
Unfortunately, in the real world, this was proved to be simply not at all possible.
Although there is no denying, these granny flats are still a very affordable price and a great investment, however please keep in mind that there will be additional charges that come with building a granny flat, and make room for these in your budget.
A TransPack granny flat comes in a flatpack home.
That is, everything you need to build it will be delivered to your site, in a way that is easy to transport, and easy to assemble so that they can be constructed quickly – you can even assemble it yourself, in as little as 4 hours.
These granny flats are currently on sale for $9900 + GST, with a nationwide flat rate delivery fee of $750 to metropolitan areas.
This combination of GST and the delivery fee, however, does already put the price over $10 000 without accounting for labour and the necessary council permits – on which I will extend on later.
I suggest that you look at becoming an “owner-builder” in order to save yourself thousands of dollars just on labour alone – view our blog “Can You Build Your Own Granny Flat?” to find out just how it can be done.
Each TransPack granny flat is 15 square metres, but you can be flexible with this accommodation with multiples of 15 square metres – for example, if you want a 30 square metre granny flat, you can simply order two TransPack flatpacks.
The benefits of the TransPack portable cabins include;
- Their solid steel frame structure ensures that they will continue to remain termite resistant.
- Bunnings kitchen and bathrooms are supplied for all applicable models.
- They are fast to erect – each model takes approximately only 4 hours to assemble, instead of the typical 4 to 8 weeks for other versions of flatpacks.
Although, please keep in mind that from the time you order to delivery typically takes 8 weeks.
- They are easy to transport – 4 TransPacks can be packed into 1 standard shipping container, and their solid steel frame means they will not twist or warp.
- They are easy to assemble yourself, or iBuild will help you appoint an affiliated builder if you do need the assistance.
- They are easily relocatable, if you choose to move in future.
- The flexible layout of the internal floor structure can easily be adapted to suit your individual needs.
- They come complete with wiring and plumbing.
- They have a 5-star energy efficiency rating.
- They are cyclone proof.
- They are NBN-ready.
This style of granny flat was originally intended for mining companies – they were used as the housing for FIFO (Fly In Fly Out) workers, but they are now being offered as a housing option to the general public.
As such, the model wavering around the $9900 mark does look like something that you may have seen on a mining camp, but it can still easily be given a homely feel.
It is called the P100 model and can be viewed here.
You can choose to contact iBuild about the model here, or call them on 1800 679 268 – however, they have advised you may receive a faster response by submitting your query online, due to the high volume of calls they receive.
Another site that sells prefabricated granny flats at under $10 000 is Alibaba.
For example, this 2-bedroom granny flat is currently at a low price at $6500 USD for one.
However, this site is a wholesale marketplace for global trade, so you will be looking at purchasing a building from suppliers that are based all over the world.
The price you will be looking at will also not necessarily be the price you will end up paying – you will be contacting the supplier, asking them the best price they can offer and awaiting a response, and in this time, the price you were initially looking at paying could possibly change.
As they are coming from overseas, not only is there a potentially long time to wait for arrival, but also a costly delivery fee.
This alone will put the price over $10 000 in total.
But many other things need to be taken into account when building a granny flat price-wise, and by reading the sub-heading below – You will realise that these all have the potential to make the price you had initially budgeted for skyrocket.
What Other Factors Should I Consider When Purchasing a Cheap Granny Flat?
You can save a tonne of money by building your own granny flat, by becoming an “owner-builder”.
To find out just how to achieve this, view our article “Can You Build Your Own Granny Flat?”.
However, even though this is an easy and more affordable option, you’re not going to get away without spending money on things that you hadn’t possibly taken into consideration.
These include:
- Paying to complete the course to gain your “owner-builder” certificate.
- Once you have your building certification, you will be able to save a lot of money on labourers, by doing most of the work yourself – but you are not a fully qualified tradesperson.
For your own safety, you will still need to hire a licensed plumber and a licensed electrician.
- There are also permits that you need to build a granny flat, even as an “owner-builder”
These differ from state to state and council to council, so I strongly suggest you contact your local council to see what permits you require, and how much they are going to set you back financially.
- Your council will also advise you, without a doubt, that you are also still going to need a surveyor to come and map your land out (this is measuring the space, as there are different regulations in every council as to just how big your granny flat can be, and where it is allowed to be placed), engineers to come and measure the soil to see if your granny flat foundation is sitting on rock, and what is known as a BASIX certificate (the certificate you need so you conform with Environment Issues, such as what type of hot water system and which insulation is allowed).
- You will also need a private certifier or the local council to come certify your building work, to check everything is legally completed and the granny flat is a safe ground for anyone to live in.
This can be quite a costly experience, especially with private certification, although council certification is not always possible – and can be quite a timely manner, as you will need to arrange a different department in the council to inspect your plumbing.
Conclusion
Although there are companies that sell granny flats for under $10 000, unfortunately, it is just not possible to complete the entire building process for less than $10 000 in the real world.
There are additional charges that you need to take into consideration when looking at the price of a granny flat – these include shipping costs, taxes and installation fees such as council permits, and labour fees such as hiring a licensed plumber and a licensed electrician, and having the whole process certified so the granny flat has been approved as a safe place to live.
After all, your safety is the most important thing.
Although you can save a tonne of money on labour by getting your “owner-builder” certificate and building the granny flat yourself, although you may be able to lower these charges, unfortunately you just cannot escape these charges completely.
As a lot of the charges differ from state to state and council to council, I strongly suggest that you contact your local council to see what the regulations are for a granny flat in your area, and exactly what fees are involved, so you can be sure to make room for these in your budget when building your granny flat.
Sources;
- https://i-build.com.au/transpack-granny-flats/
- https://i-build.com.au/contact/
- https://www.domain.com.au/news/build-a-granny-flat-for-less-than-10k-20140831-10amu2/
- https://i-build.com.au/transpack-p100-site-office/
- https://www.alibaba.com/
https://m.alibaba.com/product/60512903589/Expandable-Two-Bedroom-container-house-Folding.html