Can students be the key for your future income with a Granny Flat?

University is more popular than ever, with record numbers of students enrolling this year. There are a couple of reasons for this, first is the increasing need for further education in the job market, with employers expecting graduate applicants for an ever-widening number of jobs today. But perhaps more importantly, the pandemic has made studying overseas, or taking an overseas gap year, extremely difficult and much less desirable than in the past too.

One of the results of more students is that in university locations, there is even more demand for affordable accommodation. If you live within easy travel of a university campus, this represents a new investment opportunity that could continue to pay dividends over many years. A Granny Flat could be the ideal student accommodation, and represent a simple, but profitable way to boost your income.

An opportunity for today and the future

Not only is renting out your Granny Flat to students profitable, with some estimates suggesting that a 4.5% per year return on investment possible, and around $350 per week in some locations, but it is a long-term strategy. Each year, new students arrive at university needing accommodation, whatever happens there will be a constant stream of potential tenants arriving, offering a reliable income over many years.

Of course, it is not just the rental income that you benefit from, a Granny Flat adds value to your home too, and if you eventually choose to rent out the main property, can add to that rental income too. In addition, by renting out the two properties separately, you not only increase overall rental income, but with two properties instead of one, decrease the chance of an empty property and zero rental income at any time.

Why choose a Granny Flat?

The Granny Flat takes all the hassle out of creating the perfect rental property for students. With the latest Wi-Fi technology and a raft of options, you can quickly create the ideal space that students will love. New, modern and easy to maintain, a Granny Flat is also more desirable than many of the apartments or shared accommodation that students may be considering. Your property will stand out on the market and offer a great option for any student.

Because you can tailor your Granny Flat to meet your unique needs, whether that is adding decking to create a lovely outside space or your choice of décor and other features, your Granny Flat can be crafted to take full advantage of its location to offer a wonderful living experience. All this can be done with significantly less investment that buying a dedicated rental property, in a way that also boosts your property value and rental potential too.

Things to consider about a Granny Flat

There are a couple of things to remember when thinking about having a Granny Flat to rent out as student accommodation. If you rent it out as a secondary dwelling, it must have its own entrance, and with a student rental, you will likely have the property empty outside of term time. This may be useful, allowing you to use the property for other things, such as family visits, between school years, but it does mean there are several periods in the year you won’t be receiving an income from the property. However, with good rates for term-time rentals, you don’t actually lose out much over the course of a year, and in practical terms, you get a predictable income annually over many years.

Is it for you?

If you live in a university catchment area, then a Granny Flat rented out as student accommodation may be the ideal income opportunity for you. With universities generating constant demand for accommodation, this is an investment that can return an income for years, all with minimal input from you and tenants who are reliable payers, with low incidences of payment problems, unlike many other rental markets.

You will need the ability to provide your Granny Flat with its own independent entrance, but beyond that, once designed and installed for you it is a very hands-off income opportunity that also helps the future of the country by providing quality accommodation for our graduates.