Eight two-income granny flat investment offerings for under $200,000 across Australia

Buying a house with a granny flat can allow buyers to earn an income from their property while still living there. It’s a double whammy.

Or investors can buy one property and earn two incomes off the one site.

In rural areas properties with granny flats can be bought for as little as $69,000, though significant work may have to be undertaken.

Property Observer has found eight houses with granny flats – either recently sold or currently for sale – that could earn buyers an income for less than $200,000.

1. 8 Little Snowy Creek Road, Eskdale, Vic 3701

$69,000

It’s not pretty, but it’s very cheap. The “quaint” weatherboard home comes with an equally quaint self-contained bungalow. It needs renovation, but it’s in a beautiful location in the Mitta Valley at the foothills of Mt Bogong. The property comes with views over the nearby caravan park. Eskdale is a town of 200 people, 50 kilometres south-east of Albury-Wodonga.

Agent Murray Bingham from RMB Realty Jindera is selling the property.

2. 18 William Street, Lismore, Vic 3324

$110,000

In somewhat better condition this post-war vinyl-clad home comes with a large granny flat that’s currently being used as a workshop. The house comes with a country garden with established roses and various plants. Ray White Ballarat agent Trevor Booth is selling the property and says self-contained flats like this can be a great opportunity to earn income.

“It does have the advantage of being able to reduce mortgage payments by generating extra income from the flat. Though sometimes they’ll be used for the exact purpose they were intended for – elderly relatives that may have sold up their property and want to be more accessible to their immediate family.”

He says the flat could earn around $70-$80 a week and the house would rent for around $150 a week.

3. 313 Finley Road, Deniliquin, NSW 2710

$155,000

An “understated” home with a separately tenanted granny flat is up for sale in Deniliquin, the rice-growing town 66 kilometres north of the Victorian border at Echuca. The town recently reopened the rice mill, one of the largest in the southern hemisphere, after a break in the 10-year drought.

The owners have apparently kept the rents for the properties low with elderly residents in both.  The main house is rented at $150 per week and the granny flat is $105 per week. With some renovation work, the main house could rent for $180 per week, and the flat at $120 per week.

With the rice mill reopened, demand for rental properties has increased. And for the first time in years farmers have been given their full water allocation and are expecting a bumper crop.

4. 443 Wood Street, Deniliquin, NSW 2710

$165,000

In the same town by the same agent, this three-bedroom house includes a two-bedroom self-contained flat. Each is fully fenced with garden sheds and its own carport. Agent Trent Lloyd of TLC real estate says the flat could rent for $110 per week while the main house would rent for $160 per week.

5. 23 Ronald Street, Robinvale, Vic 3549

$165,000 to $185,000

Back in Victoria, this time in Robinvale, this three-bedroom family home comes with a three-bedroom bungalow out the back. The bungalow is currently set up with a canvas annex covering a purple sofa. It’s on 590 square metres.

Agent Chris Katis from Barry Plant Mildura says Robinvale is an interesting case where properties tend to be rented out by the head rather than by the room. Up to nine people have been living in the cottage, each paying $60-$70 per week, giving a potential of more than $500 a week.

“We’re very short of housing here, and there’s a big demand for labourers on the farms,” Katis says.

“The rental situation happens a fair bit because of the lack of housing.”

6. 184 Nelson Street, Nhill, Vic 3418

$169,000

In Nhill, halfway between Adelaide and Melbourne, this three-bedroom period homes come with a self-contained unit. The main house comes with a large living area and a formal dining room.

Andrew Seers from Aaron Lewis Property Agents Horsham is selling the property.

7. 15 Dobbs Street, Mount Morgan, Queensland

$180,000

In Mount Morgan, 32 kilometres south of Rockhampton, a three-bedroom metal-clad home just sold for $180,000, with a fully separate granny flat. The house comes with a deck, air-conditioning, steel stumps and a fully concreted handyman's work area. The whole block is 814 square metres.

The utility meters on the property were recently changed to allow for separate renting. Agent Raine and Horne agent Kerri-Anne Percival says the property market in Mount Morgan is booming. She says a possible new mine site nearby and the purchase of Mt Morgan Mines could drive prices up quickly.

8. 6 Noakes Street, Childers, Queensland, 4660

$180,000

This house in the mining town of Childers recently sold for $180,000. The granny flat needs a new kitchenette, which agent Michael Vella says would cost $4,000, but once that’s done the flat would rent for $180 a week while the house would rent for $220 per week.

Vella says there is a massive shortage or rental properties in the town driven by mining in surrounding areas. One rental agency in the town has no  empty properties, while the others have just a handful.