Imagine that you’re living far away from your parents, in another city or even abroad. You have the opportunity to travel home every now and then, but fear hotel costs or temporary rentals might make long-term holidays prohibitively expensive. Your parents, however, have a large piece of property on which there is a space to build an addition to their home. You suggest the idea to them, but they resist because they want to avoid the costs associated with modifying an existing residential structure. Is there any other option? As a matter of fact, there is: They could build a separate “granny flat” for you.
How to Convince Them to Build One
How to make your case? Tell them a granny flat need not only be for one’s elders. Get them to think of it as a role-reversal to the story of adult children who build a place for mom and dad. Portray it as a story of nostalgic empty-nesters whose children have moved out to their own homes. These parents relish every visit by their children as often it can happen. The installation or building of a granny flat on site could give adult children and their own families a cheaper, more comfortable and convenient place to stay than a hotel.
Modern Times, Modern Needs
Modern times equal modern lifestyles, and whether this is a harmful development or a positive thing mainly depends on your point of view. Far-flung families are becoming more the rule than the exception to it, and kids with kids of their own might feel more comfortable in a hotel. This is because they value their privacy, or simply want to spare you the hassle of having a packed house. With a granny flat, though, everybody can be happy and stay in the same area. At night, both sides can retire to their rooms, and reconvene in the morning. A granny flat opens up all sorts of sleeping arrangement opportunities.
Depending on your needs (or your parents’ desires), there is a variety of granny flat designs to choose from. For a single occupant, the best sized granny flat could be as small as a one bedroom with a kitchen and living room, or have two bedrooms, and a living room and kitchen. One bedroom would be an actual bedroom, the other acting as a kind of office or hobby space. For two occupants, they could opt to build three rooms, with one acting as the primary bedroom and the other rooms split between the occupants’ own needs and preferences.
Work Together for Everyone’s Benefit
When it comes to granny flats for sale Victoria has many suppliers. You can help your parents find the right design and contractor for their property. They might be concerned that an extra structure on their land will clash with the existing one. If you do your homework, you can show this needn’t be so, that the building of a secondary dwelling could add to their property’s beauty and value. All that, and having the grandkids close by more often, might be enough to win the argument!