Lake Macquarie based construction company Backyard Grannys have taken the innovative approach of creating a fully furnished granny flat display home, a first for the Hunter region.

The grand opening of the display home in April attracted more than 200 people, which Backyard Grannys co-founder Alex Mitchell attributes to the people wanting to see the finished product themselves.

“In the past granny flats may have been given a bad rap, so for us it is all about shifting the public perception,” Alex said.

Everything we do is focused on providing an amazing finished product and showing how our modern granny flats are a great alternative to moving or extending, and can increase property investment yields.”

“This display home is a great opportunity for people to come and see a furnished finished product for themselves. They can see that our granny flats are essentially just small homes with spacious modern open plan living and quality modern fittings.”

Backyard Grannys is an offshoot arm of Nulex Construction (launched in 2010), developed two years ago after the NSW State Government introduced new legislation that made it a much more streamlined process for approvals.

“We saw a niche market opportunity and decided to grab it with both hands,” Alex said.

“Our clients can build a granny flat, without needing council approval in most instances, provided they meet the minimum requirements.

“The result has been amazing, particularly in the property investor space. Investors are able to increase the yield on their land, often getting returns as high as 20 per cent by building a granny flat on the property.”

As a result of the success of both Backyard Grannys and Nulex Construction, Alex Mitchell won the Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2014, in the Lake Macquarie Business Excellence Awards.