A Cranbourne investor with a tenanted three-bedroom house wanted a second income from the backyard without disturbing the existing lease. The main house stayed occupied at $520 a week for the entire project — the tenants were notified before every trade attended, and a new paling fence split the yard so the two tenancies never share space.
Once the studio met Victoria’s minimum rental standards — blinds, heating and cooling, a compliant cooktop, safety checks — it was listed at $325 a week including bills, with a pre-agreed fallback to $290 if the first open week was quiet. It never needed the fallback: a tenant applied and moved in within three weeks of listing.
The water authority said “new connection from across the road”
The water connection application sat in South East Water’s 6–8 week statewide queue, and their first assessment concluded the nearest supply was on the other side of the road — a brand-new connection, quoted in the thousands and weeks more waiting. The site lead phoned the assessor directly and walked them through the actual plan: tee off the existing house supply, no new main required. The assessment was corrected and the connection approved. This early project also left blinds, air-conditioning and the cooktop out of the contract, at the owner’s cost — which is why the DollarBuild specification lists every one of those items in writing.