2nd Dwelling set up

[MVL]

hi all

Newbie after some help,

Bought my first investment property a few months ago, good buy in my mind!
3bedroom 1200m2 section seperate 2storey garage that opens
onto a reserve with a brand new tennis court and club house
which has a good private access way for cars.
I'm in the process of turning the garage into a 2nd dwelling sleepout.
I have already fenced off the garage to the main house
as I have tenants in at the moment.
My question is what is the best way to work the power and mail out?
I will run a check meter into the garage for the power and run a gas infinity
for the hot water so the only power used would be for power points and lights.
Has anyone out there done anything like this before?
I'm only a newbie how would I go about spliting the power line charges e.g?
Also since I have fenced off the garage from the house the only access
to the sleepout(garage) is via the access way to the tennis court.
Many people in the street use as their garages too back on to the reserve.
Would it be best to put another mail box beside the original (21 & 21a)?
Tenants renting the sleepout have to drive past the main driveway to get to the access way anyway

Any advice and help would be awesome!!

[Simmo]

Sorry mate cant help apart from make sure you check legalities of the set-up with your local authority....might be good to make the call anonymous. Run it by your insurer as well.

Cant tell 100% from the post if you live there too, but if so check out the IRD website for advice on what they class as income. Good luck!

[Tan]

My question is what is the best way to work the power and mail out?
I will run a check meter into the garage for the power and run a gas infinity
for the hot water so the only power used would be for power points and lights.

It is probably worth running a seperate power supply to the garage, especially if this is a long term situation.

Also since I have fenced off the garage from the house the only access to the sleepout(garage) is via the access way to the tennis court.!!

Is it possible to put a gate in the fence?

Would it be best to put another mail box beside the original (21 & 21a)?

Yes, or you can get a double mailbox if space is tight.

[Bulldog]

If you don't have consent, you might be liable for development contributions for a 2nd dwelling if local council found out. Might pay to keep it low key, especially with additional entrances & mailboxes. I have a place which is rated as house plus flat, 2 mailboxes, 2 rubbish bins, etc. but no record of this being consented. Council's turning a blind eye fo now but I fully accept that I might have to revert back to 1 dwelling eventually.

[Maccachic]

Are there insurance implications with no consent?

[Gypsygirl]

I had a similar situation - put in two mailboxes. Separate meter in garage. Only thing is that although the meter can be read it is still going through the one power account on the main house.
What you can do is put extra onto the rent to cover power and then pay it into the main power account, or alternatively do a power bond with the tenant.
the power issue is quite a big one, as obviously the tenant in the front doesn't want to be paying for the guy in the back, and if the back tenant thinks his power is free, will have no qualms about using his heater all night and racking up high power bills.