For property investors, growing rental income doesn't always mean buying another property. Sometimes the opportunity is already sitting in the backyard. If your investment property has suitable unused space, adding a secondary dwelling can give you another way to generate rental income from an asset you already own.
That’s the idea behind our new partnership with Elsewhere Pods.
Elsewhere Pods helps property owners design and build modular studios, granny flats and tiny homes. Futurerent helps eligible property investors unlock equity from an investment property to help fund the project, without refinancing their existing mortgage. Together, we're making it easier for investors to answer two important questions:
Could I make more of my existing investment property?
And if the answer is yes: How could I fund the project without restructuring my mortgage?
Make more of the investment property you already own
Property investors often think about growth in terms of the next purchase. But there can also be opportunities to improve the earning potential of a property already in your portfolio.
A backyard, side access or another underused part of the block could potentially accommodate a studio, granny flat or other secondary dwelling, subject to the property, local requirements and the project you have in mind. That additional space could then become another rental income stream alongside the property's existing rent.
Instead of buying another property to add another source of rental income, you're looking at whether you can make the existing asset work harder. That's what makes the Elsewhere Pods use case interesting for property investors.
Where Elsewhere Pods fits
Elsewhere Pods gives investors a more straightforward way to explore what could be added to their property. You can look at different pod designs, customise the project and work through pricing and the practical requirements for getting it installed.
Depending on your property and plans, that could mean creating:
- a granny flat for another long-term tenant
- a self-contained studio
- a tiny home
- additional accommodation for short-term rental, where permitted
The opportunity isn't simply to put another structure in the backyard. For an investor, the question is whether that unused space can become a productive part of the property and contribute additional income.
The upfront cost is where Futurerent comes in
Finding a potential value-add project is one thing. Funding it is another. You may already have equity in your investment property, but accessing it through a traditional refinance can mean changing your existing mortgage and going through another finance process.
Futurerent gives eligible property investors another option.
You can cash out up to $100,000 per eligible investment property and put that capital towards your Elsewhere Pods project, without refinancing your existing mortgage. Futurerent is designed around property-based approval and doesn't impact your credit score.
The cash out can help cover more than just the pod itself. Depending on your project, you could also put it towards:
- site and installation costs
- furnishing and appliances
- styling
- short-term rental setup
- other costs involved in getting the new space ready to generate income
The broader use case fits how property investors already use Futurerent for renovation and property value-add projects.
See whether the project stacks up before moving ahead
Adding another rental stream only makes sense if the numbers make sense. That's why we've built a dedicated Elsewhere Pods Project Funding Planner as part of the partnership. Start with the expected cost of your Elsewhere Pods project, then add some basic details about your investment property.
The planner will show you:
- the estimated Futurerent cash out available
- how much of your project it could cover
- how much you may need to contribute yourself
- the estimated Futurerent funding cost
- how much of your existing rental income would be used
- the estimated impact on your investment property's cash flow
For example, your project might cost more than the amount available through Futurerent. Rather than treating that as an all-or-nothing decision, the planner separates the two amounts clearly.
If your project costs $125,000 and your estimated Futurerent cash out is $100,000, you'll see that Futurerent could contribute $100,000 and that you would need to fund the remaining $25,000. That gives you a clearer starting point for deciding whether the project works for you.
Plan my Elsewhere Pods project
One property, potentially more rental income
This is what makes the partnership particularly relevant to property investors. You already have the property. You may already have equity in it. And you may have unused space that isn't currently producing anything.
An Elsewhere Pods project gives you a way to explore turning that space into another rentable area, while Futurerent gives you another way to access the capital needed to make the project happen.
You still need to consider the things that matter with any investment property project, including:
- whether your property and site are suitable
- planning and approval requirements
- total project cost
- expected rental demand and achievable rent
- ongoing operating costs
- how the additional income compares with the cost of the project
The goal isn't simply to build another dwelling. It's to determine whether doing so can improve the income-producing potential of the property.
How Elsewhere Pods × Futurerent works
We've designed the partnership so you can work through the property and funding decisions together.
1. Estimate your project cost
Explore Elsewhere Pods designs and pricing to understand the type of project you're considering.
2. See how much Futurerent could contribute
Use the Project Funding Planner to compare your project cost with the amount you may be able to cash out from your investment property.
3. Understand the cash-flow impact
See the estimated funding cost and how much of your existing rental income would go towards the Futurerent arrangement.
4. Talk through your cash out
If the numbers make sense, submit your details and speak with the Futurerent team about your eligibility and funding options.
5. Finalise your Elsewhere Pods project
Continue with Elsewhere Pods to customise the pod, confirm pricing and work through the project requirements.
Elsewhere Pods looks after the pod. Futurerent looks after the cash out.
Could your investment property support another income stream?
If you've been thinking about how to increase the rental income from a property you already own, it may be worth looking beyond the existing dwelling. Unused space could represent another opportunity. The first step is understanding what you could build, what it would cost and how you could fund it.
With Elsewhere Pods × Futurerent, you can now work through those questions in one connected journey. See what your project could look like and how much Futurerent could help fund.
