Starter Homes: Enjoy the scenic seclusion from your mountain farmhouse
Summer homes with sea views are in high demand this year — even when the sea views are distant and the property needs renovation like this old farmhouse at Dreenane, Toormore near Goleen and Schull.
A traditional two-storey property prettified by pale blue windows and a front sunroom, it offers the type of scenic seclusion that auctioneer Pat Maguire says many buyers want in a holiday home. “Situated half way up a West Cork mountain surrounded by rugged rocky landscape, it has panoramic views of the Fastnet Rock in the distance.’’
The property was renovated some years back and was lived in until last year but the accommodation is basic and the BER rating is a G. To the front there’s a sunroom with south-facing views which leads into a living room with a traditional beamed ceiling and two stoves. There’s also a kitchen, a lean-to-store room and a bathroom while the first floor has two timber floored bedrooms.
Guiding at €250,000, the farmhouse comes with five acres of land which is mostly rugged and rocky but includes a vegetable plot.
Situated at the end of cul de sac boreen, the property is located 8km from Goleen village and 12km from Schull.
Perfectly located for a holiday refuge.
Apartments at Old Quarter in Ballincollig — like this ground floor two-bed one at 43 Leslies Arch — are very popular with first-time buyers and downsizers.
Olivia Roycroft of O’Mahony Walsh auctioneers — quoting a guide of €259,000 for the 860 sq ft property — says Old Quarter is the most sought-after development in town.
Built in 2006, this is a well-cared-for, owner-occupied apartment with a spacious modern kitchen/ dining/living space with a high gloss kitchen. There’s also a bathroom and two bedrooms, one en suite, and a patio garden. Ms Roycroft says the location overlooking a green and the regional park is excellent.
: Expected to attract lots of attention
The expectation that Covid restrictions will be relaxed by the summer means that buyers are chomping at the bit to get the opportunity to view properties like 40 Bromley Park in Donnybrook.
Guiding the 1990s built three-bed semi at €285,000, Lawrence Sweeney of Savills says he has a lot of calls and emails from first-time buyers who are eager to go and see it.
“Because the supply level is so low at present it is attracting unprecedented interest," he says, noting that this is a very well presented owner-occupied property that has a wonderful south facing rear patio and garden.
According to Mr Sweeney, the Donnybrook location is a very significant attraction. “It’s just 1.3 km from Douglas Village Shopping centre and 4.3 km from Cork city centre and is close to a range of local amenities including a crèche and shops.” Offering 1,100 sq ft of living space the property has a maple floored living room with a fireplace as well as a modern L shaped kitchen dining room.
Off the hallway, there’s a guest WC while upstairs there is a bathroom and three bedrooms.
It’s clear the owners enjoyed sitting out because they added a circular patio in the centre of the back garden sheltered at one side low semi-circular stone wall. “The back garden is private because it isn’t overlooked," says Mr Sweeney adding that the house overlooks a wooded area at the front.
There weren’t any sales in Bromley Park in 2020 – the most recent one seen on the Property Price Register was of No 27 which sold €275,000 in December 2019.
: Seems to be very popular.
A two-bed apartment at 10 Woodfield Hall Station Road in Blarney has a guide of €235,000.
A first-floor property with 742 sq ft of living space, it’s on the market with Sherry FitzGerald auctioneers who say it’s a very well-presented property situated in a gated development within walking distance of the village. It comes with a kitchen0diner, a bathroom with a Jacuzzi bath and two bedrooms, including one en suite.
: Affordable with a high B2 BER Cert.
