€600,000 guide price for 45-acre property in Shanballymore, Co Cork
Such is the case with a 45-acre property in the townland of Carrigleagh, near Shanballymore village, North Cork.
Shanballymore is today a small settlement in rural Munster with an official population of less than 1,000 souls, but back in the day it was part of a super-highway.
The revolutionary Bianconi coaches were Ireland’s first extensive public transport system, and Shanballymore was one of the important stages of the coaches’ journeys from Clonmel, and extending in every direction.
More than 200 years later, much has changed, with Bianconi routes now a ghostly memory and often covered over with forestry and man-made landscape alterations.
The farm holding in question still finds itself at an important crossroads in terms of the agriculture industry, however.
There are two major road arteries (namely the N72 Fermoy-Mallow road and the N73 Mallow-Mitchelstown road) within 10km of this interesting property, whose location in the Golden Vale could hardly be better in terms of ease of access to the land itself and to multiple markets in the area.
The large industrial towns of Mallow, Fermoy, and Mitchelstown are all roughly equidistant (approximately 20km each) and the farm itself enjoys superb road frontage, surrounded on two sides by public road.
The price guide on the property is €600,000. It’s a figure that’s certainly not out of the way in terms of what good quality land fetches in this part of the world, and the farm has a number of elements that make it a particularly attractive offering.
Quite unsurprisingly, it’s under offer at the time of writing, according to the selling agent, Michael O’Donovan of Sherry Fitzgerald O’Donovan auctioneers in Fermoy.
First of all, there is the aforementioned quality of the land. It is, according to the selling agents, a good example of Golden Vale property.
“It’s a smashing piece of ground,” says Michael.
“It’s in an area of good-quality limestone land… It’s looking at the moment like it may be sold all together. However, we also have interest in the land and in the house separately. We’ll just see how it progresses.”
There are not one, but two dwellings going with this farm. The first is the original stone farmhouse. This property is in solid condition, but in need of a renovation.
On a roadside location surrounded by lawn, it has rustic charm in spades for anyone who might be interested. There are also a number of other stone buildings and outhouses in the adjoining yard. These include a three-column lean-to and a hay barn.
Aside from the traditional, there is the far more modern bungalow. This is a Roh-Fab construction — so named after the Rohan Construction Group headed by Corkman Ken Rohan — a house type that was popular during the early 1980s.
The house has been very well maintained and is in excellent condition throughout, with a garage and oil-fired central heating. Accommodation includes an entrance hall, sitting room, kitchen/dining room, sunroom, office, bathroom, and three bedrooms.
It’s a very attractive proposition in its own right and boasts some nice mature and landscaped gardens to complete the scene of modern living amidst rustic bliss.
The interest in the property gathered before it went on sale, according to the agents.
While it is primarily local interest, there is a mixture of sources of queries for this residential farm — even extending internationally, underlining the hunger for various elements of land and accommodation.
Michael said, “Even today, we had an enquiry from someone in England. People from the Cork area have been interested too, not necessarily from the city itself, but from areas around it. There are a lot of people out there looking for a nice parcel of land to go with a house, or somewhere they can build a house.”
There are also plenty of people looking for an investment with income.
This is another string to this farm’s bow: it is currently let, with an established rental income in a lease that will run for another three years (until October 31, 2019).
According to the agents, the rent is currently €11,982, payable in advance on October 1 each year.
