Home and site come with plenty of options

SOME houses and sites are to die for, other houses have sites they just might be demolished for.

For all its abundant old-world, scuffed charms, Overton on the main Douglas Road in Cork city might just fall into the latter category especially in the wrong hands.

Dating to the early 1900s, it is a detached home on a beguiling private, mature site (overgrown just a tad) of up to two-thirds of an acre, and has the hallmarks of a solid build which changed little over the many intervening decades.

Essentially an early dormer style home, it has heavy Tudor revival touches, from the brick and timbers by the entrance gable inwards to the wood-panelled internal walls, hall and landing.

Auctioneer Tom Woodward values it very loosely between €800,000 and €1 million, knowing that whoever buys it will be spending very considerable sums on it and that many may seek to demolish and rebuild from scratch. Another large property, Woolhara House, on an open site directly across the Douglas road, was withdrawn last week from auction at €850,000, while Kenilworth marginally closer to Douglas sold for e1 million over a year ago and is now being hugely upgraded.

Woodwards gauge Overton to have 3,000 sq ft of space, but to be honest it doesn't feel this large.

Yet, it does manage to have three well-proportioned (22'x15', 16'X14' and 20'X 13') reception rooms ranged along its south-facing flank, with old steel windows and a French door in the living room.

There's a study as well by the heavily-wooded hall, a ground floor WC and inner hall, the kitchen is older than old-fashioned, empty save for the warmth of an oil-fired cast iron Esse stove, and many of the roms have attractive older style tiled and timbered firepieces. Overhead are four bedrooms, none en suite, and none larger than 14' by 13' so where does a new owner find space for a dressing room, walk-in wardrobe jacuzzi bathtub and the other accoutrements that say you've arrived? Good architect required.