More to this than meets the eye

COURTRAY is a bit like the ducks on the nearby Lough in Cork city - all may seem quiet up front or above the water, but there's a lot going on underneath, or, in this house's case, behind the facade.

The double-fronted bungalow on a cul de sac section of Hartlands Road is actually a five-bed home of quite some size, and that's before you ever get told that there's a three-bed, self-contained apartment as well at the back.

And that helps explain the €620,000 price guide quoted by Johnny O'Flynn of Sherry FitzGerald in Cork city for this Hartlands Road home, which is within easy strike of UCC and the city centre.

While it may suit a large family, an independent or extended family, or those who need space to work at home from, he reckons its primary appeal will be to investors: the apartment alone is capable of bringing in well over €800 a month, and the house can be lived in then or rented out for others to occupy.

In all, there's about 1,500 sq ft of space, about 1,000 sq ft in the main five-bed section and 500 sq ft in the apartment, which has three beds, living room, kitchen and bathroom.

The main house has a lounge, 28' by 11' living/dining room, galley kitchen, bathroom, two ground floor bedrooms and three bedrooms more plus a bathroom overhead.

The overall condition is very good. There's a cobble drive and patio in front, a long back garden with the best views of the Lough and its wildfowl inhabitants, and the nearby renovated Hawthorn has a bar and new restaurant for nights out, around the corner. Duck, anyone?