Get your bids ready to secure a property of captivating charm

AUCTIONS for residential properties are rare in Cork city. The normal approach is by private treaty, unlike Dublin, where many properties end up going under the hammer, making big money in this mad market.

That, however, isn't the only reason why Conor Flynn of Conor P Flynn and Associates is taking 2 Sydney Park to auction.

The house is part of an executor's sale and this is the fastest, and usually cleanest, route to dispose of a property. The date is set for May 3 at the city's Imperial Hotel, and should prove to be a good day out for property watchers.

Again, houses in this area, which is five minutes above Patrick Street, are rare enough to the market, but this particular property has never sold out of family hands.

Built in 1933, it's an absolute gem, says Mr Flynn, who adds that he'd buy it himself but for the fact he's precluded by ethics and the rules of his professional body.

Number 2 is semi-detached and, as is typical of this park, is built in the Domestic Revival style. The real beauty of this property is that it has been perfectly preserved.

Nothing has changed but the wallpaper since day one, and even in some rooms that could be disputed. Old, but somehow still relevant, the house is not huge, and at the pre-auction guide of €500,000, is going to attract buyers with deep pockets. Which means it will more than likely be developed and the museum-piece feel will go. But that's probably as it should be, buildings have a function, not just a form.

In terms of a before and after finish, viewers need only look at the adjoining property to see the potential: it's a mirror-image in terms of design but light years away in liveability.

At number 2, the kitchen is still a small room at the back of the hallway and it still has an old range in the firebreast (now broken down), and ancient presses in the alcoves. A sliding hatch to the dining room no longer moves, but the double oven gas cooker probably still works.

The dining room has the most unusual finish on the walls. It's hard to tell whether it's wallpaper or a plaster finish but the room does have its old tiled fireplace, albeit with gas insert, and the lovely, but tatty casement windows that run throughout the house.

The hallway is the finest part of this four-bedroomed property and is very 'now', with it's deep red wallpaper contrasting with the unusual, white painted staircase.

The four bedrooms are ranged around the landing, with a bay window in the master bedroom: one of the nicest rooms is to the front with a south-facing dormer window.

A good family home, this has a charm that's sure to captivate viewers.

Sunny in an early April morning, the gardens are a delight, banks of ransom sit under two great sycamores (they may have to go, for light's sake), and at the back, the slope of the site ensures the sun reaches over the roof top. There's more than enough room for an extension and the sound of children playing is carried softly over the high stone wall at the back.