Rare opportunity to acquire your ideal home with a deal of hard work

WHAT you see isn’t what you’ll get with two do-er upper house/sites on opposite sides ends of Cork city.

Cheap, and will-be cheerful, is 1 Blairs Hill Square, up above the roadway in Sunday’s Well.

Hard to access except by foot, this niche setting is home to just four or five houses, and No 1 has a mere €130,000 asking price via John Barry of Keane Mahony Smith.

With about 600 sq ft of space it needs total renovation, at a possible further cost of €60,000 to €80,000. A small builder, and possibly a donkey to carry the materials needed for overhaul, would come in handy. Mr Barry advise having a pair of wellies and a sense of spirit when coming to view.

Previously on the market, but with sales stalled due to legal hitches as part of an executor sale, No 1/aka the Blair Hill Project, has a good but jungle-like front garden, and a narrow yard to the back. Part of its make-over may include a dormer or mezzanine level for extra space.

Meanwhile, over on the city’s southside at Crab Lane, estate agents Sherry FitzGerald have an un-lived in semi-detached cottage for sale, on a prime quarter acre site off Boreenmanna Road. After its first week on the market, offers at €300,000 had been recorded and there’s more left in it yet as a development site.

The cottage could serve as a link between the old and the new, as there is plenty of space to the back for a considerable build project, subject to planning.

An adjacent recently-built house with a strong architect’s input shows just how much appeal this Crab Lane setting has for an upmarket family home. “This is a rare offering,” says Sheila O’Flynn of Sherry FitzGerald.