Starter home: River Cottage a fine catch in desirable Rosslare

Bargain €500,000 for ‘Millionaires Row’ home, Tommy Barker reports.

THERE’S some spectacular modern and contemporary-styled homes built in the past decade along Rosslare’s Strand Road: you can peek at them through hedgerows and over electric gates, clear evidence of Celtic Tiger era confidence and easy funds.

And, you can be full sure the builders of River Cottage hadn’t a €500,000 and less value in mind when they designed and specified this big, bright block of a home with water views and near the beaches, and two golf clubs.

This is/was the local ‘Millionaire’s Row’ with views over the Slaney estuary five minutes from a Blue Flag beach and two golf courses: River Cottage can hold its head up with the best of new builds in the neighbourhood. Now, the highly-glazed (lots of ceiling to floor windows) two-storey home is on the market with agents Kehoe and Associates who give it a €495k price guide. Even if the market for holiday/second/retirement homes is currently close to dead in the water for Irish buyers, this waterside home might buck the gloomy trend.

It’s BER assessment is likely to be high given its specification and 2008 build period, and it has oil-fired underfloor heating inside at the lower level, while outside there’s a cracking good barbecue oven/chimney to warm yourself by a large, party-sized terrace.

River Cottage (OK, the name is a bit of a misnomer!) has a ground floor guest bedroom by a bathroom, all four overhead bedrooms have fitted wardrobes, and the master bed opens to a sun terrace, as well as having an en suite bathroom and an office area.

Main living spaces are large, and fairly open plan, the site is half an acre, and the sale include appliances, carpets, curtains etc. Just bring your togs.

VERDICT: Getting a house of this size, done to this level for the price shows that gloomy times have even hit the sunny south east.