House of the week

There’s been a string of Sold! signs shoot up along Cork’s main Douglas road, among other similar older suburbs, where convenience is king and the city’s a walk away.

Now, a suddenly-rare For Sale sign has sprung up among the Sold ones, and it’s No 2 Fernwood, a mid-terraced period dormer home of sheer quality from the entrance gates in.

And, it just gets better as it goes on.

New to market with Barry Smith of Rose Property Services, it stands out from the area’s most recent sales in that it needs no work :most of its neighbouring sales all needed considerable extra investment.

No 2 was last put up for sale around 2007, with a €500k-plus guide, which meant that it just didn’t sell until a couple of years ago, when it made in the mid-€300,000s. Now, its owner is hoping to trade up again, so it’s now priced at €315,000 by Mr Smith. In its first week on the market it has momentum and enthusiastic viewers: so much so it has gone from €270k in offers to close on €300k in week one.

The likelihood is that it will perform as well in surveys too, given the sheer amount of work done here, the costly materials used and all done to a very high standard.

It’s been extended at ground level behind, for a high-ceilinged sun room/dining room off the richly timbered kitchen, with units and work tops in walnut, the sun room’s floor is a glittering black quartz tile with shimmering metallic flecks, and the bathroom is floored in Connemara marble, with expensive hardwood (mahogany?) panelling, including around the taps for the free-standing cast iron roll top bath.

No 2’s the sort of place you can say was done on an unstinting budget, and decorated and kept to a fastidious level, with built-ins galore in the bedrooms and optional office/bed three at ground floor level.

It’s got a graveled front garden, setting it back a tidy distance from the main road and from facing handy bus stops, for travel in either city or Douglas directions. To the back, there’s a complete surprise, a rear garden with rotunda-like sunken pergola with rampant climbers and central water feature; beyond, out of sight, is a garden storage shed, and then the garden continues another long, grassy leg for a further 50 metres or so — and everything out here has a great, south-facing aspect.

This double-fronted house has a central hall with home office/bedroom to the left with dining room behind, to the right of the hall (with its original Victorian tiles) is a full-depth 19’ by 11’ living room with original slate open fireplace, and added on behind the house is the kitchen, linked to the dining room, with its high-end units, and fine oak floor. Pass beyond an arch to the south-facing family/sun room and, on a fine day like we had this mid-week late November, you’re blasted by cheering sunlight. Tucked away on the side wall behind opaque sliding glass doors is a wall of storage, also home to the gas combi-boiler which vents out the back wall by the purpose-built BBQ.

No 2’s got about 1,250 sq ft and feels plenty big enough for a small family, couple or single, with two good upstairs bedrooms (the master’s 19’ by 11’ with a double aspect and walk-in wardrobe) and the bathroom’s a treat, with separate power shower enclosure, free-standing bath and clever touches and storage niches.

VERDICT: If you missed No 2 the last time around, you’ll be seriously impressed on a first or further viewing: someone else has put in all the work, so if the size, setting and price suits, you’re home.