Starter homes

We view a selection of starter homes from around the country.

Cobh, Cork harbour €139,000

Sq.m: 88 (950 sq ft)

Bedrooms: 3

Bathrooms: 1

BER Rating: pending

An end of estate setting in a cul de sac gives No 59, Flower Hill, up by the school and tennis club in Cobh, a bit of extra kudos. The 950 sq ft three-bed semi-d is for sale with agent Johanna Murphy who says the space on the side makes extending easy, subject to planning. It’s guided at €139,000, and if bought by an investor, would rent for €700 a month.

VERDICT: Very good town location.

Union Quay €134,950

Sq m: 60 (650 sq ft)

Bedrooms: 2

Bathrooms: 1

BER rating: C2

A good clean apartment buy, with a parking spot right in the heart of Cork City centre near City Hall, is for sale with agent Conor Smith of Casey and Kingston for just shy of €135,000.

Built by the site of the former Union Quay garda station in the mid 1990s, and close to the new School of Music, No 202 Bruach na Laoi is an easy lock-up and leave, with views over the River Lee.

VERDICT: Nicely refreshed for its vintage, and a great city location.

Ballingeary, Cork €160,000

Sq m: 130 (1,400 sq ft)

Bedrooms: 3

Bathrooms: 2

BER rating: D2

Draw back your bedroom curtains every morning to lake views:that’s the prospect in front of this Kilmore, Ballingeary home, near Inchigeelagh and the Cork Kerry border in an area of natural beauty.

Macroom estate agent John O’Mahony of O’Mahony Walsh is selling this Muskerry gaeltacht area two-storey, three-bed home which, he says, needs some remedial work but is in a lovely setting, with wooded area alongside, plus a stream.

VERDICT: Edge of village beauty spot location.