House of the week: Burlington, Douglas, Cork €450,000

Size: Sq m 184 (2,000 sq ft)

THERE aren’t too many properties with water frontage in the very heart of Cork’s Douglas village — but Burlington is one of the rare breed.

This pad, a modest bungalow on first approach (but more of a US-style clapboard two-storey overlooking Douglas estuary on the other,) is for sale with agent Tom Woodward, who guides €450,000 as a spring offer, having had it quietly on the go over the winter at a higher, c €500k price.

Mr Woodward reckons the quality and uniqueness of the waterside setting teeming with wildlife makes it prime for modernisation — or even replacement, and quips "it’s a bit of an ugly ducking, but it could be a swan."

The site, of a quarter acre, is indeed very special, with its own section of shoreline, and an old barn-like shed that looks like a place to make moonshine, a touch of the Bayou or Everglades by the Douglas Estuary.

It’s set just by the overpass through suburban Douglas village, between its two major shopping centres. Ignore the cars and the drone beyond on the south ring, and you could be in deepest countryside instead of what’s arguably Cork’s best serviced suburbs.

The setting is inside the cul de sac called — what else? — Riverside, and Burlington is one of a half dozen homes sequestered here. It last came to market in 2009, initially guiding €900,000, later that year with a change of agent it dropped slightly to €850,000, didn’t sell, and has most recently been rented out.

In the meantime, another property here also with water frontage came to market in 2009 with agents Frank V Murphy guiding €285,000; No 5, a derelict cottage on a 0.3 acre site, sold in early 2010 for €301,000 according to the price register and its buyers got planning permission for a modern replacement.

Right now, with a market pick up well established thru’ the past year and a clear demand for sites and/or new builds, that’s most likely to be the direction viewing interest will come from for Burlington — even though it’s still got a charm and appeal as it is.

However, it could well be one of those situations where it’s cheaper to start from scratch than strip back and work forwards again, so it’s a spot where surveyors, engineers, architects and builders are likely to be consulted before bidding gets seriously into gear.

Agent Tom Woodward says only a handful of houses here have direct access to the estuary/Tramore River, and notes there’s beguiling water views to be had from the sun room and upstairs living room at the house’s timber-framed rear.

What initially looks like a two or three bed cottage fans out behind to provide for good living areas and four bedrooms, with two en suites, while a sign of the house’s old, warm heart is the presence of an Aga in the country-style kitchen.

The gardens/site are the best aspects of the property, stress Woodwards, who last year sold a do-er upper semi-d at Douglas Hall Lawn for c €300,000 after dozens of viewings, and where its views over the estuary were a key driver of interest.

There’s great bird life, otters and even, occasionally, seals to be seen. Detached Burlington has a large site close to the ring road’s trajectory, and direct access to the estuary, with its grounds sloping down to the water, fringed by mature trees.

What with that proximity, and the old barn/shed, it’s a spot crying out for a strip of decking, or a jetty, and the inevitable old sign saying ‘Gone Fishin’.

VERDICT: This is a site any architect worth his or her salt would kill for, to get the chance of a pretty special one-off design.