Starter home: Rossmore, Clonakilty €195,000

Sq m: 113 (1,211sq ft)

HIS traditional, stone-built three-bedroomed cottage is a good-quality renovation with warm, comfortable living space and the kind of character that you won’t get in a new build.

On the market with Sherry FitzGerald O’Neill, the house is on a sublime level acre of land, which would offer home-growing space to new owners too.

And the West Cork home is also close to the source of the Argideen river, as well as near to thriving, sophisticated Clonakilty and at a push, is within commuting distance of the city.

Good materials were used, says Sherry FitzGerald O’Neill, including double-glazed hardwood windows, timber flooring throughout, a stove in the living room, and a good fitted pine kitchen (which would be changed overnight with a lick of paint).

The accommodation includes a sun lounge, kitchen/ dining area, living room, sitting room/ study, 3 bedrooms, family bathroom, utility and car port.

Services include oil fired central heating, private water and drainage facilities, (a plus with water charges), and broadband. The grounds comprise in excess of one acre laid out in patio, landscaped gardens and parking area close to the house and a field bordered by woodland that is ripe for cultivation.

VERDICT: Rural idyll anyone?