Starter home: Blackrock, Cork €179,000

Blackrock village setting by a rail line amenity walk add to offer at unusual terraced layout, says Tommy Barker.

Sq m 79 (850 sq ft)

Bedrooms: 2

Bathrooms: 2

BER: N/A

Best Feature: Just refurbed

A speedy renovation/upgrade job has been done in the unusually configured terraced property 6, Libertas Villas, on the edge of Blackrock village in Cork.

It has two floors of accommodation, plus attic room, but most of the ground floor space is set out and off to the back of a long hall, which skirts along the side of a popular cafe/cake shop called D’s, near the access point to the old Blackrock rail line platform and now a public amenity walk.

The internal layout hasn’t changed from the time No 6 last changed hands, which was less than a year ago, and then in poor enough order.

It sold for a reported €94,000 (it had been asking €129k) according to the Price Register, and has since rapidly been reworked top to bottom since by its canny buyer.

Now, back for sale it’s guided at €179,000 by Michael O’Donovan of Savills, who says it has 850 sq ft and is in walk-in condition.

(Also sold next door was a fine family home with sunny back garden, No 7 Libertas Villas; that far larger (1,300 sq ft) home made €288,000 back in ‘14, above its €239,000 guide after it featured in these pages.)

In contrast, No 6 Libertas Villas has a shorter south-facing paved yard with small deck and BBQ, and 850 sq ft over two levels, with a further 180 sq ft of attic accommodation.

There are two bedrooms, one’s en suite, and open plan kitchen/living/dining. External walls have been dry-lined, and there’s new wiring and plumbing. It’s on a bus route, Blackrock village is a two minute walk, and parking is on-street.

VERDICT: More than meets the eye from its slender front, street presence.