Starter home: Grange, Cork €220,000

Tommy Barker revisits 7 Grange Terrace with its vaulted ceiling hall and south-facing garden, offering character and comfort, at a good price.

Size: 123 sq m (1,326 sq ft)

Bedrooms: 3

Bathrooms: 1

BER: D1

Best Feature: Character

When it came to market back in 2005 at €320,000, as the market was simmering towards a peak, No 7 Grange Terrace was a well-presented older terraced home with a link to Douglas village’s industrial past.

It was reckoned to have been a mill manager’s home, as it was bigger than its neighbours along the row, thanks to a side room/hall addition, with vaulted ceilings as an unexpected feature in the lofty hall.

Now, a decade later, and in even better condition, the smartly presented two-three-bed home with up to 1,320 sq ft of living space is back for sale, now guided at €220,000 by Mark Rose of Rose Property Services (the smaller, two-bed No 1 in the row made €142,000 this time last year).

No 7’s one of a row of 19th century terraced cottages built for those working in the nearby woollen mills, possibly in Donnybrook or St Patrick’s Mills, and is in walk-in condition, with two overhead bedrooms, third ground floor bedroom, and a ground floor bathroom.

There’s a separate living room with wood-burning stove, and thanks to a rear extension there is a larger, open plan kitchen/dining/living space, opening to a south-facing back garden and sheltered patio.

The house has double glazing, a new gas heating boiler and new rads, with a respectable D2 BER, good for its era.

It is a short walk to Douglas village, near an Aldi next to a SuperValu, and it’s on a bus route, with on-street parking.

VERDICT: There’s character and heritage here, plus modern comforts, at a seemingly good price level.