Starter home: Blackrock, Cork, €165,000

A two-month makeover has transformed No 3 into an affordable, comfortable home close to Blackrock village, says Trish Dromey.

In the space of just eight weeks, a team of builders has carried out an Operation Transformation on this two-bed terraced house at 3 Convent Avenue, Blackrock.

Last November, it was bought by a builder at a DNG auction in a derelict and uninhabitable state for €72,500. The original guide price had been €50,000, but the auction activity drew bids from several builders who were attracted by the location close to Blackrock village. The winning bidder immediately sent in a team of workmen to gut the property. Now re-plastered, repainted, and reorganised, the house is almost unrecognisable from before.