Killumney property with a very rare property mix will grow on you

Offers like this just don’t come along very often, says estate agent Killian Lynch as, indeed, he puts a very rare property mix to the open market, just west of Cork city and Ballincollig, at Killumney.

Killumney, Cork €650,000

Size: 144 sq m (1,550 sq ft)/8.1 acres

Bedrooms: 4

Bathrooms: 3

BER: D2

In the same Dennehy family’s hands for well over a century, and possibly back to its 1850s Victorian roots, this Ballygroman, Killumney property has it all for the right buyer: it has land, river frontage, history, a modern makeover done just two years ago, outbuildings and an apartment, all within a five minute spin of Ballincollig and Ovens.

The house’s great age is probably best reflected now in its courtyard setting and cluster of old outbuildings, as the renovation works on the c 170-year old dwelling are so thorough as to have pitched it straight into the ‘contemporary home’ comfort category, complete with new roof, insulation, triple glazing, and slick kitchen with granite tops and granite flooring.

The 1,550 sq ft house is excellent in anyone’s books, with one of its four bedrooms now en suite and all decoration is to a high standard.

But, the trump card (if ‘trump’ isn’t a fully debased term by now?) is the land, all 8-9 acres of it, with lots of road frontage, within a walk of the Killumney Inn.

And, there’s even more frontage to the River Bride, with wooded boundaries to provide a bit of shade for the odd bit of trout angling from its next owner’s back garden.

The house’s makeover kept its character, suggests Mr Lynch whose main auctioneering business is in Macroom but who has just this month opened a sub-office in Ballincollig.

The house has fireplaces in both reception rooms (and one room has a lovely bay window,) plus ground floor guest WC, zoned heating and triple glazing, although the BER is still awaited.

He can expect to be busy with Ballygroman for starters, and he guides the lot here, all in, at €650,000.

About €100k less would get a modern 1,800-2,200 sq ft home in a development such as Greenfields, he suggests, so for the extra financial stretch, Ballygroman offers so much more, including a one-bed apartment in one of the converted outbuildings.

There’s two entrances to the property off the road, with the grounds nicely broken up into manageable gardens and sections around the old, refurbished farm home and its assocaited outbuildings, plus lots of pasture for ponies and pets, or gardening.

The level of finish now applied internally makes it an ideal family home, according to Mr Lynch, and whoever buys will most likely have it for years... after all, the vendors’ haven’t exactly rushed through the place themselves, after generations of occupancy.

Most of the eight-plus acres is in pasture, and one acre on the eastern/city end is within the development boundary, but site/hope value isn’t factored into the asking price, and just leaves options open for intending buyers, says Mr Lynch.

VERDICT: Bride and groman at riverside Ballygroman.