Cork apartment is cosy and central

South Douglas Road, Cork Price: €210,000

Bedrooms: 2

Bathrooms: 1

Size: 50.4sq m (543 sq feet)

BER: C3

Before I start detailing all the ways this ground-floor apartment, 3 Skehanore, South Douglas Road, Cork, is just so handy for getting to work or shops, let’s just sit down in the bright living room and put the feet up.

What’s this - an open fire? Yup, pretty unusual for a modern apartment but a very cosy aspect here. There is also gas heating for that quicker boost of warmth. The living room is open plan and has a large sliding window overlooking a patio and green area.

The main door, with a visually attractive roundy window, opens directly to the living room too adding to the quiet-but-connected feeling here. This "front" door is at the "back" of this two-bedroom apartment as the property’s designated parking spot - and the visitor parking - is at the opposite side of the building from the patio and common area.

Driver access is via a zapper-operated gate but there’s a pedestrian gate too if you’re just heading out to the shops or for a run. The main bedroom has a built-in wardrobe and the tiled kitchen has floor and eye level units.There are around 25-30 apartments in Skehanore which is just off the Douglas end of South Douglas Road.

A good few are owner-occupied and Stuart O’Grady of Sherry FitzGerald auctioneers says there is keen interest from first-time-buyers as well as investors. Any potential buyers will have checked the Property Price Register and seen that this apartment was bought earlier this year - the current owner is now relocating for work reasons.

You’ve got bus stops, florist, pharmacy supermarkets and a nail salon all inside a very tight radius and have very easy access to town and the South Link as well as Douglas village itself.

Verdict: Great connectivity but also look forward to cosy movie evenings in front of the real fire.