A familiar family choice in Douglas

Swanleigh, Douglas

Price: €329,500

Size: 104sq m(1,119.45sq ft)

Bedrooms: 3

Bathrooms: 1

BER: G

It's a safe bet that a buyer of Swanleigh, 6 Browningstown Park East, in Douglas, Cork, will be familiar with the area and may even have children already attending one or more of the four primary schools within walking distance.

The mature houses in this neighbourhood are popular with families and typically sell for solid prices which vary depending on the level of touching up they might need.

The Property Price Register records sales three homes in Browningstown Park East alone since 2018 and almost 10 more in the general Browningstown “loop”.

Scoil Bhríde Eglantine girls’ primary school is literally the school around the corner, and boys have a slightly longer walk up the hill to St Anthony’s boys’ primary school. Our Lady of Lourdes girls’ primary is also a short distance away. And Regina Mundi and Douglas Community School are very definitely within a five-minutes-longer-in-bed catchment for teens.

Swanleigh has been occupied until very recently and is on the market as a private family sale. It’s a three-bed semi-detached house with an attached garage with front and rear access.

There’s a good chance that a buyer here has already been for coffee at homes of friends in the locale and is familiar with some of the various room permutations and layouts opted for. Even if not, some which sold in recent years have featured in Irish Examiner Property & Interiors and are still online to browse.

Jennifer Roe of Casey & Kingston auctioneers says: “This house is ideal for a family who knows the area very well and who is not afraid of a bit of a project.”

While well-maintained over the years with wooden flooring and picture rails in several rooms, a new owner will be remodelling and redecorating but may well work with some of the original features.

There is an open fireplace in the sitting room — and in two of the bedrooms upstairs. And there’s also an oil tank in the good-sized back garden.

The attic space has recently been reinsulated and may well become a playroom or study in a full fit-out which may include extending to the rear or where the garage sits, dependent on planning permission.

There is a nice playground and green area nearby and you’re also a quick gallop from Leisureworld Gus Healy Pool.

Douglas village itself is a short walk away and the main Douglas Road or Ballinlough Road are on bus routes.

VERDICT: With a bit of work, life could go swimmingly at Swanleigh.