If you believe in karma, then €495,000 Karma in Upper Rochestown might just be for you

The modernised 1975 bungalow comes with planning to expand

Karma, Rathanker, UPper Rochestown

Upper Rochestown, Cork
€495,000
Size	114 q m (1227 sq ft)
Bedrooms	4
Bathrooms	2
BER	B3

IF Karma is getting what you deserve and deserving what you get, then you’d have to think the owners of this Upper Rochestown property deserved a good home, because that’s what they got.

It’s been “the perfect house to raise a family” they say, in Rathanker, an area primed to enjoy that holy trinity of countryside, coast and city: far enough out of town to feel rural, it’s still just 10 minutes by car to Douglas, and a three minute drive to the harbour.

The vendors, originally from Limerick, had been looking to buy in the area, and as Karma would have it, they came across this detached bungalow, dating to the late 1970s, which they bought for €277,000 in 2011, looking a lot more tired than it is now.

They moved in on “a cold, icy week before Christmas”, when the woman of the house was heavily pregnant. She gave birth to their first child on New Year’s Day.

Over the next couple of years, they invested heavily in improving their home and 0.4 acre elevated garden, starting with the outdoors in 2012.

“It was completely sloped from the back of the garden right up to the back door. We did extensive groundwork to have two level, tiered gardens with supporting wall and connecting steps to the patio,” they say.

They did a terrific job, before turning their attention indoors, moving a small, dark kitchen from the back of the house to the sunlit front, and opening it up to make kitchen/dining/living area all one.

Major insulation work was undertaken too: the entire house was dry lined, the attic insulated, new doors and windows fitted, a new stove with back boiler installed and a new boiler.

New flooring was laid throughout, inside and outside was painted and a converted attic space was modernised. “It changed the whole dynamic of the house and completely opened it up,” the owners say of their work.

In 2017, the focus switched back outdoors when an opportunity arose to purchase a neighbouring strip of land from a local farmer. They cleared and re-seeded it “Our son was particularly delighted as it allowed space for his goalposts and miniature soccer field for him and his pals,” the owners say.

 Having put so much into, they are sorry to sell up, but overseas work has dictated a change.

Stephen Clarke of REA O’Donoghue & Clarke is the selling agent and his guide for the 114 sq m four-bed is €495,000. It comes with the added benefit of full planning permission for a side and dormer-style extension/conversion for those who would like more space.

“We have put much love and time into this house and would hope someone else can enjoy it now and make as good memories as we have, call it “good karma” I suppose,” they say. They point out that the location is ideal for family, or for a couple downsizing: close to golf, tennis and sailing clubs. There are playgrounds too in nearby Monkstown and Passage West, and Greenway walks on nearby quays.

VERDICT: Relaxed setting for a fresh, contemporary home, with great outdoor space in an accessible location. Positive Karma.