Suburban ‘des res’ is dressed to impress

Bishopstown, Cork €450,000

Size: 150 sq m (1,620 sq ft)

Bedrooms: 4

Bathrooms: 2

BER: C2

Best feature: Style

IT’S ONLY five years since No 41 The Rise in Cork’s Bishopstown last changed hands: while it was a well-kept, quite lovely family home back then, it’s better again now.

Upgraded afresh by its current occupants who are set to trade up to another home, it’s a four-bed, quality mid 1900s semi-d, guided at €450,000. Viewings have begun and it is dressed to impress.

Might it go well over its asking price? It very well may do, given the shortage of such stock, its location, south-facing back garden with sunroom, and its quality.

Auctioneer is Johnny O’Flynn of Sherry FitzGerald, who also had it to sell in July 2010, when he sought €430,000 in far more straitened times. 

It featured then in these pages, already modernised with a new oak kitchen, and the Price Register shows it made just under €425,000 by November ’10.

There’s been other improvements since, and things like a new gas boiler have helped get it a pretty decent C3 BER rating, good for its age, and the floor area is calculated at 1,600 sq ft.

It has interconnected reception rooms linking to a rear conservatory, and behind the attached garage is a utility and guest WC, with a modern family bathroom upstairs serving the four bedrooms. 

For new owners, there’s still the option to extend into, or to build over, the attached garage.

VERDICT: Another chance to buy No 41 — but don’t hang about.