Starter Homes: Four properties on sale for less than €300,000

Homes in Turners Cross, Whitegate, Carrigtowhill and Carrigaline may prove enticing for first-time buyers

1 Saint Anthony's Villas, Friars Walk, Turners Cross in Cork.

Turners Cross, Cork €225,000

Smartened up for sale with a fresh coat of paint, No 1 St Anthony’s Villas in Friars Walk is expected to attract strong first-time buyer interest.

That’s according to Glenn O’Connor of DNG Creedon who is quoting a guide of €255,000 for the two-bed terraced house which is located within walking distance of the city centre.

Built in 1910 it was upgraded some years back by current owners who built on a single storey kitchen extension at the rear and put in high gloss units and also upgraded the bathrooms and the heating.

Mr O’Connor says that in recent months it been repainted and fitted with new carpets and is now in excellent condition.

Downstairs there’s a living room with a cast iron fireplace, a carpeted dining room and a long narrow kitchen with high gloss cream and burgundy units.

The upstairs has a bathroom and two bedrooms with varnished floorboards. Fitted with double-glazing and gas heating, the house has a G energy rating which a new owner will want to improve on.

At the front there’s a railed garden while outside the kitchen at the rear there’s an enclosed patio with freshly painted white walls. From here a gate opens on to a paved area and a long lawned garden with a raised bed along the side.

The property is situated within a 15 or 16-minute walk from the city centre and the Lough wildfowl reserve and is around two kilometres from UCC.

VERDICT: Seems like an ideal first home.

Whitegate, Co Cork €205,000

Named 'Casa Nora' by its owners, No 52 Glebe Manor is an attractive three-bed semi with an affordable asking price of €205,000 and a beautifully planted garden.

“It’s a cosy, well-maintained, modern house which is getting good interest from young couples and some from downsizers,’’ says selling agent James Colbert of Colbert & Co.

There is over 1,000 sq ft of living space which includes a living room, a kitchen diner, a utility room, a guest WC as well as a bathroom and three bedrooms (one en suite) upstairs.

To the rear it has a long, well-planted garden, filled with neatly trimmed bushes and colourful shrubs and flowers.

Verdict: So nice that it very quickly got a bid of its asking price

Carrigtwohill, Co Cork €180,000

You could guess almost immediately from the wall decoration on the inside and from the number of potted plants on the patio, that No 17 Ashbrook in Carrigtwohill is a well-minded, owner-occupied home.

Launching the two-bed ground-floor apartment on the market with a guide of €180,000, Suzanne Tyrell of Cohalan Downing says it was bought by its owners when it was almost new in 2006 and is now in excellent condition. She was expecting viewers who booked to see it this week to be particularly taken with the enclosed southwest-facing patio.

The 721 sq ft apartment has a large open-plan living area with a kitchen, with modern units at one end, a dining space in the middle and at the rear, and a living area with French doors opening on to the patio.

In addition to this, the property has a bathroom and two bedrooms including one with an en suite.

Estimating that the patio has 320 sq ft of space, Ms Tyrell says the owners have put down some additional paving and used potted plants to make this an attractive area for sitting out. A section of it is overhung by a first-floor balcony which means it should be possible to sit out even when it is raining.

“This apartment offers the ultimate in low-maintenance living,’’ says Ms Tyrell, who was expecting downsizers as well as first-time buyers to come and check it out.

In the mixed development at Ashbrook, recent sales included No 10, a three-bed duplex which sold for €220,000 in August.

VERDICT: Attractive and affordable with a patio, a feature that has become more important to apartment-hunters in recent times.

Carrigaline, Co Cork €270,000

With the addition of a conservatory at the rear, No 40 Dun Eoin, on Ballea Road in Carrigaline provides over 1,260 sq ft of accommodation, which is pretty spacious for a three-bed semi.

Quoting a guide of €270,000 for the 1998 built house selling agents Jeremy Murphy & Associates say this is a very well maintained property which has space enough to make an ideal family home.

The ground floor has a living room, a kitchen diner with modern cream units, a conservatory and a guest WC while the upstairs has a bathroom and three bedrooms, one en suite.

VERDICT: Affordable enough for a starter and spacious enough for a trade up.