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

Homes in Passage West, Cobh, Mayfield and Glanmire

Tue, 24 Nov, 2020 - 07:00

Trish Dromey

Passage West, €210,000

Some apartments don’t get the same level of decorative attention as houses — but this is definitely not the case with 8 The Drive, Harbour Heights, in Passage West. A second-floor two-bedroom property with well-thought-out display units in the living area and a modern brown and cream gloss kitchen, it’s obviously a well-cared-for owner-occupied home.

Quoting a guide of €210,000, Stuart O’Grady of Sherry FitzGerald says it is an attractive and comfortable home which was a show apartment for the development back in 2006 when it was built. “It is close to a range of local amenities and has a nice-sized balcony with views of the development and nearby countryside,” he adds.

Offering 970 sq ft of living space, the apartment has a spacious kitchen/dining/living room with carpet and tiled flooring. The kitchen at one side has modern units with granite worktops while the living area has display cabinets with a wall-mounted modern electric fire in the centre. A set of French doors at the front of the room opens onto a balcony which has views of fields and woodland in the distance.

The apartment also has a bathroom and two bedrooms, including one en suite. Located within a five-minute walk of the waterside walkway which runs from Rochestown to Passage, The Drive is around 1km from Passage West.

In recent months, Sherry FitzGerald also listed No 8A, a similar-sized apartment on the floor above this one, which attracted good interest from first-time buyers and went sale agreed for €240,000.

VERDICT: A bright modern apartment with a balcony — it’s attractive and affordable.

Mayfield, €269,000

Quite changed from the 1960s mid-terrace property it once was, No 33 Iona Place in Mayfield is larger, prettier, and more modern on the inside than you would expect.

Previous owners created more space in their small three-bed terrace property by converting the attic and also by adding a good-sized extension at the rear, bringing the square footage up to over 1,200.

Current owners came along a few years ago and spent time and effort updating and prettifying their three-bed home. Adding a contemporary pale-grey shaker-style kitchen, they redecorated thoroughly before setting to work on the back garden.

Seeking offers of €269,000, Karl O’Reilly of Savills says the property has been very attractively upgraded and extended and makes excellent use of space.

Accommodation at ground level includes a front sitting room and three bedrooms, one of which is used as a living room. To the rear, there’s a bathroom, a small utility room and, in the extension, a modern tiled kitchen diner. Upstairs, the converted attic has a second bathroom and a carpeted room with a large skylight.

Overlooking a small green area, the property has a small lawned area at the front, and at the rear the owners have put down some stepping stones and gravel and have found space for swings, a trampoline, and a gazebo.

Located off Colmcille Avenue, Iona Place is within a 15-minute drive from the city centre.

VERDICT: Looks cozy and pretty.

Cobh €150,000

Pretty and compact like a doll’s house, is how auctioneer Johanna Murphy bills No 1 Church St, Cobh.

Centrally located within a few minutes walk from the town centre, the one-bed, end-of-terrace house has been thoroughly upgraded.

“It has a new roof, a new gable end wall, PVC fascia and soffit, and PVC windows, as well as a new interior,’’ says Ms Murphy, quoting a guide of €150,000.