No Blarney stone left unturned at €525k 5 Drom Slí high-spec home

Tommy Barker admires a substantial home in a beautiful setting just outside Cork City that has been perfectly set up for both work and play

Sun, 15 Aug, 2021 - 12:30

Property Editor Tommy Barker reports

Courtbrack, Blarney, Cork
€525,000
Size	276 sq m (2,950 sq ft)
Bedrooms	5
Bathrooms	4
BER	A3

THE selling agents of one of the first houses built at the development Drom Slí, just outside Tower and Blarney in Cork, the high-spec and high tech No 5 Drom Slí, say that no stone has been left unturned at the property — and they’re so right: even the lawns have been overhauled and turned over.

As the c 2014-built five-bed, high-end family home with almost 3,000 sq ft within comes to market, it’s got an impressive array of support features for any wired-up, and tuned-in family to both work and play from home.

But, apart from the professionally installed comms rooms controlling the technology and televisions, there’s more grounded features to appreciate too, such as the limestone patio, paths and terrace, and the immaculate lawns, with drainage installed six years ago and with the greenery scarified, aerated, sanded, leveled and fed/top dressed and over seeded in spring of this year.

It all adds to the gleaming picture, inside and outside, at No 5, which carries a €525,000 AMV quoted by agent Pat Falvey of Coldwell Banker who says it’s just top-drawer.

“Even the most discerning buyer will fall in love once they step inside this magnificent family home,” Mr Falvey says.

That’s once they navigate the initial access, at least, as there a video-controlled large sliding electronic gate, before getting to the paved parking area, with off-road space for three to four cars.

Internally, there’s a feature double height entrance hall and landing, with clear glass balusters, creating a bright and airy first impression.

“And it quickly sets the tone for just how good this property really is,” adds Mr Falvey.

The A3 BER-rated home has two reception rooms, family room and utility, German fitted kitchen/dining room with integrated appliances and a Rangemaster cooker (all appliances are included in the sale).

French doors open from the linked kitchen/dining to a south-aspected paved patio “creating a very desirable indoor/outdoor connectivity ideal for family living and summer barbecues,” adds Mr Falvey.

Two of the five first-floor bedrooms have en suite bathrooms, all well-finished, as well as a guest WC and main family bathroom.

No 5 has upgraded features such as sockets and switches with chrome finish, many of the spotlights are GU10 LEDs, and there’s a communications (comms) cabinet fitted under the stairs with matrix switch allowing for up to four HDMI devices — such as a Sky box, Apple TV, Xbox, DVD, etc — for up to four TVs, with 1Gb connectivity, and Saorview/satellite TV links to all rooms.

The property was built in the early 2010s, and shows on the Price Register as selling in 2014, with three dozen Drom Slí sales all recorded, with the development and the adjacent Tulach Rua scheme done by O’Leary O’Sullivan (OLOS): No 5’s one of the largest.

The Price Register records 39 sales at Drom Slí (all of the original transactions since 2014, plus some resales,0 and the two most recent ones were at €410,000 and €455,000 with sizes typically smaller than the 276 sq m/2,950 sq ft No 5.. It also records 19 sales at the adjoining Tulach Rua, while just one Courtbrack sale — to date — is for over €450,000, with €455k paid for 19 Drom Slí in early 2020. Thus, the above spec No 5 is set to be a local area price setter, reckons Coldwell Banker’s Pat Falvey.

It’s on a corner site, with greens on two sides, and is a few minutes’ drive to Blarney, Tower and Apple HQ on the fringes of the city, with major tech employers also convenient in Ballincollig.

The energy-efficient property has a part-floored attic, with Stira access, solar panels, two multi-fuel stoves in the reception rooms, and gas central heating, with a bulk tank underground.

Along with the main house, No 5 also has a 265 sq ft detached garage, built to domestic house standards, with power, water, and waste services — ideal for home office/gym/storage or studio uses.

VERDICT: No 5’s well able to beat the Drom.