Is this the cutest cottage on Cork Harbour's waterfront for €225,000?

Anyone looking for the perfect waterside berth should check out No 2 The Bungalow in Carrigaloe, Cobh

Thu, 25 Nov, 2021 - 16:47

Catherine Shanahan

Cobh, Co Cork
€225,000
Size	65 sq m (700 sq ft)
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	1
BER	F

Kids numbering a baker’s dozen once played within the walls of this charming waterfront cottage when it wasn’t quite as tidy a size as it is now.

These days, it’s tipping just about 700 sq ft, about half the size it was when the family of 13 children lived there. In subsequent years, one of those grown-up children bought half the cottage from her parents who continued to live in their side of the house.

After they passed, their half was sold to a chap who lifted the roof off and went up a storey and did plenty more besides, doing “an unbelievable job”, including cantilevering a deck out over the water, according to the current owner of No 2 The Bungalow, in Carrigaloe, Cobh.

She did her own bit of work on No 2, which she bought four years ago from the daughter of the original owners, who was a friend of hers.

If it also sounds a bit like ‘Six Degrees of Separation’ from Kevin Bacon, there’s more: the current owner/vendor bought it for her own daughter but she was living in London and decided it was where she wanted to stay.

The vendor put it to other uses, hunkering down there herself for a time during the pandemic and as an avid fan of kayaking, made the most of her waterfront location.

However, her emotional attachment to No 2 is tempered by a class of addiction to renovating and restoring properties.

She is, she confesses, a serial renovator, and has bought and sold dozens of homes both in Ireland and the UK. She’s moving on now from Carrigaloe with her eyes on a bigger prize, another property in dire need of TLC.

She leaves behind a “really sweet home”, with a very pretty interior, perched just above the water, with west facing views and “the most amazing sunsets”, she says.

Her work on the cottage she describes as “tarting it up” and a nautical theme is reflected in the white floorboards in the living room and white timber ceilings in most of the rooms, as well as various blue and grey hues in the soft furnishings.

Although the house is small, there are three bedrooms.

There’s also a kitchen, an L-shaped living room and a bathroom.

A deck on the waterfront side can be accessed via double doors from the living room or via a door from the kitchen and it’s right on the water.

The front of the house is on the main road and side access to the riverside terrace makes this a semi-detached home.

The owner says if she was to stay on at No 2, she would raise the roof like her neighbour, adding an extra storey. As it is though, it’s perfect for a retired couple, or a single young person, she says. It’s certainly going to appeal to a first time buyer as it comes to market with an AMV of €225,000.

Niamh Smith of Colbert & Co is the selling agent and she says it’s “absolutely stunning” with a terrific waterfront location.

“There’s huge interest in the property, mainly from women, looking for somewhere safe and secure.

“It’s in a great location, across the road from Carrigaloe train station and the car ferry is down the road. It’s also close to the N25 to Little Island, and Cork city is a short drive away,” Ms Smith says. She adds that Midleton is 10 minutes away.

Ms Smith says the property may also appeal to investors as it has excellent AirBnB potential — Cobh has some excellent tourist offerings and just recently won the title of Tidiest Large Town in the annual National Tidy Towns competition.