Living on the level or up a few levels? The choice is yours on Midleton's nicest road
Cois na hAbhann apartment complex on Bailick Road in Midleton
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Midleton, East Cork |
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€356,000 |
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Size |
167 sq m (1800 sq ft) |
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Bedrooms |
3 |
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Bathrooms |
3 |
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BER |
C1 |
WHAT makes a property a penthouse? Well, they typically offer the plummiest views in the building; they generally outshine the ‘standard’ apartment when it comes to space and layout and their top floor location pretty much guarantees a superior quota of natural light.
Then of course there’s the peace and quiet, high above the street below, the absence of foot traffic outside your front door, no barking dogs, no wailing kids, no noisy engine-revving, reverse-alarm bin trucks to wake the entire neighbourhood at some unholy hour.
These are the kind of advantages attached to properties such as the penthouse at 17 Cois na hAbhann on Bailick Road, which sits by the river banks, as its name suggests.
The Owenacurra river idles by below and over on the opposite bank is 25 acres of mixed, mature Coillte-managed woodland, Midleton Forest, aka Ballyannan Wood, where there are family-friendly, buggy-friendly trails, improved lighting, and new cycle ways, with more improvements due in the course of the 23km Midleton to Youghal Greenway rollout, scheduled for completion now in 2023, following pandemic-enforced delays.
Anyone buying into Cois na hAbhann will have instant access to the Ballyannan Wood walkway which starts nearby. It’s also just a short walk into Midleton town.
Anyone buying the penthouse will be buying convenience, as well as that unique waterfront aspect. Selling agents John Hornibrook and James Colbert of Colbert & Co say Cois na hAbhann is “one of the best apartment complexes in East Cork”, secured by electric gates, surrounded by landscaped grounds, and, well-managed (€2,000 is the annual management fee).
The vendors bought three-bed No 17 off the plans in 2004. Mr Hornibrook says it’s one of two top floor penthouses in the four-storey block, with its own elevator.
At 1,800 sq ft, it's more than a match for the average three-bed semi, where size is generally in the region of 1,200-1,300 sq ft.
It’s also got more balconies than you could shake a stick at, to take in those gorgeous estuarine views - take your pick - from the balcony off the living room, or the dining room or the kitchen (where there's a choice of two balconies) or the double bedroom to the rear or even one of the ensuites, where there's a patio door onto the rear balcony.
All of the rooms are generous - a big living room, a decent kitchen, a dining room, a study, three double bedrooms, two with ensuites.
The main bedroom also has a walk-in wardrobe.
And there's a study and a utility room.
All told, Mr Hornibrook says there’s enough space to turn this three-bed penthouse, which has two entrance doors, into two x two-bed apartments, a prospect likely to appeal to an investor looking to maximise his/her return. An investor would not be bound by a rent cap as the penthouse has not been on the rental market.
In fact the couple who bought it 18 years ago only lived in it for a while themselves while making good use of it to host family members returning home from abroad for visits.
Mr Hornibrook says it lent itself well to being a “lock and leave property” given the complex is looked after by a management company and there is no maintenance to speak of.
The couple bought no 17 for €390,000 in 2004 (still three years off the house price peak), Mr Hornibrook says, and put another €20,000 into it.
He says it could suit a family keen on living near town, interested in less conventional living arrangements.
Families may also be interested in a second property right across the road from Cois na hAbhann.
It's No 1 Ballyannan View and there are no prizes for guessing where the name came from.
Accommodation at No 1 includes a decent kitchen diner and living room on the ground floor, with patio doors from the latter to a small patio.
There’s a utility room too and a guest WC. Upstairs has three double bedrooms and the main bathroom.
No 1 replaced a small derelict cottage which the owners, who also own other nearby rental properties, razed after buying it some time ago.
They turned their investment into a modern, three-bed, detached dormer which has been rented out to the same tenants for a dozen years or so. When those tenants moved out recently, the owners literally blitzed it in double quick time, laying new hall and stair carpets, re-painting the interior, sanding down and re-varnishing floors, installing a whole new set of appliances in the kitchen.
“They turned it around within a week,” says selling agent James Colbert.
Instead of renting it out again, they decided to sell. So if it's a property on Bailick Road that you are after, there's a choice of two right now, within a stone's throw of each other. Both are three-beds, with no gardens but in a great location. The penthouse has the upper hand in terms of size (400 sq ft bigger than 1,400 sq ft No 1 Ballyannan View) and in terms of views, but it comes at a higher price. The dormer's guide price is €255,000, while the penthouse comes with an AMV of €365,000.
Price, location, finish and waterfront view offset the absence of a garden. Investor interest is likely in both cases, particularly in the penthouse, while families will probably gravitate more towards Ballyannan View.
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