Starter Homes: A sweet job done to transform this cottage near UCC

Cork City Life: Homes for first-time buyers to consider on Western Road, Maryborough Hill, Blackpool and Capwell Road.

A bright a stylish mid-terrace property which may have once been a sweet shop was transformed by current owners.

Parnell Terrace, Cork City
€285,000
Size	74 sq m (800 sq ft)
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	1
BER	D1

The interior of this Victorian cottage at No 2 Parnell Terrace on Pouladuff Road comes as quite a revelation. 

A mid-terrace property which may have once been a sweet shop, it was transformed by current owners in 2011 into a bright and stylish two/three bed home with an attractively laid out back garden and a covered patio. 

“They renovated, refurbished, rewired and replumbed and used an architect to design an extension,’’ says Karl O’Reilly of Savills, quoting a guide of €285,000.

The renovations involved opening up the space and creating a long kitchen-dining living room with Acacia timber flooring, sleek white kitchen units with a Belfast sink, exposed stone work and ceiling beams and also the addition of a skylight and a stove.

At the front of the 800 sq ft property, there’s a room which was probably the original sitting room but is now a bedroom or office. 

The owners added a bathroom in the ground floor extension and also upgraded the two upstairs bedrooms, fitting the one at the rear with a set of patio doors providing access to the flat roof above the extension.

The back garden has also been given a makeover and has a covered patio, which makes a good dining/relaxing outdoors space, as well as a lawned garden with raised beds and a steel shed.

Mr O’Reilly says that in addition to being stylishly turned out, the property is also very conveniently located, a little over 1km from both UCC and Cork city centre.

VERDICT: Unexpectedly stylish.

Douglas, Cork City
€325,000
Size	97 sq m
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	2
BER	D2

The expectation is that high numbers of first-time buyers will want to come and view No 20 Lissadell, Maryborough Hill, in Douglas.

“It’s the type of property that‘s very attractive to young couples,’’ says auctioneer Jeremy Murphy, seeking offers of €325,000 for the 1970s-built three-bed semi which has been modernised and upgraded in recent years.

“It has a modern high gloss kitchen and an upgraded bathroom and is in excellent condition,” says Mr Murphy, noting that the Maryborough Hill location is very sought after.

Stretching from front to rear at one side of the house is a long, laminate floored living room with a fireplace at the front and a double doors opening into the garden at the rear.

In a single-storey section at the side (which in the original design was probably a garage), there’s now a small utility room and a guest WC. The space provided by the conversion has also been used to create an enlarged L-shaped kitchen diner with white gloss units and a breakfast counter.

The first floor has an upgraded bathroom as well as three bedrooms — two doubles and a single room used as a nursery.

Situated in a cul-de-sac overlooking a green area at the front, the property has a lawned garden with a patio at the rear. Fitted with double glazing, it has a D2 BER.

Located within a short walk from Douglas Golf Club, Lissadell is around 1.5km from the Fingerpost Roundabout in Douglas. The Property Price Register shows No 20 Lissadell selling for €285,000 in 2017.

VERDICT: A nicely upgraded property in a popular spot

Blackpool, Cork City
€255,000
Size	91 sq m ( 980 sq ft)
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	4
BER	E1

The decorative mouldings above the windows make quite an attractive feature on the façade of this end of terrace period property at no 1 Golden Villas Terrace on Commons Road in Blackpool.

Guiding at €255,000, the three-bed house is on the market with Sherry FitzGerald who say it’s well presented, well located, close to Blackpool Shopping Centre, and would make an ideal family home.

Offering 980 sq ft of living space it has a living room and a family room and, in an extension at the rear, a kitchen, a utility room and a bathroom. The first floor also has three bedrooms.

VERDICT: Attractive and well-kept but the E1 BER will probably require attention.

Capwell Road, Cork City
€295,000
Size	80 sq m (860 sq ft)
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	1
BER	G

Although Shournagh at 83 Capwell Road may require some updating and upgrading, its location is sure to attract attention.

 “It’s in a very desirable residential area close to Turners Cross and the city centre,” says Richie Dunlea of Barry Auctioneers, seeking offers of €295,000 for the 1930’s three-bed semi.

Accommodation includes a sitting room, a kitchen, a bathroom and three bedrooms. The G BER rating will need to be addressed.

VERDICT: A three-bed semi with gardens within a 15-minute walk from the city centre, it’s the type of property that always attracts viewers.