Starter Homes: A West Cork cottage with a swimming pool for €295,000

Homes for first-time buyers to consider in Douglas, Mayfield, Dunmanway and the Old Youghal Road

Dunmanway, West Cork
€295,000
Size	93 sq m (1,000 sq ft)
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	1
BER	D2

Dive into a sea of opportunities with this West Cork cottage A home with a private pool doesn’t always have to appeal to affluent buyers, as this house demonstrates, writes Trish Dromey Homes with swimming pools are usually reserved for the rich, so less-affluent buyers could be astonished and pleased to find one in West Cork with a guide of €295,000.

The 20-year-old brick-faced bungalow at Gurranes near Dunmanway comes with a very sizable 1.25-acre site and a 7m × 4m pool. “It’s a heated outdoor pool which was put in by current owners who bought it seven years ago,” reveals Sean Carmody of Charles McCarthy Auctioneers.

Mr Carmody says the three-bed property has been upgraded in recent years and that both the roof and the walls have been insulated. Modern and well-maintained, it has 1,000 sq ft of living space and a D2 BER.

Accommodation includes a sitting room with a stove and a kitchen diner with fitted units as well as a utility room, a bathroom and three bedrooms, one of which is now a home office.

Located 6km from Dunmanway, off the Dunmanway-Drimoleague Road, the bungalow is accessed by a long driveway and has a very long garden bounded on the sides by forestry. Outside the kitchen, there’s a patio and beyond that a pool surrounded by decking.

Mr Carmody says the property has much to offer as a family home and that the pool is proving popular with viewers.

The bungalow is located 20km from Skibbereen and a one-hour drive from Cork City.

VERDICT: A home with a pool in this price range is quite a novelty.

South Douglas Road, Cork city
€320,000
Size	109 sq m (1,174 sq ft)
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	1
BER	D1

There are quite a few reasons why No 3 Tramore Villas on the South Douglas Road might be expected to attract more than its fair share of attention.

Its location within a 15 to 20-minute walk from the city centre is possibly the most obvious one, but its redbrick Victorian appearance is also appealing, especially since there aren’t very many properties of this type to be found the Douglas / Turners Cross area.

Mid terrace in a row of seven, it’s a three-bed house which has a modern kitchen extension at the rear and close to 1,180 sq ft of living space.

“It was extended by previous owners and redecorated by current ones and is very well presented – its original features include antique fireplaces, decorate architraves and ornate corbels,’’ says Cearbhall Behan of Behan, Irwin & Gosling quoting a guide of €320,000.

The house has two reception rooms – one a sitting room with a cast iron fireplace and the other a family room TV room with a disused brick fireplace. At the rear of the family room an archway opens into a modern kitchen diner with a skylight, large windows and blue shaker-style units and a centre island.

Off the hallway, there’s a bathroom and upstairs there are three bedrooms with varnished timber flooring including one with a cast iron fireplace.

Accessed by steps, the property has a small gravelled area at the front and a long garden with a patio at the rear.

It doesn’t have parking but is close to Turners Cross church and within walking distance of the city centre.

VERDICT: A well-located Victorian redbrick house with an attractive extension.

Old Youghal Road, Cork city
€249,000
Size	61 sq m (670 sq ft)
Bedrooms	2
Bathrooms	1
BER	D1

In the space of less than a year this two-bed corner property at 1 Frankfield View at Old Youghal Road has been given a thorough makeover.

Seeking offers of €249,00 Jeremy Murphy auctioneers say the 1900s-built terraced house is now in turnkey condition, having been insulated, redecorated and fitted with a new kitchen and bathroom.

Its 670 sq ft of living space includes a modernised living room with a stove, a kitchen with modern units and patterned tiles and a bathroom as well as two upstairs bedrooms.

In December 2021 the property sold for €220,000.

VERDICT: An affordable home located within a 20-minute walk from the city centre.

Mayfield, Cork city
€260,000
Size	72 sq m (775 sq ft)
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	1
BER	G

Offers of €260,000 are being sought for No 22 Iona Place in Mayfield, a three-bed, end-of-terrace house on a large corner site.

Karl O’Reilly of Savills says the garden offers a new owner scope to extend the 1950s-built property which now has 775 sq ft of living space. 

Previously extended at the rear, its accommodation includes a kitchen diner living room as well as a bathroom and three bedrooms. The G BER rating will need attention.

VERDICT: An affordable property with a good-sized garden