Starter Homes: Four Cork properties on the market for €280,000 or less

Buyers can choose from homes across Cloyne, Mallow, Halfway and Cork city, writes Trish Dromey 

No 10 Chapel Street in Cloyne

Cloyne, Co Cork
€240,000
Size	102 sq m (1,098 sq ft)
Bedrooms	4
Bathrooms	2
BER	D2

Offering good space for its €240,000 guide, No 10 Chapel Street in Cloyne has, with the addition of a ground floor extension, been changed from a three-bed semi-d into a four-bed one.

The 1980s-built property now has 102 sq m of living space, including an en suite ground floor bedroom and a small sunroom. 

No 10 Chapel Street in Cloyne

Adrianna Hegarty of Hegarty Properties says it’s a charming, well-presented home which could suit a young couple or, with its en suite ground floor bedroom, appeal to a downsizer.

Other accommodation includes a sitting room, a kitchen, a shower room, and three upstairs bedrooms.

VERDICT: Affordable with good space, it’s within a 10-minute commute from Midleton.

Mallow, Co Cork
€225,000
Size	93 sq m (1,001 sq ft)
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	3
BER	B3

The owners of No 7 The Fairways, Old Course, in Mallow, Co Cork, have used tropical plants, colourful throws and cushions, and eastern ornaments to give an interesting, rather exotic look to their three-bed home.

This look extends from the house, where decorative items include Buddha statues and a large fish tank, out into the back garden where the owner planted a banana tree, bamboos and ferns and installed a quirky circular timber sauna.

Seeking offers of €225,000 for the modern three-bed semi, which was bought new by the owners in 2010, Michael O’Donovan of Sherry FitzGerald O’Donovan says it’s attractively decorated and attractively priced and has a good B3 BER.

Its 93 sq m of living space includes a colourfully decorated laminate floor living sitting room with a bio fuel insert stove. To the rear there’s a small utility room, a guest WC and a tiled kitchen diner with modern cream units.

The upstairs level has a modern bathroom and three bedrooms including one en suite. In addition to having a tropically planted back garden, the property also has a parking area at the front.

Located around 1.5km from shops in Mallow town centre, The Fairways is within a 20-minute walk from the local train station.

Mr O’Donovan expects strong interest and says it may well exceed its guide.

VERDICT: First-time buyers should be happy with its affordability and pleased to get a sauna as an added bonus.

Ballinlough, Cork city
€280,000
Size	92 sq m (990 sq ft)
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	1
BER	Pending

Since Property Partners’ Matt Fallon listed Villa Maria on the Ballinlough Road with a guide of €280,000 last week, their phones have been hopping. 

The detached three-bed house will require a complete overhaul but detached properties in Ballinlough with large gardens are difficult to find, observes auctioneer Matt Fallon.

Accommodation includes two sitting rooms and a kitchen as well as three bedrooms and a bathroom. Possibly built in the 1950s, the house is located behind another house on the Ballinlough Road and, Mr Fallon explains, is entered via a right of way.

VERDICT: Requires major work but it’s in a popular location and the potential seems good

Halfway, Co Cork
€210,000
Size	103 sq m (1,108 sq ft)
Bedrooms	2
Bathrooms	3
BER	B2

This two-bed duplex at 15 Castán Dóire, Halfway in Ballinhassig is bright modern and attractive and its €210,000 guide is highly affordable. So says Fionn Dwyer of Jeremy Murphy & Associates, revealing that bidding on the property has, after just a few days of busy viewings, already gone up €205,000.

“It’s owner-occupied by a couple who bought and decorated it in 2017 and are now trading up,” says Mr Dwyer, who has shown it to a lot of young couples, a few downsizers, and a couple of investors. 

Noting that it

A doorway at ground level provides access to a staircase leading to the lower level of the duplex which has a guest WC and an open plan living/dining room as well as a galley style kitchen with white units and integrated appliances.

Making good use of space, the owners have turned the under stairs area at this level into a utility area and have also fitted a tiny office space into an alcove in the sitting room. A colourfully decorated property, it has a sunshine yellow wall by the staircase and teal blue timber panelled one in the living room.

The top floor has two en suite bedrooms including one with a recently upgraded bathroom.

Situated in a 15-unit development in Halfway, the property is 2.5km from Ballinhassig and within a 15-minute drive from Ballincollig, Bishopstown, and Bandon.

VERDICT: Nicely done.