Starter Homes: Four Cork properties starting at €250,000

First-time buyers can choose from homes across West Cork, Ballincollig and Cork city, writes Trish Dromey

Gilwern

Castlefreke, West Cork
€250,000
Size	93 sq m (1,000 sq ft)
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	2
BER	G

This traditional farmhouse at Kilkern, Castlefreke has charm enough to attract buyers in search of a West Cork lifestyle as well as ones who just want to spend holidays there.

Having shown the three-bed property to a variety of both types of buyers over the past week, and receiving a bid of the €250,000 guide price within days, auctioneer Henry O’Leary doesn’t expect it to be too long on his books.

“It has buckets of charm and is located within a few kilometres from sandy beaches at Long Strand, Castlefreke, and Owenahincha,” he says explaining that it has been the holiday home for a UK-based couple for the last 30 years.

While some might want to modernise and upgrade the farmhouse with thick stone walls, beamed ceilings, and an inglenook fireplace, he thinks others may want to keep it as it is. When the owners converted the attached outbuildings into additional living space they kept the original corrugated iron roofs.

At one end in what appears from the outside to be an outbuilding there’s now a high-ceiling kitchen with timber units. And in a similar single-storey annex at the other end, there’s a living room, a shower room, and tiny bedroom.

Inside the original farmhouse there’s a bathroom and a living/dining room with a beamed ceiling at ground level as well as two bedrooms upstairs.

Near Rathbarry, it’s is located 8.5km from Clonakilty.

VERDICT: Affordable and cute with a choice of nearby beaches.

Douglas, Cork city
€295,000
Size	72 sq m (775 sq ft)
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	2
BER	D1

Named Gilwern for a Welsh valley by its original owners in the 1980s, No 18 Ardarrig Lawn on the Carrigaline Road is a well-kept three-bed home within a 15-minute walk from Douglas village.

Seeking offers of €295,000, auctioneer Jeremy Murphy says it’s a recently redecorated owner-occupied home that is certain to appeal to first-time buyers.

End of terrace in a row of three, it’s the last of 18 houses in Ardarrig Lawn, a small estate located in a cul de sac off the Carrigaline Road.

It has been fitted with laminate flooring and has new carpets in the bedrooms, an upgraded bathroom and a red composite front door.

Downstairs there’ s a laminate-floored sitting room with a grey and blue colour scheme and a set of double doors opening at the rear into a kitchen-diner which has painted timber units.

Under the stairs there’s a guest WC while the first floor has a modern tiled bathroom as well as three bedrooms.

To the rear there’s a long lawned garden with a patio and a carpet floored timber shed/ cabin which has been used as both a gym and a home office.

Located off Carr’s Hill, it is a 15-minute walk from Douglas village via Ballybrack Woods, known locally as Mangala.

Fitted with double glazing, the house has a D1 BER which a new owner may consider improving.

The Property Price Register shows that No 18 Ardarrig Lawn previously sold for €249,000 in 2019.

VERDICT: Well-maintained and conveniently located, it looks perfect for a first home.

Ballincollig, Co Cork
€325,000
Size	87 sq m (936 sq ft)
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	3
BER	C3

The two open viewings scheduled during the week at 64 An Caisleán Drive in Ballincollig were expected to be well attended by first-time buyers.

Selling agents Global Properties say that three-bed properties in Ballincollig with a guide of €325,000 can expect to attract good attention. End of terrace with 87 sq m of living space, this is a former rental property which has been repainted and fitted with new carpets.

Auctioneer Con Nagle says the location on the western end of Ballincollig is close to amenities. as well as popular. Accommodation includes a lounge, a kitchen-diner, a guest WC, a bathroom and three bedrooms including an en suite 

VERDICT: Could prove affordable for young couple.

Turners Cross, Cork city
€250,000
Size	77 sq m (828 sq ft)
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	1
BER	G

While Casa Pio, 1 Killingley Terrace, O’Connell Avenue in Turners Cross may be a renovation project, it’s a very well located property with good potential.

Noting that it’s situated within a 20 minute walk from Cork city, Joe McCarthy of Barry Auctioneers says the 1900s-built three-bed semi-d could be upgraded into a modern family home or purchased by an investor and renovated as a rental property. 

Guiding at €250,000, the 77 sq m house has a G BER and will require complete modernisation.

VERDICT: Has good potential due to its location.