Starter Homes: Four Cork properties on the market starting at €195,000

First-time buyers can choose from cosy apartments in Midleton or city living on Cork's Fair Hill, writes Trish Dromey

49 Mill House Mill Road Midleton

Midleton, Co Cork
€235,000
Size	74 sq m (800 sq ft)
Bedrooms	2
Bathrooms	1
BER	B2

Sometimes people can be a bit half-hearted when it comes to decorating apartments, but this is definitely not the case for 49 Mill House, Mill Rd in Midleton.

Well presented with colourful prints on the wall, cushions on the seats, and pot plants on the balcony, the two-bed property is new to the market this week with an affordable guide of €235,000. 

Kyle Kennedy of Hegarty Auctioneers says its owner-occupier has done a lot to it since moving in six years ago, adding “she had repainted and redecorated, fitted 100% wool carpets, renovated the bathroom, and done some retiling in the kitchen.” A fourth-floor apartment in a complex dating from the early 1990s, it has a good B2 BER.

Accommodation includes an open-plan kitchen/living room which has a kitchenette at one end with modern cream units and patterned splashback tiles. Decorated to look cosy and comfortable, it has duck blue walls, carpeted flooring and a pot-plant-filled balcony. There’s also a bathroom and two bedrooms with built-in wardrobes.

Situated in a gated development with communal parking, the property is located within a five-minute walk from both the train station and shops on Midleton’s main street.

Mr Kennedy says a first-time buyer could be happy because it qualifies for a green mortgage, and investors will like it because it does not have a rent cap.

VERDICT: Affordable, conveniently located, and easy to maintain, it could also appeal to downsizers

Fair Hill, Cork city
€195,000
Size	61 sq m (657 sq ft)
Bedrooms	2
Bathrooms	1
BER	E1

Small but colourfully renovated and affordable, this two-bed, mid-terrace house at 10 Fair Hill is on the market with a guide of €195,000.

Listed with AML auctioneers it’s a 61 sq m property which has been upgraded in the last six years. Fitted with modern gloss aubergine and cream units and reflective mosaic tiles, the kitchen is striking and colourful. There’s also a sitting room with a stove, two bedrooms, and a bathroom.

VERDICT: Could make a first-time buyer happy, especially since the contents are included.

Killeagh, Co Cork
€285,000
Size	107 sq m (1,151 sq ft)
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	3
BER	C1

Detached and modern with a stylish kitchen upgrade, No 9 Killeagh Gardens is new to the market with a guide of €285,000. John Hornibrook of Colbert & Co says the owners who have had it since it was built in 2005 have gone the extra mile to make their home attractive and comfortable.

It has a recently upgraded kitchen/ dining room with white handleless high-gloss units, a centre island, blue grey walls, and a shelf for a coffee machine. An archway connects it to the modern sitting room with a pellet burning stove.

Off the hallway there’s a guest WC while the first floor has a bathroom and three bedrooms including one with an upgraded en suite shower room. The owners have rearranged the layout of the bedrooms to create a dressing room/ walk in wardrobe.

Fitted with solar panels the property has a C1 energy rating.

Sliding doors in the kitchen open into the back garden where most of the space is taken up by a detached studio which is used as an office from which the owners have run a business. At the side of the house there’s a garden area with artificial grass and a barbecue area and, at the front, a paved parking area.

Located within a five minute walk from shops, the property is 14km from Midleton and around 12 km from Youghal.

Recent sales in Killeagh Gardens include that of No 24, a four-bed semi which sold earlier this month for €270,000, €21,000 above its guide.

VERDICT: Given that its stylish, modern and detached and has a home office, viewings are expected to be busy

Ballyphehane, Cork city
€275,000
Size	75 sq m (807 sq ft)
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	1
BER	G

Buyers will want this two-bed end-of-terrace house, No 51 Connolly Road in Ballyphenane, for its corner site. 

With garden space at the front, side, and rear, it offers a new owner the possibility of building quite a significant extension, or maybe even a second property.

The house itself has 75 sq m of living space, a G BER, and is in need of modernisation. Seeking offers of €275,000, Joe McCarthy of Barry Auctioneers notes that Ballyphehane is a mature and popular residential area.

VERDICT: Will be well viewed by a range of buyers.