Idle home loan scheme is a possibility for buyers of €350,000 Shanagarry bungalow

It comes with half an acre leaving scope for expansion

Kilmahon, Shanagarry

Shanagarry, East Cork
€350,000
Size	93 sq m (1000 sq ft)
Bedrooms	4
Bathrooms	1
BER	F

Until relatively recently, the notion of buying a home that had lain vacant for more than two years would have been a turn off for most buyers.

Then along came the government’s Croí Cónaithe scheme and suddenly idle properties became more attractive.

Kitchen dining

Under the scheme, owners of premises that can prove they have been vacant for at least two years, and that the property was build upto and including 2007, can apply for a grant of upto €50,000, as long as they intend to use the property as their principal private residence. Initially the scheme was confined to towns and villages, but in November last year, it was expanded to include one-off homes in rural locations. 

That’s good news for house hunters interested in this Shanagarry bungalow, as selling agent Adrianna Hegarty says it has been vacant for more than two years.

We’ve all seen what can be down with bog-standard bungalows such as this one, thanks to RTÉ’s Hugh Wallace-fronted TV series My Bungalow Bliss. While €50,000 might not get you upto Hugh’s exacting standards, it would definitely help to do something fresh with this detached four-bed in Kilmahon.

Living room 

At the moment, it’s a 1,000 sq ft property, on just over half an acre, with plenty room to extend. It’s in reasonable condition, livable while a new owner considered their options and went about getting planning permission and applying for the grant.

The garden is, as the cliché says, a blank canvas, so think patios and wild summer meadows and trampolines.

Interest in this new-to-market home is largely local, and includes people living in semi-ds who want to trade up to a detached home but still be within a stone’s throw of the coastline and beaches like Ardnahinch, Garryvoe and Ballinamona.

Early morning workout  at Ardnahinch Beach near Shanagarry, Co Cork Picture: David Creedon/ Anzenberger

 The property is close to Stephen Pearce Pottery, Kilkenny Design Centre and Ballymaloe Cookery School. Ms Hegarty points out that she recently sold a new build in the area, by builder Tom Beausang, for c€700,000. The guide price here is €350,000. The property backs onto another Beausang development, Sea Field.

VERDICT: Home is where the Croí Cónaithe is.