City to Country: Dublin's North Strand or Galway's Loughrea - What €650,000 gets you

Irish Examiner

2 days ago

Neighbours living across the road from 46 Bayview Avenue, North Strand, Dublin 3 will covet its parking space – since these are quite scarce in this part of the city
Viewers will appreciate it for more than parking space, since the Georgian mid terrace house has been extensively upgraded by owners who bought it 20 years ago and now has 160 sq metres of living space and a C1 BER, which is good for an 1830s built property.
'It's a charming period home with an attractive façade and stylish interior,'' says Michelle Wilde of Be Lettings auctioneers, noting that the owners added on a large kitchen/diner, insulated and upgraded the windows, fitting sash ones at the front in keeping with the façade.
The two sash windows at the front belong to a high-ceilinged sitting room with coving and a fireplace. The extension at the rear houses a large L-shaped kitchen dining living with a good selection of fitted units , two roof lights and patio doors. To the rear there's also a utility and a bathroom while the upstairs has a bathroom and three bedrooms.
The property is located within a 25 minute walk from O'Connell Street. Ms Wilde says the property has attracted interest from a diverse range of buyers including one who put in bid of the €650,000 guide price on the first day of viewings.
VERDICT: Has charm, character and good space- for people and a car
Clonmel, Co Tipperary
€645,000
Size
239 sq m
Bedrooms
4
Bathrooms
2
BER
B1
The views from this detached modern four-bed dormer property at Rathloose near Clonmel are scenic and the gardens are beautifully laid out, feature filled and colourful.
'You are looking out on to the Comeraghs on to well-tended gardens with a large goldfish pond, a small waterfall, mature trees, flower beds as well as redbrick feature walls, patios areas and gravel paths,' says John Fitzgerald of Dougan FitzGerald.
Owned and designed by an engineer, the 2002-built house is highly glazed and modern with high ceilinged rooms, generous living space and half acre of gardens.
'In the last year the owners have added on 12 SVP solar panels and upgraded the heating to bring the BER up to a B1,'' reveals Mr FitzGerald quoting a guide of €645,000.
At one side of the 239 sq metre house is high ceilinged living room with exposed beams, two sets of patio doors and a large front window.
The kitchen/diner at the rear is a long room with French navy handleless units with granite countertops and an island unit. The house also has a formal dining room, a utility, a guest WC and a spacious well equipped home office.
An open tread ladder stairs with glass balustrades leads to the upstairs which has a bathroom and four bedrooms ( one en suite)- all with large dormer windows offering views of the surrounds and the gardens.
VERDICT: Viewers will be wowed by the well planned, well planted gardens.
Tramore, Co. Waterford
€575,000
Size
256 sq m ( 2755 sq ft)
Bedrooms
5
Bathrooms
3
BER
F
All the high-ceilinged grandeur you expect from Victorian era properties can be found at 2 Rocklands on Pond Road in Tramore.
Built in the 1880s – when Tramore had just been transformed from a fishing village into a fashionable seaside resort, it's a sizable, rather grand five bed semi- –which is part of a group of four similar houses located within a 15 minute walk from the main strand.
'Owned by the same family for several decades – it has well preserved Victorian features and exudes charm and character,'' says auctioneer Michael Griffin who describes its quiet de sac location as being both private and prestigious.
Sizable for a property that may have been a Victorian holiday home, it has 256 sq metres of living space – which includes three high ceilinged reception rooms with a multitude of original features including coving, fireplaces, picture rails and doors and includes a front drawing room with a bay window.
Some rooms have original shuttered sash windows and some have been replaced with PVC when the house was upgraded over 20 years ago when the owners put in several bathrooms and a kitchen.
Although well preserved and maintained, the property has an F BER rating and will require careful modernisation and upgrading.
Guiding at €575,000, it has a view of the sea from the upstairs windows at the front.
VERDICT: Period houses aren't for everyone – but someone who appreciates the charm of this one will enjoy having the opportunity to restore it to its former glory.
Carrabane, Co Galway
€640,000
Size
233 sq m (2,506 sq ft)
Bedrooms
4
Bathrooms
3
BER
B2
Rural but not remotely rustic, this four-bed house at Carrabane near Loughrea in south Galway is a strikingly stylish contemporary property with a huge trapezoid shaped first floor window.
'Built by the owners in 2011, it's architect designed and luxurious with 233 sq metres of living space and over half an acre of gardens' reveal Niamh Madden of Sherry FitzGerald Madden who just listed it with a guide of €640,000.
Behind the trapezoid shaped front window is an ultra-modern open plan kitchen/dining/living space with high ceilings, polished concrete flooring and sleek handleless white kitchen units. The walls are pristine white, the ceilings are high and the windows, which include a second trapezoid shaped one at the rear, let in a great deal of light.
Outside at the rear, there's access to a large glass balustraded balcony offering views across nearby fields and grazing cattle On the upper level the unusual V shaped property also has a bathroom and a bedroom.
Downstairs there's a laundry room, a bathroom and three bedrooms including a sizable one which has an en suite and a walk-in wardrobe. The open tread timber, glass and steel staircase – like all the other features - is stylish and contemporary.
Fitted with zoned underfloor heating , a heat recovery system, the house has an energy efficient B2 BER.
Located in the little village of Carrabane seven miles from Loughrea, it's within half an hour's commuting distance of Galway city ( 32 km).
VERDICT: Remarkably modern and different