Saturday, March 20, 2010 Previous editions
Saturday, October 17, 2009
THERE’S instant attraction, and an instant market reaction too, to this quality house — it has already been bid over its asking price in its first week on offer.
The front of 6, Ardeevin Terrace does indeed convey the impression it might indeed be quite a special ‘best goods in small parcels’ offering.
Get inside and you realise it is a smart goods in a bigger package than you might expect.
Set on a narrow stretch of the Ballinlough Road in Cork city, near the trendy Joup eatery and a girls’ national school, this terraced home has been consistently worked on by its owner since the early 2000s. And, it shows. It has been simply extended to the rear, over two levels, with a wood-clad section wrapping around its first floor master bedroom’s en suite.
A quite complete package, smartly decorated and refurbished, it is a truly walk-in job — you can even walk into town from it (parking is available on the narrow one-way roadway outside.)
No 6 hit the market just last week, seeking €285,000 via agent Maude Moynihan of Marian Rose Properties in Douglas, and followed the ‘sale agreed’ of a do-er upper on the same terrace for about €210,000. Within the week, bids on No 6 had topped €300,000 and viewings are booking in for the next few weeks. They will step up a further gear or two yet.
Ms Moynihan says it is heartening to find such a positive response so quickly, and puts it down to the quality of the work done (with a calm, woman owner’s touch) and the sheer charm of the house.
It has immediate ‘kerb’ appeal, smartly painted in pale lemon and white outside, with gravelled front garden with planters, and mostly done in restful creams and neutrals inside. The front room has a deep bay window, with new hardwood sash windows, an original Victorian fireplace and double doors, with a the dining and kitchen extension behind inside: you can see over 35’ in a straight run, front-to-back through this mid-terrace house, thanks to its extension.
The dining area has opened up an original tall brick chimney breast, which would have housed an old range, and there’s a modern well-specified kitchen with integrated appliances and painted units. Beyond the kitchen’s back wall of glazing are double doors, opening out to a sheltered patio with strong polycarbonate roof-screen for al fresco dining. The garden is quite compact, fully walled in with lots of mature planting, such as honeysuckle, and the far end has a pergola screening a storage area and a child’s Wendy house.
Back inside No 6, all the ground floor is tiled, and the upstairs is softly carpeted. Overhead, beyond the wainscoting stairwell, it has been opened up from the original plan, with two neat front bedrooms, with extra ceiling height, the main bathroom is mid-ships with a bath and telephone shower, and the rear extension houses the master suite, with large shower in the en suite, there are two windows looking over the neat southerly aspected back garden, and a 14’ long side wall fully-stacked with built-ins.
No 6 has a feel-good factor, and for other vendors struggling to find a buyer and close a sale, its ready and spirited bids holds hope. Brush up.
© Examiner Publications (Cork) Limited, City Quarter, Lapps Quay, Cork. Registered in Ireland: 73385.
