Untapped potential in Milltown redbrick for €390,000

Just beyond the row of redbrick houses directly opposite Wilde and Green restaurant in Milltown is a terrace of older properties hidden behind a wall, known as Geraldine Terrace. As these have gardens to the front, they are well set back, so you would hardly know they existed.

They date from 1898 and were built for the workers of Geraldine House, which has since been demolished. No 3 is the last on the terrace and was home to two elderly sisters who were born there. As both have passed away, the property is now on the market as an estate sale through agent Owen Reilly seeking €390,000.

There is quite a bit of work needed in the two-bedroom house, which extends to 65sq m (700sq ft). In its current layout it has two bedrooms upstairs, both of which are doubles, and downstairs off the hallway are a living room, small kitchen and a loo.

It is really a diamond in the rough as the property has high ceilings and a westerly aspect to the front. With a good architect this E2 BER-rated space could be transformed into a dinky two-bedroom house in the heart of Milltown, and a great architect would probably figure out how to rise into the attic and dig down into the ground floor to increase the floor space. And this could be a good value option, considering the price of properties directly across the road in Mount St Annes. Sherry FitzGerald is seeking €635,000 for 11 Ramleh Hall, a two-bedroom 104sq m unit, while 21 Temple Hall is on the market for €595,000 through Borgman Earls, which is a two-bedroom 90sq m unit.

But what No 3 Geraldine Terrece does have besides being an own front-door property with high ceilings and lots of potential is a westerly-facing front garden. So this property would be a good option for someone who has green fingers – or the ambition to have a garden – on a budget that would normally only allow for apartments in the area. The ladies who lived here clearly loved theirs, and while it has palm trees and old hydrangea bushes, it has lots of potential. The house does not have space for a car, although there is a pay-per-hour car park just beyond the adjacent terrace. The Luas green line stop to the rear of Alexandra College is just a short walk away.