Detached houses for £135,000

Four-bedroom and five-bedroom detached houses costing from £135,000 go on show this weekend at Clonmellon village, Co Westmeath. The houses in the Cluain Mhor scheme are expected to appeal to commuters attracted by the prospect of acquiring a family-sized house at a first-time buyer price level.

The scheme of 38 detached houses on a low-density site is in the centre of the village, which is eight miles from Kells and 18 from Navan and Mullingar. Joint selling agents are Hooke & MacDonald and T & J Gavigan.

Eight houses, four of each type, are being released in the first phase and will be ready for occupation by mid-May this year. The entire site will be completed by summer, 2001. Variations to the plans are possible and buyers can incorporate a separate apartment for an au pair or elderly parent in the larger houses or include two additional rooms in the attic space, all at a negotiated extra cost. The benefit of low-densities on the Cluain Mhor site - five houses to an acre - is evident in an abundance of landscaped open space and larger-than-average gardens. The four-bedroom house of 1,552 sq ft costs from £135,000. This has an entrance hall with guest lavatory and a utility room at the rear.

To the right, there is a good-sized sittingroom with a diningroom through double doors to the rear. Buyers have a choice of traditional-style or art deco style timber fireplace. A family-room and large kitchen/breakfastroom are on the other side of the hall.

The four bedrooms upstairs are all doubles with fitted wardrobes and the extra-spacious main bedroom room is en suite. A family bathroom has white sanitary ware. The five-bedroom houses are particularly large at 1,846 sq ft and priced from £148,000 (less than most three-bedroom semis closer to the city). These are wider, with a sittingroom and separate diningroom at opposite ends of the front hall. There is good storage for coats off the hall. A family room and a very large Shaker-style kitchen are at the back of the house, with a utility room off the kitchen. There are four double and one single bedrooms upstairs and the main bathroom.