Home by the harbour

A guide price of £445,000 seems low for a four-bedroom house facing the sea in Dalkey, Co Dublin, but David Bewley of Lisney says it is a realistic guide for Drumalla at 72 Coliemore Road. The two-storey semidetached house, which has around 1,200 sq ft, will be auctioned on March 7th. It needs complete renovation.

Set above the road, a little way beyond the former Dalkey Island Hotel - now an apartment block - Number 72 and its neighbour are solid Edwardian semis with long sloping front gardens. The front garden is big enough to accommodate a couple of parking spaces.

Steps at the side of the house lead up to the front door which opens directly into a small hallway. There are two reception rooms - a sittingroom with a bay window, a diningroom with the same sea view through twin sash windows and a pretty Edwardian fireplace.

The breakfastroom and kitchen at the back of the house are in original condition, down to the solid fuel stove fitted into an archway in the breakfastroom. Outside is a pretty but small back garden, mostly in lawn. The stairway to the first floor is extremely narrow, possibly to allow for four bedrooms, one of which is more of a box room. The front facing bedrooms have a lovely view over Dalkey Island and the Muglins while the back bedrooms overlook the neighbouring gardens.

Drumalla is certain to appeal to well-off buyers keen to take on a renovation project in such a desirable neighbourhood. Many viewers, however, will be put off by the amount of work that has to be done when affordable builders are almost impossible to find.