Smart D4 cottage gets nine-month turnaround and €200k price hike

When buying a home, timing is everything. When you finally shake hands on a deal it can take months to get the keys and before builders and architects can assess the property and draft designs to apply for planning.

When the solicitor owner of 52 Pembroke Cottages purchased the property with his uncle last year for €390,000 they wanted to renovate the house and sell it on quickly. But the seller wanted an eight-month closing period in order to complete a property in the country where works had been delayed. They agreed and added a few conditions of their own.

One was that they could bring in builders and architects to view the property and tender for the job before contracts had been exchanged. They also wanted to apply for planning permission while the owner was still living there and the owner agreed to hang a planning notice in the window.

“I was slightly concerned about the market. Under our terms I was able to book a builder and give them a start date to begin work the day after I got the keys,” the solicitor says.

Most of the ground floor is now open plan with a dormer bedroom upstairs. Two RSJ beams were installed to support the roof and create a seamless flow from the front of the house to the back.

Number 52, measuring 55sq m/592sq ft, was in need of complete modernisation. It now measures 75sq m/807sq ft and comprises a good-size open plan main room with the sitting area set around the property’s original cast iron fireplace.

The flue has been vented and is part of the insulation upgrade that has changed this G-rated property into an impressive B.

Underfoot is a laminate floor and the grey kitchen was sourced from In House. The design includes a small utility room to the rear that leads through to a decent size bathroom.

There are two bedrooms at ground level, a decent size double with plenty of room to install built-in wardrobes. The only room that is original is the study, playroom or single bedroom to front.

Upstairs is a double bedroom with a dormer window that is two-thirds covered by privacy film, a condition of planning. This room has no wardrobes and there is an adjoining shower en suite.

Built for the workers of the Pembroke Estate circa 1890, prices for the houses here vary hugely depending on their condition. Most are two-bedroom in size. Last year number 108 sold for €409,600 in June; number 84 sold for €470,000 in July while number 87 sold in October for €390,000.

Currently number 60, a one bedroom, mid-terrace with a large converted attic is asking €495,000 through agent Felicity Fox and number 72, a two bed with mezzanine is seeking €575,000 through agent SherryFitzGerald.

Remodeled and extended, number 52, now a three-bed, mid-terrace property is asking €595,000, through agent Lisney.