Property

‘Quiet American’ pays €64,000 premium for remote Clare cottage

‘This is the old Ireland - warm, friendly and safe,’ says auctioneer of two-bed home advertised at €17,000 which sold for €81,000

The two-bed Co Clare cottage was expected to fetch €17,000

Tue Nov 8 2016 - 15:30

An American looking for “peace and tranquillity” is the buyer of a remote Co Clare cottage which had a guide price of €17,000 before its auction on November 3rd.

The cute two-bedroom cottage called Kernaig, at Ballyartney, near the village of Labasheeda, had attracted interest from the Middle East, Australia and Europe when it hit the market and a report in The Irish Times resulted in " a frenzy of viewers on the viewing days", according to auctioneer Shane Finn of DNG Creedon. "It was a little bit like an Irish removal just without the coffin," said Finn of the level of interest in the two-storey home located near Kildysart in an area renowned for set-dancing.

The agency had put a pre-auction AMV (advised minimum value) of €17,000 on the cottage, based on its remote location. However, it was this very factor that attracted the American who wants to get away from it all.

“The individual is looking for a little getaway where he is close to the sea and has a private site for total tranquillity.” said Finn. “You are not just buying a property you, are buying a lifestyle. At my last visit of this house I met the neighbours; they were cutting the grass for the owner who was away. This is what the new purchaser has bought. Neighbours that are friends and that look out for you. When you drive around in this area everybody waves at you. You’re a little bit like the Pope constantly waving. This is the old Ireland that we all remember. Warm, friendly and safe.”

READ MORE

The early-20th-century cottage, it has just under an acre of garden overlooking Clonderlaw Bay. It has a quaint interior featuring an old range cooker, matchboard ceilings and polished linoleum floors.

The cottage was sold at a mass auction where a total of 32 properties were put on the block. These included both commercial premises and homes in Cork, Limerick, Kerry and Clare. Some 29 properties sold under the hammer, according to Finn, with the final three still under negotiation. Most sold for well over their pre auction guides.

“Not bad for a day’s work,” said Finn. “We disposed of €3,050,250 worth of assets in one day.” The next mass auction will be in early 2017.