Worth the investment?

The address: 187 Botanic Road, Glasnevin, Dublin 9

The agent: Sherry FitzGerald.

The property: office with one-bed flat overhead for €760,000, representing a cost of €8,172 per sq m (€759 per sq ft).

The look: redbrick, two-storey building with Tudor-style roof.

The landscape: located in Glasnevin opposite the Botanic Gardens and across the road from Our Lady of Dolours church, known locally as the Wigwam.

The features: the one-bed 43sq m (463sq ft) apartment is own door and has a kitchen and bathroom with a shower. The 50sq m (538sq ft) office has a front reception area and two rooms to the rear. Any business that occupies the office space could advertise on the gable wall. Rear south-east facing 62ft garden. There is a small shed and pedestrian gate to a private lane to the rear.

How much for an investor to buy: with stamp duty at 9 per cent and legal fees at 0.5 per cent plus Vat, this brings the acquisition cost to €832,998. For a 90 per cent mortgage at PTSB tracker rate of 3.6 per cent over 20 years, the annual repayments would be €48,026. On an interest-only mortgage they would be €24,624 per annum. If the annual rental income for the property is €37,000, then the annual shortfall on a 90 per cent annuity mortgage would be €11,026 while the surplus on the interest-only would be €12,376. An investor could break even on a 69 per cent annuity mortgage over 20 years at a PTSB tracker rate of 3.6 per cent. On an interest-only mortgage the annual surplus would be €18,029.

Potential: the agent says the potential rent for the flat is €12,000 per annum and €25,000 for the office. There is scope to extend to the rear.

Verdict: The estimated yield of 4.9 per cent and potential to extend may prove attractive to investors however while this row of shops is located on a busy thoroughfare, the lack of car-parking lets it down.

Calculations by Simply Mortgages

- Edel Morgan