Holiday home/starter home/downsizer - lots of options at €185,000 Glengarriff getaway 

INSTEAD of burning their way through their savings, paying rent while waiting to build their dream home, a young couple decided instead to invest.

The apartment they bought was more than a stop gap and they put time and effort into creating a tasty, comfortable home.

They put time and effort too into acquiring planning consent to build their dream home. Two-and-a-half years later, the dream has been realised and the couple is ready to sell their apartment, through the same auctioneer that advised them to invest in the first place.

The apartment in question is No 7 Harbour View, in sublime Glengarriff, and it’s one of eight contained in the niche setting of the former Glengarriff Golf Links Hotel, where Cork’s first Taoiseach, the late Jack Lynch, is rumoured to have met his future wife, Máirín.

The hotel ceased trading in the 1990s and it’s been converted since into eight apartments by Centrepoint Investment Ltd, involving the Fox family from Limerick. The complex includes what were 18 holiday homes - most are now permanent dwellings - in the grounds of the former hotel.

It’s in as scenic an area as you could wish for, between Glengarriff Harbour and Glengarriff Golf Club club, less than a mile from Glengarriff village, and a short drive from the Beara Peninsula and Ring of Kerry.

“The young couple that bought it on my advice in 2021 made a fabulous job of it,” says auctioneer Denis Harrington of Harrington Estates.

“It’s the ideal bolthole for anyone who wants to escape to Glengarriff, and it’s a lovely property for either a single person or a couple.

“It could suit someone too working in the hospital in Bantry who might want to put a bit of distance between their workplace and their home, and who might be persuaded by the beauty of Glengarriff,” Mr Harrington says.

Just 10km separates Bantry from Glengarriff and improved public transport is boosting connectivity, the agent says. A bus service between Cork and Glengarriff runs six times daily and a Rural Link bus serves Sheep’s Head and Beara Peninsulas four times a day, with Bantry as the central stop-off point.

“It’s a fantastic service, and cheap as chips,” Mr Harrington says.

He’s also full of praise for the management structure at Harbour View Apartments, which is run largely by the residents.

“The houses and apartments are all privately owned and mostly lived in by their owners, a good few of whom are retirees,” Mr Harrington says.

Apartment No 7, on the first floor, overlooks countryside and Glengarriff Harbour and accommodation includes an open plan kitchen/living room with southfacing views; a shower room and a double bedroom.

The guide price for the 56 sq m home is €185,000 (the current owners paid €147,550 in 2021).

Mr Harrington is expecting a broad church of buyers, from first timers, to retirees.

VERDICT: Very nicely presented apartment with strong investment credentials given the location. Good price too as a starter home.