Fancy living and working in the same place? SANDRA O'CONNELLfinds 10 properties that offer a home and an income to prospective buyers
WORKING and living on the same premises could be just the thing for anyone looking for a fresh start after redundancy – or just a fresh start. Not alone are prices lower than they’ve been for years but it means your home can provide you with an income too. What’s more, not only will you be your own boss but you’ll be commuting downstairs to work.
1 PUB
Cappoquin,
Co Waterford
The owners of the Tavern Bar in Cappoquin, Co Waterford are retiring, and, for anyone looking to relocate to a beautiful part of the country their licensed premises in Cappoquin, at the foot of the Knockmealdown mountains, in the Blackwater valley, is hard to top for scenery.
For €425,000 or thereabouts (it has already been reduced from €450,000) you’ll get not just a bar but the three-bedroom accommodation overhead, with kitchen and sitting room, and its own entrance.
* The Tavern Bar, Cappoquin, Co Waterford €425,000 Sherry FitzGerald Reynolds 058-23444
2 SHOP
Harold’s Cross Road, Dublin 6W
Number 204, Harold’s Cross Road is on the market at €200,000. It comprises a small (14.3sq m/154sq ft) shop unit with a 71sq m (764sq ft) three-bedroom house behind it, plus a family- sized rear garden 13.5m (44.3ft) long.
Neighbourhoods don’t come much more densely populated than this, so all you’ve got to do is figure out what the locals are missing. Easier said than done I know, but at €200,000, even if you fail, you’ve still picked up a well- located home.
* 204 Harold’s Cross Road, Dublin 6W €200,000 Felicity Fox Auctioneers 01-6334431
3 BAKERY
Thomastown,
Co Kilkenny
Could anything beat waking to the smell of freshly baked bread – though possibly it’s not so great for the person getting up at 4am to bake it.
Still, if you are not put off by the early rising, the former Comerford’s Bakery Shop, in Market Street, in the centre of Thomastown, is on the market for €350,000.
Though it is at present internally derelict, with full planning permission for renovations or a rebuild, maybe the time has come to restore it to its original purpose.
Upstairs there’s space for, well, not exactly a baker’s dozen of a brood but certainly one hard- working, early-rising small family.
* Former Comerford’s Bakery Shop, Market St, Thomastown, Co Kilkenny €350,000 Sherry Fitzgerald McCreery 056-7721904
4 CHIPPER
Wicklow Town
Co Wicklow
How about a takeaway? La Piazza, which is currently run as a traditional Italian chipper, is located right on Wicklow Town’s newly refurbished Market Square. It has the advantage of being just down from Wicklow Gaol, the town’s biggest tourist attraction.
The chipper takes up the ground floor and comes fully equipped.
There’s a basement and rear yard while a separate entrance to the front leads up to a 244sq m (2627sq ft), two-bedroom apartment on the second floor, with bathroom and kitchen, though bet you anything you won’t be cooking chips.
* La Piazza takeaway and apartment, Market Square, Wicklow Town €975,000 Eugene Dooley Auctioneers 0404-62292.
5 PUB
Bandon,
Co Cork
O’Hara’s pub in the heart of Bandon offers both a good-sized licensed premises with generous living space overhead.
The current owners are retiring after 37 years running the family business, leaving behind a fully furnished bar, lounge and function room.
Upstairs is a good-sized kitchen, plus livingroom, sittingroom, office and four bedrooms.
The property is well located in the centre of the town but, crucially, is on the high ground north of the river and so safe from floods.
* O’Hara’s Pub, Bandon, Co Cork €575,000 Keane Mahony Smith 021-4270311
6 PUB
Killeshandra,
Co Cavan
How about a traditional village pub in Killeshandra, in Cavan? Gilsenan’s comes with a function room for 250 people, a fully equipped catering kitchen and, according to the estate agent, a strong food trade.
Recently refurbished, it’s on the market at €525,000 and is reported to be taking around €130,000 a year.
The upper floor has three bedrooms and a bathroom, with an additional apartment currently used as a store room but which could be reconverted, and rented out if required.
* Gilsenan’s Bar, Killeshandra, Co Cavan €525,000 Padraig Smith Auctioneers 049-4362244
7 SHOP
New Ross,
Co Wexford
Up until a few years ago this one was a shop serving its neighbours and, for €60,000, it could be again. Plus you get a two-bedroom apartment overhead.
Again, it’s in need of some work but so too is half the population at this stage.
There are national and secondary schools close by and surely kids still need somewhere to buy peggy’s legs and gobstoppers on the way home?
The accommodation comprises sittingroom, kitchen and bathroom on the ground floor plus two rooms above the shop accessed from it and previously used for storage, and two bedrooms upstairs. There’s a yard out the back too.
* Shop and two-bedroom house at Bullawn, New Ross, Co Wexford €60,000 ERA Byrne Auctioneers 051-426015
8 BB
Durrus,
Co Cork
Or maybe you always dreamt of running a little BB down the country? Avoca House is a striking three-storey property in the West Cork village of Durrus (of the cheese fame). With both the Mizen and Sheepshead Peninsulas on your doorstep, not to mention all those gorgeous West Cork beaches, you couldn’t ask for a more scenic route to a new start.
It has eight bedrooms – and six bathrooms – so you’re not going to be short of space. You just have to figure out how to get tourists in.
* Avoca House BB, Durrus, Co Cork €330,000 Peninsula Properties 027-67068
9 PUB
Graiguenamanagh,
Co Kilkenny
The Angler’s Rest in the village of Graiguenamanagh in Co Kilkenny is a traditional pub on the main street, beside Duiske Abbey. For sale at €220,000 it has a very quaint, 88sq m (947sq ft) lounge with DJ box and store room, plus a kitchen, livingroom and four bedrooms overhead. There’s a little garden out the back which has been given over to a smoking area.
* The Angler’s Rest, Graiguenamanagh, Co Kilkenny €220,000 Re/Max 059-9173225
10 HOSTEL
Baltimore,
Co Cork
For a relocation that’s going to make you feel like you’re on holidays, even though you’ll be working, check out Top of the Hill, a newly built hostel in Baltimore, the sailing village in West Cork.
The hostel can hold up to 24 people, with a mix of family rooms and dorms, as well as a kitchen and dining area with extensive courtyard space, a recreation room and good storage for bikes. It’s a short walk to the village, which is known for its water sports, great pubs and restaurants.
* Top of the Hill Hostel, Baltimore, Co Cork €500,000 McCarthy Auctioneers 028-21533
