Nutley house back on the market after a costly revamp

Dublin 4: €3.25mThe business of buying houses to renovate and sell on is no longer as profitable as it was at the height of the boom, when budding property developers could double their money with a clever revamp.

Still, the owners of a house at Nutley Lane in Donnybrook are still hoping to turn a profit on the sale of the four-bedroom property which they bought last year for around €2.6 million and have renovated from top to bottom.

Number 18 Nutley Lane, located close to RTE and Elm Park Golf Club É, was originally a fairly modest semi. A year on, it has been given a total makeover, with a vast kitchen cum living space, high spec flooring and fittings throughout, and a freshly landscaped back garden of 50ft by 40ft. Now back on the market through Felicity Fox, the asking price is €3.25 million.

It's late in the year to go to the market but the consensus among estate agents is that there is still plenty of money out there for the right kind of house. Buyers' expectations are higher however. In the past they prepared to compromise for fear of missing the property boat, now they will only buy if the property is exactly.

Number 18 might fit the bill for a family who want a Dublin 4 address but have been priced out of the more expensive redbrick roads.

The semi-detached house has plenty of living space in the 258sq m (2,780 sq ft) layout that includes extensions to the back and to one side. Pale solid oak floors throughout the ground floor make the space seem larger, and there is a good mix of family and formal space with two good-sized interconnecting reception rooms and the 36ft eat-in kitchen spanning the back of the house with two sets of doors opening onto a wide stone flagged patio. The working area of the kitchen has fashionable high gloss finish units and integrated appliances. The units are repeated in the utility room next door.

The main hallway is a room-sized space, with a handsome oak staircase to the first floor where the main bedroom suite is large and bright, with its own dressingroom and shower room. The three remaining bedrooms are all comfortable doubles and one is en suite.