Lough Road, Cork.

Yet another friend in the midst of buying a house. Friend in Cork (originally from Lucan), looking to buy a two bed house in Lough Road in Cork. Wants to know if it is a good area, and above all is is safe for a single '40 something' woman on her own, also are there a lot of renters/students in that area, and is €220,000 a reasonable offer on a two-bed house there that is currently priced at €250,000. Thanks. Elainem.

Hi Elainem,
Lough Road stretches from the junction of Bandon Rd (not the main Cork - Bandon Rd, another one!!) all the way out to Togher.
Judging by your description as a two bed house I would say it is located near the Bandon Road end and the house would be facing the Lough Church. From what I can see there are a good few houses for sale in that area already so I would expect you to get it for under the €250k mark.
That part of Cork would be considered "old Cork" but there would be a lot of renters as it is near enough to the City Centre and also just a hop, skip and a jump from the western suburbs with UCC, the University Hospital and Wilton Shopping Centre. There is a handy shortcut through the grounds of the Lough Church to bring you onto the Glasheen Rd and then on out to the Wilton Shopping Centre.
Lennox's the world famous chip shop (at least in Cork its world famous!!) is practically on your doorstep and The Lough bird sanctuary is just another short walk. Its always busy at night with walkers and if the sun is shining then there is no nicer place in Ireland.
The houses in the area are old so I would say your friend would need to ensure that it is in good shape and if it is she would be getting a bargain at €220K.

Thalnks, a mil for your reply. Friend would love the area, but house just too small - 650sq feet. Now looking in Military Road/Military Hill.

Just so you or your friend knows, we had a considerable amount of trouble buying a city center walkable house under the 250K mark. That is the low end of the Cork city center market, and it is still very competitive with lots of viewings and lots of bids. I know people are sucessfully making offers 10% and more under the asking price, but I think that is only working on more expensive properties where there is a lot more stock on the market.

Having just been through 4 bids on 4 houses, I'd be very surprised if a 220K bid was accepted on a house asking 250. All the houses we bid on eventually had offers at or above the asking price.

Like The Banker says, 220K in good condition would be a bargain. We ended up at 220K and a lot of fixing up to do!