Undiscovered West

T

TallSpoon

Guest
I am looking to buy a slightly ramshackle 2/3 bed cottage on the West coast near a surfing beach and have been checking out property from West Cork to Connemara. I had hoped that property in the West would be reasonably priced but this has not really been the case. I was wondering if anyone could recommend any relatively undiscovered places that I could look.
I am living in Ennis so I am not really looking at Co. Clare.

I am sincere in my search so no smart answers please!
 
I hope you won't take this as a 'smart answer' but I clearly recall looking out over the Atlantic ocean from the belltower of the Franciscan church in Ennis. The Dingle would be further "west" but as you have discovered properties in Kerry are by no means cheap and are very sought-after. The Donegal coast is marginally less attractive than the south-west climate-wise and the days are shorter but there are some good surfing beaches.
 
North Mayo used to be pretty empty and pretty cheap, but it's 10 years since I looked. You could do some research on myhome.ie
 
There doesn't seem to be as many ramshackle 2/3 bed cottage in Donegal for sale as I have seen in Clare. Property on the coast certainly seems rare enough going by www.myhome.ie. Your best bet might be to go up and take a look around yourself and talk to a few estate agents, or even approach landowners directly. We used to live in a very scenic part of Donegal (not on the coast) and my father would get several informal approaches each year to buy sites on our land.
 
Yes, Donegal coastal properties have gone through the roof in recent years. You can still get good value (well, relative to prices elsewhere in the country) in inland Donegal. And by inland, I mean anywhere not RIGHT on the coast. You could be only a couple of kilometres away.

However you say you want to be near a surfing beach. Bundoran is Donegal's most prominent surfing beach (not a surfer, but AFAIK may be the ONLY surfing beach in DL?). Don't know your personal tastes but Bundoran would certainly not be for me, but you might find good value in nearby Leitrim, especially if you're prepared to go a bit off the beaten track.

From your original post though, Donegal is probably too far away for you.
 
One of the better surfing beaches in the north west is Enniscrone in Sligo [has held a few world/european(??? not sure which) championships]. Pleasant, sleepy kinda town (hasn't changed much since I spent Summers there as a young child) but plenty of fun in the Summer months. I'm sure the town itself could be quite expensive but the surrounding areas (if you can find the properties) may be quite good for a bargain.

Also leaves you close to many of the other good surfing areas nearby, from Bundoran all along the coasts of Sligo and Mayo.
 
Enniscrone is not really a surf spot......instead you are much better off in easkey which is a few miles north.
World champs there years ago and property a fraction of cost of enniscrone due to absence of tax wheeze properties
btw...enniscrone is concrete jungle now compared to easkey..
 
Easkey, Co Sligo seems to be a pretty hot spot for surfing on the west coast. I has pretty good transport links and the area has seen a bit of a rejuvenation in the last couple of years. Might be worth a look.
 
Maybe it's just me, but by two posts on this thread, myhome.ie seems to be getting suggested as a "benchmark" for prices and availability, whereby I only see 17 agents from all of Galway associated with it as opposed to the approximate 50 that are in the county.

Alongside this, just because an agent is signed up with myhome.ie, it does not mean the seller has opted to pay the extra for listing there.
 
I agree with you SineWave about myhome.ie. It's the number one site for property in the cities but in the more remote parts of the countryside, it's best to drive through the villages and look in the agents' windows or keep an eye out as you drive along.

It is unknown to most Irish people but one of the best surfing beaches in the world is Rossnawlagh/Tullan Strand/Bundoran in south Donegal.

It's not too far out of your preferred area and is definitely worth a look in my opinion if surfing is one of your main priorities.
 
Depending on what you mean by "slightly ramshackle", Green Valley Properties may have something for you. They seem to deal in derelict cottages quite a bit, as well as sites and habitable dwellings. One of their nicer qualities is they call a spade a spade and don't shirk from pointing out a property's flaws - "no sea view", "middling quality agricultural land", "refused planning permission" etc. - see [broken link removed].
 
cripes that is some example!
I have renovated a few in my time but that needs a thump (or tickle!) of a sledge to put it out of it's misery!
 
Some of those property descriptions made me laugh and it makes a change from the usual crap you hear from estate agents, not happy with the view from your window........


"There are extensive views from the back of the house across open country which at present are obscured by mature leylandia trees. The good news is that they burn well when dry, and the house does have solid fuel heating."
 
Hi,

There are plenty of derelict properties to be had in Sligo and North Mayo. Problem is that a lot of these in areas that are of interest to the holiday home market have been snapped up in recent years. The prices of those remaining have been pushed up accordingly..

Contact all the estate agents around the area you are interested in and get them to keep you on file if anything comes up as properties like these are often not too well advertised.

Kepe your eye on www.sitesforsale.ie as it lists derelict houses as well as green field sites.
 
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