Down from 250,000 in Oct 2008 to 180,000.
28 per cent drop I think.
Now down to 165k
daft.ie/searchsale.daft?id=409887
As a person living and working in Kerry and thinking about buying down here I know this house and considered it once or twice.
A few things:
- It’s a dormer. Bad news for normal size people except leprechauns and other small elfish ones. Ongoing health and safety issues due to head injuries or lack of usable space due to low ceiling heights at first floor level.
- It’s right next to the N70. Really it’s right on the roadside. Only about 40m separation distance from the center of the N70 main road to the front door of the house. This means NOISE.
This is a busy road carrying commuter traffic from the North of the Iveragh pennisula up and down to Tralee/Listowel commercial centres. Also a link between South Kerry and West Kerry so on the tourist trail. Not exactly a haven of peace and quiet.
Good news is that the bad stretch of road near this house up to Milltown has been improved recently through resurfacing. Much better than the potholed and patched mess of before. - Small. Overall this is a small house. Small in my book means less than 175m2.
- Rural. Castlemaine/Milltown - enough said
- Small. Again. Take a look at the placement of the fridge in the kitchen. Obviously people really were thinking about convenient movement here.
- Views of Sliabh Mish. Not exactly an amazing mountain to look at in my personal opinion.
I am joint owner of this property(wife). I am a regular reader but have never posted before. Surprised to see it mentioned, so here goes.
True, the house is close to a busy road and is not a large house. However, if a suitable hedge was planted, this would cut down on noise and add privacy.
There is plenty of room to add an extension.
Regarding ceiling height upstairs, I am over 6ft tall and this has never been an issue.
Anyway, the house has been on the market for over 2 years and hasn’t sold.
There have been viewings, but no takers. Overpriced obviously.
I would appreciate an honest evaluation from some posters out there, even it will be like a kick in the bollocks.
A few things.
Busy road + noise = plant a hedge.
House on the small side = extend.
Low ceilings upstairs = all dormer ceilings slope in places.
It looks roomy enough up there in the photos.
Castlemaine village doesn’t have a lot going for it(I’m being polite) but it is well located.
Houses around here still overpriced.
Whats the real value of this gaff - 150,000?
I was looking at dingle area but they’re seriously deluded back there - I had to restrain myself from laughing out loud at times.
Billy, I thought that you were the vendor from the first few lines of your post. If you are, you’re trying to sell to a tough crowd here. 
I’m not the vendor.
I did consider this house but now I have given up on buying anything.
Reading the posts here certainly helped me decide.
Vendor’s first post was in the moderation queue awaiting approval (an anti-spam measure).
A lot done, more to do.
It’s not the worst value house in the general Milltown/Castlemaine area at that price but still I believe it to be over-valued.
Budget has not kicked in yet.
People who are working in Government related employment, and that’s a very large number of persons down in Kerry will be getting reductions soon in the new year as well as the already substantial increases in fuel costs which are a necessary fact of living in this part of the world.
Let me do an assessment of practical build costs of a modern version of such a house.
- Foundations with Radon Protection etc.: 10,000
- Walls 30,000
- Roofing 15,000
- Kitchen and Bathroom Fittings 20,000
- Floorings 10,000
- Final Decorations, Electrics and Plumbing 20,000
Add in contingency of about another 15,000
So I think we’re at about 130K or so.
Add 20,000 for site value (I’m not listening to the argument about 80K average site value!)
So 150K.
I think I’ve been very generous with my numbers.
I think it will sell for about 145K or so in the present market.
Vendor, I think this house is worth max 150k in the present market.
I know this house (I’m from the area) and would consider it at that price.
Otherwise you may sit tight and hope that the zinc deposits in Castlemaine are viable to mine.
This house is sitting on one of the old quarry/mines right?
Connemara mining might cpo the house yet
“Sale Agreed”.
Yes very possible that it has come to that. Maybe or maybe not.
I do hope so for the vendor.
I think based on what Billy and I had earlier predicted versus the asking price of 155K that the sale price was in fact in and around the 145K to 150K mark. And yes the only real people who know the actual price will be the vendor and the buyer and their legal or sale agents etc. But it does show the value of the realisitc apppiclation of assessment.
Well done conor1. I hope the sale completes for you guys soon - congradulations.
“sale agreed”, lets wait and see. On the market for 2 1/2years.
A surveyor friend of mine has valued a few houses in Kerry lately. He reckons 140k max at present.
He knows some of the auctioneers down there, so he has some insider info.
I will post if I get any definite news.
Personally, I think this house is a good buy at anything <150k.
At least the vendor was realistic with asking price in the end (if this is the end).
Having sorted out our mortgage & saved up a deposit we finally agreed a sale on this house which as you are aware has been on the market for 2 1/2 years. We were delighted to be purchasing our first home, we paid the deposit, arranged the valuer & instructed a surveyor, we also gave notice to our landlord that we would be leaving our rented accomodation.
After 4 weeks we recieved THE PHONECALL to say the vendor was not in a positon to sell the house.
So here we are, over a thousand euros out of pocket, all packed up and as they say nowhere to go!!!
To anyone who ever considered buying this house count yourself lucky!!
We have since been advised that this house has been taken off the market & is no longer for sale… If only we had known this 4 weeks ago!!!
Sorry to hear your story.
It sounds like the bank might have scuppered the deal if there was any NE involved. The vendor might be just as pissed off as you.
Just a theory.
Sorry to hear this.
Smells of NE scenario to me as well. Banks are playing hardball.
Will vendor post again I wonder?
Do you reckon he’ll come back with an offer to refund miffy’s €1K expenses?
If it’s not in a position to sell, why was it “for sale”.
The E.A is surely at fault here, and is guilty of “false advertising”.
So who gets the 1k in this case??
An utterly bizarre thread. What are the chances that half of Castlemain tunes in to the pin for the first time on the one thread - just when there’s a house for sale?
I don’t buy it. 