Sunday, 29 August 2010

Take Two (or Three) in Carton House, Maynooth.

Remember during the housing boom-mirage, the Irish Times property people did a "Take Five for €xxxxxx" feature?  It might still be running for all I know, but they usually picked out 5 properties, one in Ireland and the others abroad, for a given amount of money.

So, just supposing the figure was €700,000, the Irish offering was a bog-standard, three-bed semi-D in Dundrum, and the foreign equivalents were normally a rambling chateau in France, a mountain-top Schloss in Germany, a crib-style pad with swimming pool and quadruple garage in Florida, and half an apartment block in Budapest.

Most readers will know I often drive to Maynooth for my beer and other less essential foodstuffs, and the odd time I might stop off at Carton House for a ramble around the demesne.   Sometimes I wear very dark glasses to protect my eyes from the garish Argyle jumpers of the golfers as I pass the course there.  I don't want my good walk spoiled.

There are some lovely houses there too, and if you were self-employed - a drug-dealer for instance - it would be an idyllic place to live.  For wage slaves like most of us, though, it would be out of bounds as the hike out of the grounds and the further trek into Maynooth for public transport would be too arduous.  Then there is the price.

But just supposing you found yourself a lucrative sideline based around mainlining - or you won the Lotto -  you might be presented with a dilemma in choosing between the two properties featured in Gombeen Nation's very own Take Two in Carton House.

The asking price for one is €1,010,000.  It boasts four bedrooms and measures 1,897 square feet, according to MyHome.  The other four-bedroom house has a tag of €735,000 and measures 2,700 square feet, with 400 of those in the basement.  The smaller one looks bigger in the pictures, but I assume that is due to the design being over three levels rather than two.

I suppose it depends on how important a condescending, bird's-eye view of the golfing hoi polloi from your bedroom window is for you?  Or maybe you want to see the police coming earlier and have more time to flush your stash down one of the toilets?

Then again, you could make it a Take Three and simply go for yet another one that is identical to the "cheaper" offering above, with an asking price of €1,775,000 - over one million more!.

I assume the decor must be considerably better.  Or the vendors don't have a calendar.

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5 comments:

Ella said...

Hi GM and Blog readers, here's the link for that Snaeppchen in Maynooth at EUR 1,775,000
http://www.myhome.ie/residential/brochure/106-south-leinster-woods-carton-demesne-maynooth-co-kildare/115243

@PonyBoy, you are quite correct GM is always bangin on about Maynooth. I'm sure he could hole up in that Snaeppchen whilst training in the seminary. Plenty of space there to have all the lads around!

Anonymous said...

gday mr gm a wonderfull find indeed an ideal investment for a senator travel expenses etc dont you know and why pay 735000 when you can get the same thing for 1.70000 is there a helipad i must tell my friend PARIS about this if i can find which jail she is residing CHEERIO BH

Dakota said...

Yep GM thats it, you noted the most important problem with these houses (and 90% of the rest, of the housing stockkkkkk???!!!) there in the middle of nowhere (Ouh just imagine, having to listen to all those new weird clipped D4 accents, all day???AHHHHHHHH!!!). If you don't have a car you're stuffed. Forget the train, more than likely you'd have to drive to the station....anyway.....Great joke but not if you're walking....

NO PUBLIC TRANSPORT....... If you do happen by a bus, well lets just say, they aren't the friendliest of people, doing the driving! Just think for half the price, you could be in a civilised country....

http://www.sifex.co.uk/PropertyListDept.asp?DepartmentNumber=63&deptname=Puy%20de%20Dome&awebtype=Chateau&source=Chateau%20Portfolio

The Gombeen Man said...

@ Ella. Hope it's not altar boy lads you're talking about, Ella.

@ BH. Maybe a few years back it was a badge of honour for some to pay an odd mill more here and there? No heli-pad, as far as I know... but then again, there are no helicopters anymore either. Tell Paris I'm thinking of her in this difficult time.

@ Dakota. Yes, same old story D. You might know that I've been looking to move for a while now, and saw a place that boasted being a quarter of a mile from the new Pace station on the Dunboyne line. Guess what? It's a at least a mile and a half away, and there is no footpath to the station on the newly built roads. It's a nation of (mostly) gobshites, I'm afraid.

Those links look very tempting. Maybe a crash course in vine nurturing (or whatever it's called) is the answer??

Dakota said...

LOL GM, a mile and a half? Bad enough if you're driving that distance but walking along boreens (newly built roads?lol). No thanks.

That course could be worth it GM.....Ah though, the traffic, weather, the contankerous and increasingly offensive nature of, well, everything on the island, is really grand and well worth the money.

Vive La Difference!!!