New houses are not everyone’s cup of tea.

Besides the lack of stock and the hefty price tag (even so-called affordable homes are well beyond the reach of many house hunters) there are still those of us who appreciate a bit of character and story in our four walls.

And if you’re ready and willing to roll up your sleeves and take on a renovation project in 2025, there are plenty of properties to choose from. You may even find you qualify for the Vacant Property Grant, through which you can get up to €50,000 to renovate a vacant property and up to €70,000 if the property is derelict, once you have the fund necessary to carry out the works first.

Here are three seaside Cork homes in need of TLC:

1. Bay View, Ballinglanna, Clonakilty, Co Cork 

The original cottage on this site is believed to date to the 1890s and is one of 200 built by 1900 in the greater Clonakilty area under the Labourers’ Acts. As well as having spectacular coastal views, it’s located within a short stroll of Ballinglanna Beach and Slipway, around 7.5km south of Clonakilty town.

With four bedrooms in the current layout, it requires a full renovation and refurbishment but it’s full of potential; the building can be taken back to its original core cottage or extended, taking advantage of the prior extensions.

2. Sea View, Adrigole, Co. Cork, 
€200,000, Sherry Fitzgerald O’Neill 

Yes, it needs work, but this cute stone-built cottage has three bedrooms, one bathroom and tons of character.

Set in an immensely private location, the 0.6 acres of mature grounds contain mature specimen trees and shrubs.and two stone outhouses, all a 15-minute drive from both Castletownbere and Glengarriff.

3. Maggie’s, Caher, Kilcrohane, Kilcrohane, Co. Cork 
€249,000, Penninsula Properties

This four-bedroom, two-bathroom detached farmhouse boasts attached storage rooms and five individual stone out-buildings on around half an acre.

Located on a charming and quiet country lane with expansive sea, country and mountain views, the property needs modernisation but has plenty of development potential; there’s plenty of room to expand the main house to the west (amazing sea views).