Of all the enticements offered with a property in the quest to sell, the most bizarre must be that of Indonesian widow Wina Lia, who offered herself as a wife to prospective buyers in 2015. The unconventional stunt worked – Lia sold her house and bagged a husband into the bargain.
Opus, a luxurious pad in Beverly Hills was less successful when even the addition of a Lamborghini and Rolls Royce – both in lurid gold – failed to attract buyers to the $100 million pad, which is now reduced to $85 million minus the cars and Damien Hirst artworks.
Closer to home, at 25 Seascape, the luxury apartment complex in Clontarf built in 2015, the extra is a more modest 2005 Audi A4.
The owner Michael Lafferty, chairman of banking research and intelligence company Lafferty Global, is offering his car as an extra to accompany his three-bed apartment in Clontarf. With a busy international travel schedule Lafferty says he rarely uses the property, and has placed it and the car in the basement on the market through Sherry FitzGerald with an asking price of €700,000.
Built by MKN Property Group, the apartments achieved extraordinary prices when they launched. Penthouses sold for €900,000-€1.09 million at a time when 212 Clontarf Road, a superb period property, achieved €900,000 – indicating the attraction of Seascape to downsizers.
Number 25, purchased two years ago for €595,000 has three fine bedrooms – one of which is used as an office. With both westerly and easterly aspects, the apartment is bright, though dark curtains and a lot of furniture don’t maximise the 116sq m of space.
The property doesn’t have sea views, instead the westerly facing balcony looks out on a water feature in the landscaped gardens.
Interiors are well finished; the kitchen is by Kube with Siemens appliances and the BER rating of A1 is thanks partly to a heat recovery ventilation system, which also eradicates odours.
In addition to the size of the property, it also has lots of storage, including two units in the basement and two car parking spaces – most of the other apartments have only one.
Rental income for a three-bed unit is around €3,000 per month, and annual maintenance charges are €2,271.
There are two further apartments in the complex coming to the market, and the price tag of €800,000 for Number 17, an 87sq m two-bed unit highlights the value of sea views – which to give them their due are quite remarkable. Number 38 also with two bedrooms, and 80sq m is asking €550,000.
