Maggie Molloy has one of the toughest jobs in Ireland. As the perpetually-chipper host of RTÉ's Cheap Irish Homes, she has been tasked with finding dream homes across the country for potential buyers on a budget.
Teaming up with Building Engineer Kieran McCarthy, Molloy is once again on a mission to find the country's most reasonably priced properties. From forgotten farm houses to bargain bungalows, she's using her eagle eye to find true value in some unique Irish homes.
In 2023, at a time when house prices are skyrocketing, how has she found continuing the series?
"Value is kind of relative, isn't it? We will still look for the cheapest out there and I try to open people's eyes to finding value even when stuff is getting more expensive," she tells RTÉ Lifestyle.
"There are still houses out there that are great value," she insists, "and then there are houses that are... embellishing."
Behind the scenes, Molloy has a small but mighty team making "hundreds of phone calls and e-mails" to estate agents, and viewing countless properties around the country for their batch of potential buyers.
"It's still a small show and it's very much a personal journey for me with these houses. These are real people, these are not actors coming onto TV houses, and they're very much looking for places, so it's very important to me that they step away having come at least one step closer.
"You can find great houses but sometimes they don't work together," she adds. "We want to tell a nice story and it's important when we have house hunters who are very set in their ways that we find ways to open their eyes a little bit. Sometimes by not doing that, they're missing out on value."
As house prices rise, Maggie and Kieran want to show that there are still gems to be found - once you look in the right places. Of course, the right place might be just outside of your comfort zone.
"We need to get some enthusiasm back for rural Ireland," she says, noting that post-pandemic working conditions has seen more people than ever working remotely.
"The enthusiasm comes first and once that comes, the people will come, and the money will come, and the incentives for people being out here. We're just still in the early stages of it, but it's lovely to be a part of it."
"Once we have decent broadband, we can get people out," she adds, explaining that by creating more viable work hubs, we may see life return to the country's smallest towns.
"This could be the life's breath for those small little villages," she insists. "Co-working spaces so everyone's not just at home. If you're at home and you don't have great broadband, these spaces could open up these towns, and then you can network with people around you. It's a fantastic idea, I just hope it won't take another five years to catch on."
As well as house hunting, this series will see Molloy take a deep dive into the recent Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant, showcasing exactly what homebuyers can do with the €50,000 being made available for the refurbishment of vacant properties.
"The grant coming in is such a big thing," she explains. "It means there's not as much pressure on people's budgets because you can get approval in principle for this grant before you buy, which is a massive thing."
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Having studied such a vast array of properties, Molloy says that the best advice she has for those looking to buy is to forget the Instagram aesthetic.
Instead of funnelling money into having the most perfectly presentable home, she insists that people should focus on making things cosy and comfortable as quickly (and cheaply) as possible.
"It's been a long road for me as well," she admits, "but you kind of get to a stage where you realise that there is value to what you love. If you fill your house with what you love, it doesn't have to mimic something you see on the internet. A lot of the time, those things aren't real."
"You have to have a bit of confidence to just lash stuff up on to the walls that you love," she laughs.
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Her other piece of advice is to find a place with good bones because if a house is water tight you will likely have far fewer issues down the line.
"If a house if dry, you have a world of hurt off your plate," she says, adding that potential buyers should check for ceilings with dips, have "a little bounce" on the floors, and check for rotten timber along the stairs, skirting boards and windows.
"If the timber is good, it means that the house has been heated continuously and dry continuously over the space of its life, so that's a really good tip."
For more great tips, tune into Cheap Irish Homes on RTÉ One on Thursday, September 7 at 8:30pm.
