She may be the star of RTÉ’s Cheap Irish Homes, but there’s nothing diva like about Maggie Molloy, the brains behind the property show that aims to reassure Irish people about their prospects of owning a home.
As one of the speakers at this year’s Women & Agriculture conference, which takes place in the Lyrath Estate in Kilkenny next week, Maggie is hoping she can inspire those searching for their dream home – who don’t have access to the astronomical asking prices the current property market commands.
Cheap Irish Homes – which evolved from the hugely successful Instagram page Cheap Irish Houses set up by Maggie in December 2018 – is now in its fourth season, having first aired in May 2020.
Alongside her co-presenter, building engineer Kieran McCarthy, Maggie has travelled the length and breadth of the country showcasing properties under €100,000. They give prospective buyers an idea of what they could achieve with an open mind and a willingness to do some of the renovation work themselves.
The show has since spawned a spin-off, Cheap European Homes, the second series of which is currently being filmed. Maggie did a week filming in Portugal earlier this month. She’s already covered France and Spain with two visits to each in recent months and will be jetting off to Italy for the final shoot in November.
“There’s so much value to be found in Europe where property is so much cheaper, but that show is a completely different animal. The people we show houses to are those who are planning to relocate permanently out of Ireland, so it is a totally different approach,” explains Maggie.
Rural yearning
Those looking for a home of their own here in Ireland have been turning to rural parts of the country in their droves.
“There are two types of people who want to move to rural Ireland, those who had to leave for education or work and want to return home; and those who were born in towns and cities but have always had a yearning to live in the country,” she says.
Maggie bought an old country farmhouse in north Tipperary in 2004, having failed to find a home within her budget in her native Wexford.
With her father’s advice ringing in her ears to buy somewhere with a good solid roof and strong walls, the once-dilapidated, 200-year-old house has been transformed over the past 20 years into a warm, cosy home that Maggie has achieved without breaking the bank.
“I was always looking for an old house and while I’d have loved to remain close to home in Wexford, I found what I wanted in the home I have. I am very sentimental – I take after my granny and my aunts in that regard – and I just love the character of older houses and the idea that they hold the stories of the families who lived there before.
“I was lucky to have Dad to advise me, but when I bought my house it had no wiring, no plumbing, no windows and no doors. It did have a good solid roof and the bones of the building were strong so I knew I could get it to where I wanted it.
“One of the first jobs I had to tackle was the wooden floor in the parlour, which had to come up. The room is almost 20 sq ft so it’s a big room and the floor was the original one, laid when the house was built.
"Dad warned me not to disturb the tassle walls underneath the beams, which were basically raised little mounds of stone and clay on which the original beams rested. So, we just lifted the floor boards, replaced the beams without touching the tassel walls and re-laid the floor.
"No damp proof or insulation or anything that modern building standards would insist we needed. That was 20 years ago and the floor is still perfect to this day. And the best part is the whole job cost us no more than €400.”
Maggie’s approach to home renovation is often at odds with her Cheap Irish Homes co-presenter.
Different perspectives
“I’m very passionate about educating people that most of the jobs to be done in a house are simple and can be done without any huge expense. This is where Kieran and I clash as he’s coming from an industry that is constantly evolving with the most modern construction methods. I will spot an issue with a house that I believe is an easy fix but he will insist the job will cost €40,000 to rectify.
“The other big difference between us is that I will show you a house for €70,000 and give you ways to move into the property by spending €110,000 in total. Kieran will show you the same house for €70,000 but by the time he’s finished, it’s costing you €370,000.
There is a lack of education in the construction sector, which focuses solely on the need to replace old with new when that isn’t always required
"Don’t get me wrong, we get on really well and the success of the show is in part down to the different perspectives we bring to the same house.
“But there is a lack of education in the construction sector, which focuses solely on the need to replace old with new when that isn’t always required. Neither is it always necessary to get an expert in.
"There’s very little I won’t have a go at trying when it comes to restoration and refurbishment, although I do draw the line at wiring and electrics and the felling of trees. I know that kind of thing could kill me.”
Kitchen makeover
Maggie plays down any sense of possessing a particular talent for DIY, but says her willingness to fail is the reason she will try and eventually succeed with most of her home projects.
“The way I’m wired, I enjoy looking at things and figuring out how they work so I come to problems with a positive mindset and take it from there,” she explains.
“I’m not afraid to make mistakes, and I’m far from precious, so I love the challenge of getting something to work again. That motivation drives a lot of what I have done down through the years. I’m also not afraid to keep at something until I crack it, especially when I know I have the ability to figure something out. I also don’t need things to be perfect, just better than they were when I started out.”
When Maggie and her husband were presented with quotes of €16,000 for a new kitchen for their farmhouse, the couple decided to look at ways of doing the job themselves.
“I simply didn’t have that kind of money lying around and to be honest if I did, I’d have put it to better use than a kitchen,” she laughs.
“I am a graphic designer so I decided to make a 3D model of the kitchen I wanted, with the space I had available and I included all the dimensions for appliances and then we went to Ikea and bought our units.
“My husband and I assembled the carcass and then my Dad came and within two hours had the kitchen installed and it is perfect. I wanted a white Shaker style kitchen and that’s what I got, but only spent €1,600 on it.
“Those are the kind of things I want people to consider as ways of saving a lot of money and still getting what they want. And yes, I know I’m lucky to have a carpenter in the family but you could get a carpenter for a day to do it and you still wouldn’t be spending the kind of money quoted by some firms.”
In case you’re wondering, Maggie figured out the plumbing for her kitchen by watching YouTube videos, which, she says, are ‘brilliant’.
My husband and I assembled the carcass and then my Dad came and within two hours had the kitchen installed and it is perfect
Maggie’s Instagram page, Cheap Irish Houses continues to showcase rural properties at bargain prices all over Ireland to her 172,000 followers. While it started out as a hobby it has turned into a lucrative earner.
“In the first six months I had about 300 followers and I thought it was going nowhere,” she says. “It wasn’t making any money and I had to make a decision as the time and effort I was putting into it wasn’t bringing any kind of reward.
“So, I decided to issue a weekly newsletter, a property digest to assess the market and to include my property of the week. Subscribers pay a weekly subscription, which has turned it into the best income stream I have.
“My mission is to show people what they can buy in rural Ireland and what they can turn these properties into by thinking outside the box and not trying to do everything at once.
“You’ll end up with the home you always dreamed of and if you end up doing some of the work yourself, you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing you achieved that dream under your own steam.”