Hunterswood

L

loughquinn

Guest
Hi All, Thinking of buying a house in the Hunterswood development in Knocklyon. Has anyone any feedback on this estate or area. Any good/ bad points, advice is appreciated!!

Thanks
 
Don't know what the actual houses are like but I think It's a bit of a stretch to call the area knocklyon (I know thats what the estate agents are calling it in their promo material). AFAIK Knocklyon is Dublin 16 and Hunterswood is in Ballycullen which is D24 (more Firhouse than Knocklyon). More Lawlorness form estate agents
 
I live there. You'd never guess *rolls eyes*

Actually, Ballycullen is on the cusp. It's slap bang between D16 and D24. I've gotten a lot of post that has D16 on it and I gave out my address as D24. I'm not a snob.

As for the area - I love it. I came from Rathfarnham originally.
There's a few downsides to mention...but only one that should cause you any worry.

It's very damn windy up here. I mean seriously windy - due to proximity to mountains and height.

Secondly, there's some settled travellers beside Hunterswood. They've been there for a long long time. Longer than we have. They're supposedly very nice people and are settling in houses there now. Unfortunately, they have relatives who visit them who are a bit wild and I've heard stories of people having cars robbed (only heard this once). I've also seen some taveller kids running riot around the complex at night and causing some mischief...but nothing major. Stuff like this bothers me a lot...and I'm not that bothered by it. I've been there nearly 5 months now.
I know a heap of people living up there - some as long as two years and it was an issue in their minds before they moved in but they've never had any hassle. Do your research and have a look around the travellers site. I think a lot would depend on your proximity to them to be honest. They're not near me and I've only had a few kids running around the house at night once. They ripped up some styrofoam that was on the ground and threw some mud around. They also smashed a diesel light generator that the builders put up...but they never seem to target private owners property (that I'm aware).

Personally, it's a great place to live and I'd advise it to anyone. Build quality is excellent and houses are really nice and well designed. Sound proofing is not the mae west - but you'll get that in ANY new house/apartment in Dublin.
 
Thanks for that - do you have any info on the road that will be joining the old court road to the ballycullen road via the estate.
 
...

The ballycullen road divides dublin 16 and dublin 24. As you go up it from mortons D16 is on your left, D24 on your right. Hunterswood is on the right so should be D24, but hang on a minute, it seems that somebody somewhere has decreed that woodstown and hunterswood are in D16 even though they are on the D24 side! I live in firhouse and get post that is addressed to D16 -doesn't mean I live in D16.

If it is An Post who have decided that these estates are D16 well then they simply should not have that power as its blatantly open to more Lawloresque bribery.

Ballycullen is a lovely area though - the postal code shouldnt matter that much, but its the fact that theyre squeezing a few more grand for it that bothers me.

One point to note is the bus service is terrible - the 49 has to be the worst bus in Dublin, though it always was but this has gotten worse now that it has the extra ballycullen area public and to serve which adds to passenger numbers and the length of the route - and they havent bothered adding more buses!

Traffic in the area is terrible at rush hour due to delays getting onto the M50 but it could be worse.

I guess its a matter of taste, and no offence to the 'Hunterswood' poster, but I personally think Hunterswood are the ugliest houses and the ugliest estate I have ever seen. Theyre like lego houses and the density is ludicrous - its as densely packed as an apartment block in town without the advantage of actually being in town.

I have a friend who lives there and agrees with the sound insulation problem, though this is a widespread problem (the building regulations should definitely be tightened on this one). The houses in Woodstown though, are, in my opinion, a different ball game altogether - very spacious and look a lot nicer.
 
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Aside from the where is it where isn't it stuff and from a more practical point of view
There are two very good Primary Schools in Knocklyon one of which is a Gaelscoil.Ballyboden St Endas GAA club is close by as well. Also superquinn in knocklyon is fairly handy -there is a set of shops in Ballycullen but I don't think there're big enough for weekly shopping.
As mentioned above the 49 is a disaster its completely unreliable and in the mornings it can take forever to get into town I've been over an hour late for work because of it in the past. It really is the type of place you would have to have a car to get to/from.
 
Re: ..

Hi Loughquinn

I live in Hunterswood too and apart from the fact that its on the southside, I love it.

We have been in our house for 14 months and have had no problems re the halting site. A few traveller kids knocked on the door one night looking for money but we ran them off. We haven't seen them since.

The traffic can be mental in the mornings, but it really depends on what time you leave at. Anytime after 8.15 and it could take 15 minutes to get onto the M50. It can take up to 30 minutes to get to the Spawell roundabout. We only use the 49 at the weekends. The 15 is quite a good service but its about a 20 minute walk to the nearest bus stop.

The houses are well finished and the builders have been very accomodating, coming back to fix things that we missed in our snag. We are semi-d and to be honest we rarely hear any noise from next door.

When I saw the estate originially my first reaction was "lego land" but the houses are so well laid out inside.

As for the postal address, its D24 but the area is Ballycullen. And it does state this on the brochure. Some people in the estate use D.16 but then some people who live in Firhouse say they live in Templeogue....go figure.

As regards location, everything you could want is on the doorstep.
It takes 2 minutes to get onto the M50 (except at rush hour), Superquinn in Knocklyon is close by as is the Square and Tesco in Rathfarnham.
Liffey Valley and Blanchardstown are a 15/20 minute drive at teh weekends. The new Dundrum shopping centre is also fairly close by.
The Spar in Woodstown is fine for emergency supplies but fairly expensive.
Scholars & the Knocklyon Inn are both within walking distance if you fancy a pint.
TopTops chinese take away in Old Bawn is really good.
There are a good selection of schools in the area.

Best of luck with your decision...
 
Re: ..

Obviously I'm a bit biased here...but "lego-land" is certainly not how I'd have described Hunterswood. It IS densely populated...that's for sure. But I've never had the feeling of being cramped at all. Most of the newer houses and apartments overlook large green areas.
In fact...I would have thought that the term "lego-land" described lots and lots of the same types of houses in the same area. Considering the diversity of houses and various designs used in the development I'd have thuoght it was a far cry from lego-looking :)
...but...each to their own I guess.
 
Re: ...Hunterswood

I'm just wondering given that the bus service isn't great and the lack of amenities for the amount of houses in the Ballycullen/ Firhouse area would there be much of a resale value on the Hunterswood houses?
If we were to sell in 2/3 years time would there be much of an increase in the value of the houses?
 
Re: ...Hunterswood

Hi loughquinn,

Actually, there is a good list of amenities in the area as a previous poster outlined. It's more than adequate for me. A good number of shops on my doorstep (5 min walk), also Superquinn 3 min drive, the Square (10 min drive), schools (although I have no children). I can't comment on the bus service as I don't use it but I know someone up there who does and he has no issue with its regularness or reliabiliyt getting to and from work.

As for the possible increase in value - I doubt anyone can answer that, unless they have a crystal ball.

Personally, it's a fantastic area and I'm very pleased with where I am. If I were you I wouldn't try to guess what the market is going to do. That's a mugs game.

If estate agents are supposed to be people in the know, which I doubt they are, I have two female friends (both estate agents) who've just recently bought up there as their primary residence and first property.
 
Just reading the last post and wanted to make a point about the bus service.

I have lived in Firhouse all my life and the 49 or 75 are not regular or reliable, morning noon or night. I love the area but if you are considering using the bus service to town or sandyford your mad.

The buses in Firhouse are terrible and will have you tearing your hair out. Echoed in an earlier post as well!!
 
I have to agree with Hunterswood….one of our neighbours works for the selling agent and the girl in the sales office also told us she bought in the estate

As for the resale-ability…a few houses have been re-sold since we moved in and the “for sale” signs were never up for too long. Take into account that anyone buying would have to pay stamp duty and this to me says it all.

Our house type has risen in price from €363K to €420Kish in 18 months which is a good return in anyones book.
 
I just bought an apartment in Hunterswood and I am preparing to move in this week, fingers crossed. Just a note on the transport issue, I know that the bus routes are awful up that way but there is a link road being developed to Stocking Lane which may help take some of the traffic off the lower part of Ballycullen rd.
For anybody looking to buy up there I would make alternative arrangements to get into town such as motorbike, cycle, or whatever as long as it doesnt involve driving / getting the bus.
One would hope that the public transport would get dramatically developed in the near future with all the develeopment that the area has undergone in the past year or two.
 
We lived in Woodstown ... just before Hunterswood approaching from Ballycullen road ... for 8 years until earlier this year. I have been told by a current resident that traffic in the area is appalling ... some people in Woodstown are leaving their cars parked in the local shops overnight and walking over with their kids in the morning to avoid the delay in actually getting out of Woodstown - due to increased traffic from Hunterswood. The local Spar is quite good but not much else on offer by way of shops. Bus service was always bad. There is a very good school - Colmcilles. Local Chinese not great but Top Tops as previous poster mentioned very good. Woodstown was also exposed to the elements ... we had a curtain over front door to keep wind out in winter.
 
The road that leaves from mortons pub towards hunterstown ,all on the left is Dublin 16, all on the right is dublin 24 firhouse Tallaght where I live and am quite happy I remember a fellow I worked wih telling me he had bought a house in Templeogue very nice I said what was the name of the est Ballycullen he reply Ok so my house has just gone up 200000 wuro I said , not to please to say the least, firhouse is in Tallaght, but I did hear that from old court area down to mortons this might be changed to Dublin 16W, not same house only goes up 100000 I wish
 
On my way in from work this evening I noticed a few cars parked outside the sales office. I went out later and on the way back at about 9 there were 3 cars parked up....looked as if the occupants were queueing for the sales office to open. Checked on myhome.ie and the next phase is on sale on THURSDAY:eek: Is the world gone mad? Its only Monday and its freezing out there...
 
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