New-to-market properties

In this week's review of the property scene, estate agent Trevor Cooper considers the advantages of viewing a property to reveal the true character of a house and starts with examining several island-wide properties.

LAST week sampled properties new to the market in St Peter Port. Today considers the latest properties available island wide, parish by parish.

Preliminary drive-pasts are worthwhile but, tempting as it is, a property should not be judged from the road. Even precise details and copious photographs cannot reveal the essence of a house. Viewing really is essential, and not just an estate agent's cliche, to get the true impression of a property.

Resembling a granite cottage, Mandra House along a private lane off Les Landes in the Forest is actually a modern bungalow recently upgraded to an impeccable standard and for sale at £895,000. The attention to detail is best seen walking through the light and spacious accommodation, including three double bedrooms each with en suite facilities. The enormous lounge has a 'glass wall' opening onto a south-facing terrace and double doors leading to a large dining room. An impressive kitchen/breakfast room has doors opening onto another part of the garden and is linked to a double garage. And yet very little of this is visible from the lane.

Stepping past the front door is also recommended at Sunny Vista along La Hougue Anthan in St Peter's. Formerly the wing of a larger cottage and for sale at £425,000, the property is superbly presented having recently been extended and renovated by the current owners. It is deliciously quirky in the way it makes use of every square inch, yet there is still room for a separate fully-fitted kitchen and a double and single bedroom. Outside is a courtyard rear garden and paved parking for two cars in front.

As its name suggests, a pristine late-Victorian property called Les Varendes is near the parish boundaries of St Peter Port and St Andrew's but actually in the Castel. The central location and comprehensive range of accommodation will appeal to families, especially those with school-age children and, if required, might well accommodate a small wing. For £820,000, the price includes a large garage, parking for several cars and a south-facing garden that must be as child and pet safe as any.

Guernsey has plenty of pretty cottages and Valence Cottage is of the style that seems to epitomise the Vale. Actually in the smaller, detached part of the Vale (Vingtaine de l'Epine) and available at £500,000, this Heritage-listed cottage has been sympathetically restored by the current owners to retain plenty of character. Unlike some cottages, the two first-floor bedrooms are generous doubles with plenty of headroom and the side wing can be separate or incorporated within the accommodation.

Holly Cottage is for sale at £825,000 and makes the most of its tranquil location close to St Saviour's Church. The cavity-built chalet bungalow with dressed granite facade is immaculate throughout. Recent additions include a new contemporary kitchen and en suite shower room, but the best is a stylish garden room overlooking the beautifully landscaped rear garden that is private, south facing and includes a swim spa and sun-trap terrace.

St Sampson's reaches further west across Guernsey than some people imagine and La Chaumiere is in a quiet lane much closer to Saumarez Park than to the Bridge. Available at £785,000, the chalet bungalow is larger inside than it appears from the road, thanks mainly to a garage conversion and side extension and to an amazing family room across the back with vaulted roof and masses of glass overlooking the rear garden. There are up to five bedrooms and also spacious seating and dining options to choose from.

Nothing to do with the French car manufacturer, Courtil Renault is the name of the field at Rue Maze, St Martin's, on which Portholme Properties built a row of seven houses in 2000. It is an attractive development with walled-in front gardens uncluttered by cars as each house has a garage and parking at the back. Ete Radai is the first in the row and is for sale at £520,000, having been purchased by the current owners from new.

We now find ourselves in Rue de la Vallee, near the Portelet end of Rocquaine in Torteval. Vue des Rocques is a 1983 bungalow with a large lounge and a large kitchen/diner leading onto a conservatory. New to market at £595,000, the bungalow also has three bedrooms and both a bathroom and a shower room. Outside is a detached garage, manageable gardens and plenty of parking on a tarmac drive.

There are many examples of bungalows similar to Sistiana in Rue du Monnaie, St Andrew's, that have a hip roof (pyramid shape), pebble dash walls and painted quoins on the corners. Some, like Sistiana, which is for sale at £399,000, are dated but these bungalows are good contenders for refurbishment. Concrete block walls, for example, are easier to work with than granite and some have floorboards that polish up well and allow new pipes and cables to be laid underneath.

The large windows give plenty of natural light, suiting either a retro or contemporary finish.

There will be more about refurbishing properties next week.