WATCH: Cork woman quoted €468,000 to build a house decides to do it herself for €200,000

CORK woman Deirdre O’Sullivan had all but abandoned her dream of buying or building her home, despite living in a mobile home for three years to save to make it happen.

As a single, self-employed entrepreneur, the 36-year-old was coming up against challenge after challenge when it came to securing a mortgage.

At the same time, the price she was being quoted by quantity surveyors for her design – nearly half a million euro – was out of her reach. It seemed like an impossible situation.

Right now though, the foundations have been poured for her two-bed, €200,000 bungalow, the timber frame is up, and the roof is about to go on.

“It’s finally happening,” said the Blarney woman.

But how did it happen?

“I let go of my ‘need’ of the house,” said Deirdre, owner of the well-known business Style 25, which specialises in hand-painted kitchens and furniture.

“I set it free, and stopped focussing on the ‘lack’, and when I did that it started to come together.”

She’s a believer in manifesting things into your life, and if you’re looking for evidence, swing by her building site any day. It was a little more than that though . She also took a lot of practical steps including living in a mobile home, admittedly a super-stylish one, since 2019 to save money on rent. She bought the mobile on DoneDeal for €6,000, revamped it completely with her unique style, and has lived in it in her parents’ garden since 2019.

“The plan was always to build or buy a cheap derelict place to renovate, as I realised I could never afford to buy. It’s just taken me this long to make it happen,” she said.

Step one was to come up with a design for her three-bed bungalow. That was the easy bit. She wasn’t prepared to be quoted €468,000 by a quantity surveyor to build it. That wasn’t going to happen on her watch. Even if the bank would have given her the money, Deirdre was certain she wanted a sustainable mortgage, that she wouldn’t be a slave to.

So my dad and I went off and priced everything ourselves, and brought that down to €230,000, without employing a contractor.

Deirdre also re-evaluated her needs, and dropped the third bedroom to bring the house build in at €200,000.

“I didn’t mind that at all – when you think how much longer you’d have to work to make up that difference, it made sense. I applied for a smaller mortgage and got it, and with my savings was able to get the project underway in February on a site gifted by my parents which I’m so grateful for,” she said.

Not surprisingly, Deirdre is very ‘hands-on’ and she’s being helped by her dad who saved her a ‘fortune’ by clearing the site and putting down all the services.

“He’s a retired entrepreneur and is the most amazing man. He’s knows so much about building, so I suppose that explains why it’s in my blood too!” she said.

She also did a building course with ‘Common Knowledge’, a not-for-profit social enterprise in north Clare who run various constructions courses, with a focus on sustainablity.

“I’d have known the fundamentals before that, but they really gave me the skills and confidence I needed. It also made me figure out what I could do, but what I didn’t want to do, if that makes sense. So, while I knew I could put up the timber frame, I decided I didn’t want to take that on myself and I employed a carpenter, as well as a roofer and plasterer.”

She’s externally insulating the timber-frame building herself, inspired by architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and wrapping it in larch she burned: “It’s a Japanese technique called Shou Sugi Ban where you char the wood, that seals the timer and brings resin to the surface, which you then oil to make it pretty-much maintenance free for your lifetime,” she said.

Her flat roof is made from a very long-lasting membrane, called EPDM rubber.

Instead of going down a tech approach to make her home eco-friendly, she’s keeping it very straightforward.

I will have an air to heat pump and under floor heating. Services will go in for solar panels, but I’m not thinking beyond that yet. 

"It is, though, my life-long goal to be off grid, but rather than looking at technology I like to keep things very simple,” she said.

That’s the same approach she takes with her work.

“I absolutely love my work, but I don’t agree with the philosophy of working for a living. Of course we need money, but I don’t get caught up in the rat race of life and allow time to enjoy the garden, foraging and the magic of the woods. I use the business to make what I need, and keep my outgoings to a minimum. The mortgage is my only commitment and I’ve kept that as sustainable as possible,” she said.

As well as running Style 25, Deirdre is also studying Vitalist Nutrition and Iridology in the Irish College of Herbal Medicine. Her background is art, interior design, but she was inspired to train as a master herbalist, after her own experiences with conventional medicine.

“At one stage I was told that I most likely had rheumatoid arthritis, which wasn’t the case at all, and I’ve always found I’ve had much better outcomes after seeing a shaman or a kinesiologist. So from that experience I wanted to help others,” she said.

Deirdre also describes herself as a spiritual person, and very connected to nature.

"Living in the mobile home and being so close to nature clinched that change for me,” she said, and she plans to incorporate a healing space in her new home to run day retreats.

Life must be hectic: running her business, studying, and building a house?

Not at all, she insists!

“I decided from the start that the house build wouldn’t be all-consuming, and as I don’t have a contractor (to save money obviously) I can move at my own pace. This is something I’ve wanted since I was a child and for a long time I didn’t think it would happen. It’s such a privilege that I can do this that I refuse to get stressed.”

What’s happening with her gorgeous mobile home?

“My younger brother David is saving for his house and is going to move in, which I’m delighted about. I think it would have broken my heart to sell it and see it move off site,” she said.

In return, he’s wiring her house for her. It’s like the O’Sullivans have their very own circular economy going on in Blarney!

“I’m the eldest and have two younger brothers. We joke that it’s like a hippy commune!” said Deirdre.

Her advice to anyone else in her situation is not to give up.

“If I was a different type of person, I’d probably have given up completely after getting that quote of almost €500,000 to build the house. I’d have abandoned it there and then. So it’s important not to take things ‘as gospel’.

Do your research, and you could very well end up knocking years off your mortgage payments like I did. I wouldn’t have built it at all if it had meant being a slave to it.

More practically, she points out she saved a huge sum by buying some of her windows second hand.

“They were never actually even installed, and it saved me so much. It means I’ve been able to afford ones I really wanted for another part of the house. And yes, of course I’ve started making my own kitchen!”

She also advises people to seek out advice: “I did find it daunting, even with amazing family and friends.

“But I’ve been so pleasantly surprised to find people out there, contacting me online, offering help and expertise if I need it.”

Deirdre feels we’re on the cusp of starting a movement, a community of people who will help each other realise their housing dreams.

“People don’t have a choice, it simply has to happen.”