Cheap Irish Homes host Maggie Molloy has said her show “covers an area that Room to Improve doesn’t” – saying not everyone has a big budget.
Maggie hosts the RTE series alongside building engineer Kieran McCarthy as they help people find Ireland’s best home bargains and fixer-uppers.
She said Cheap Irish Homes is a series that would speak to potential buyers in a more “realistic way” who don’t have hundreds of thousands of euros to spend as is often seen on Dermot Bannon’s Room To Improve.
Maggie said: “It does cover an area that Room to Improve doesn’t. There are groups of people in Ireland – there are loads of people who can’t afford the budget that Room to Improve have and they need to also know what to do.
"They need to be shown what to do. They have money to spend. They are a massively important part of the economy, they’re spending money getting work done on their houses, they’re just not spending that much.
“I think those people need to be encouraged as well. A lot of people look at shows that are very high end and they can go well, sure I’ll never have that kind of money.
“But it is nice to see it can be done, not just on a budget but in a realistic way,” she said laughing.
“In a way that is attainable for normal people in normal jobs, who are working 9-5 and aren’t necessarily earning a barrister’s salary. I think it’s nice to go ‘look we know you are out there.’”
Maggie shares her own personal experience about buying a bargain and fixing it up for a more affordable price.
The presenter first bought her own home in the early 2000's for just €80,000 in Tipperary when she was 23 years of age.
“I think even if we were doing this in the middle of the Celtic Tiger, there are still lessons that people need to take home with them. For me with my place, it was don’t try to do everything the week you get the house.
“I would’ve moved into it, and I would’ve gotten my basics things in like my electricity in and upgraded, make sure I could get the place warm.
“What I like to look at is if I can convince people not to just walk into a house and go right, how much is it up to spec – now Dermot will give you the budget for that. That’s the best of everything with all the finishes you want.
“I think you can buy a house for €70,000 and it needs work done on it and you can come in and spend €40,0000 or you can spend €200,000 on doing it up. The trick is keeping it a cheap Irish house after you buy it.
“But really if you don’t have a massive budget, you need to tone that down a bit. I can hold off on the marble countertops for maybe the first five years.
“We all want our houses insulated but when you move in first you can insulate the rooms that you are going to live in first, then save up and insulate another room.
“You can actually do one bit at a time. I think young people find it hard to get their head around that because they see shows out there, they see it in magazines that basically come in and pay a fortune to get other people to do the work for a very short time scale. Time is money. That is what you’re paying the extra money for.”
Maggie hopes to find a new bunch of participants for her new series, which is set to air later this year.
“Every year I keep calling out to people who are willing to get their hands dirty so not just wanting a cheap house but also wanting to save one of those old houses that are out there in the countryside – they’re my big passion project above anything else. It’s trying to get people into them and trying to get a bit of use out of them, so I always love when people choose them over the bungalow.
“People are so used to looking at houses online that they tend to discard houses…the thing is the bargains are there to be had. You need to look at the listing that doesn't appeal to people.
“It’s looking at the listings that are a little bit more unfortunate looking and having a closer look at them.
“Seeing ivy and something overgrown is not the end of the world.
“A weekend with your family and a strimmer can help,” she said laughing.
She said she would love to see buyers who love a good challenge.
“I would like to see people who think they could do this, but everybody is telling them they can’t. I would love to see people have that spark in them and they want to do this for years and they just never really been brave enough to just go 'I'm going to apply for this.'
“Me and Kieran are here to encourage them,” she added.
Applicants must be available for filming over a number of days between April and September 2022.
To apply to take part in the show, please email: cheapirishhomes@cameoproductions.ie
