A FIVE-bedroom home could be yours for a year – and you wouldn’t have to pay a penny of rent.
But it’s only on offer for families, and those who go in the running must fit one crucial piece of criteria.
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The home sits in a “beautiful area” not far from the seaside in Galway, Ireland in a small community-focused village.
Which is why the house is on offer – to try keep the local school alive.
Families putting their names forward for the home, in the Connemara Gaeltacht, must have children enrolled in classes.
Scoil Naomh Padraig in An Chloch Bhreac needs to keep its pupil numbers up or else it will lose a teacher – hence the offer being on the table for the 2023-2024 academic year.
Headteacher Gearóidín Uí Fhiric said she hoped there would be a lot of interest in the rent-free deal.
She told RTE: “Once the school goes, you lose that community spirit where everybody is together and it would be such a shame.”
“We have a beautiful school in a beautiful area with fantastic facilities.
“We have a pitch, a playground, yard games…an outdoor classroom in a beautiful scenic area.”
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Plus, applicants don’t have to be Irish, Ms Uí Fhiric said.
She explained the school must have at least 12 pupils to keep its two teachers.
The headteacher said if they lost one it would be the start of the end for the school, which opened in 1965.
The house was donated to the school in recent years by the Comharchumann Dhúiche Sheoigheach Teo co-op and local business ECC.
It’s not the first time a property has been up for grabs for free.
In recent months a four-bedroom home hit the market for nothing – but there was a huge catch.
And, more recently, a three-bed home came up for sale for free, but, as expected, there was a massive catch.
Meanwhile, other homes have gone under the hammer for cheap.
A property dubbed Britain’s loneliest house hit the market recently for £250,000.
Another home in Linconshire was up for grabs for just £10,000.
And, a “normal” four-bed in Wales had a £150,000 price tag – but there was a catch that could make you get your wallet out.
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