TRENDS:This couple will swap their revamped Ranelagh redbrick and cute west Cork cottage for something a bit special on the southside, writes Edel Morgan

TIME IS of the essence for professional couple Karl and Jennifer Long to find a bigger house to accommodate their growing family.

With properties potentially taking forever to sell in the current market and, with another baby on the way, they've decided to try a creative, and hopefully speedier, approach to finding a bigger home - a house swap.

Or in their case it could be a two-house swap.

Because to get a four-bed house in one of their preferred leafy southside Dublin locations, they're willing to trade in not just their three-bed redbrick semi in Ranelagh, Dublin 6 but also their beloved 200-year-old farmhouse in west Cork, set on the shores of Dunmanus Bay.

"House swapping takes away the chain," says Karl, "things are taking so long to sell that, if we put both on the market, it could drag on for ages. This way, if we agree terms with someone, it could be wrapped up in as little as six to eight weeks."

With their nine-month-old baby boy Samuel potentially months away from walking and a new baby due next year, their three-bed is starting to feel a little small. They're ideally looking for something with a good-sized garden in Monkstown, Blackrock, Dún Laoghaire or Sandycove. Veterans of renovation - three houses to date and counting - Karl says they're open to looking at properties that need work but, in an ideal world, they would like to walk into something "fresh, bright, modern with a large garden".

Their bay-fronted Edwardian Dublin three-bed, 41 Mornington Road in Ranelagh, Dublin 6 is around 102sq m (1,100sq ft) and has only recently been renovated. Going into estate agent mode, Karl says he thinks it might suit downsizers or someone looking for a city townhouse.

It was valued recently at around €950,000.

"It will be sad to sell Cork as we spent a lot of time and effort getting it right," he says.

The three-bedroom Dunbeacon Cottage set on half an acre is 10 minutes from Schull. It too was renovated recently and is currently on the market with Skibbereen agent Charles McCarthy for €400,000.

To check it out visit www.dunbeaconcottage.ie.