Snooping around

Property of the week: Stoke Gabriel, Devon. The water laps almost to your front door and boats bob below the first-floor balcony of this three-bed pad on the edge of the Dart Estuary. Large bay windows bring the vista into the two reception rooms, both of which have a fireplace. Lucrative holiday bookings can subsidise the mortgage repayments. The tiny patio garden remains a disappointment. Cost: £525,000.
Savills, 01392 253344. Photograph: Savills/Savills

Wreck of the week: Llanelian, Conwy. £225,000 will snaffle you this two-bed cottage with delectable views down green hills to the sea. Planning permission exists to add two bedrooms, but that would require a further £100,000. Without an extension £15,000 should cheer it up - it’s dated, with some damp. There’s a decent pub and roaming in the foothills of Snowdonia, but a loaf of bread proves more elusive - it’s two miles to Colwyn Bay.
Carter Jonas, 01248 362536. Photograph: Carter Jonas/Carter Jonas

Take three: homes without chains. Bewitching in looks and location, this three-bedroom stone cottage near Kingsbridge, Devon, is a mile from a beach and six miles from Salcombe. You get two receptions, a cloakroom, study, and two bathrooms, not to mention exposed beams, stone fireplaces, slate-tiled flooring and window seats. Got a car? You’ll need it to shop for basics. Yours for £399,000.
Marchand Petit, 01548 857588. Photograph: Marchand Petit/Marchand Petit

Take three: homes without chains. This five-bedroom pad may be £995,000, but boy does it look worth it. It has an open-plan living area, three bathrooms, a study and leisure room, as well as huge circular spaces and vaulted ceilings. But the thrill is in the extras: shark tank, wine store and cocktail cabinet, sauna and gym. As the only architectural statement in Mapperley conservation area, Nottingham, however, it isn't anonymous.
Savills, 0115 934 8038. Photograph: Savills/Savills

Take three: homes without chains. Oh so much space - four bedrooms, three receptions, a kitchen/breakfast room, dressing room, three bathrooms and a gargantuan hallway. Exceptional detail as well - tiled floors, handsome fireplaces, ceiling beams, and french doors on to a sunny, walled garden. The decor could do with an update, however, and the village of Diss is a little distance from other centres in Norfolk. Cost: £355,000.
Jackson-Stops & Staff, 01603 612333. Photograph: Jackson-Stops & Staff/Jackson-Stops & Staff