Snooping around – in pictures

In town: Essex. Brightlingsea’s harbour is a mere walk away from this £345,000 townhouse. With four bedrooms, two living rooms, a dining room and a designer kitchen it is big. It’s pretty, too: there are beams, exposed brick, vaulting and an idyllic garden. It’s a shame it is a decade or so out of date.
Jackson-Stops & Staff, 01473 218218 Photograph: Jackson-Stops & Staff

In the country: Suffolk. This four-bedder is a walk from the shore at Bawdsey, near Woodbridge, and a brief drive from a sandy beach. Built in the 1990s, it combines quaint looks with a modern layout, while outside is a small, paved garden. It is seven miles to the nearest town. On the market for £359,950.
Jackson-Stops & Staff, 01473 218218 Photograph: Jackson-Stops & Staff

Wreck of the week: Worcestershire. About £225,000-plus will be needed to rescue this three-bed farmhouse in Low Habberley, near Kidderminster. It comes with 36 acres and a collection of rundown but potentially useful outbuildings. Be aware of a government petrol pipeline which runs near the land. Yours for £550,000.
Knight Frank, 01905 723438
Photograph: Knight Frank

Dream home: Kent. It's probably fair to say this stunning six-bed home is beyond most people's wildest dreams. The Lime Works in Faversham was built in the 1930s as a water softening plant, but is now a luxury home with the moddest of mod cons: a heated roof-top swimming pool, a sauna, a gym and a cinema room among them. The house, which has been nicknamed Tracy Island for its likeness to the Thunderbirds base, sits in eight acres of land. Work is ongoing and if you can meet the £3.75m asking price you'll be able to choose some of the final specs.
Savills, 01580 720 161
Photograph: Savills