Snooping around: rural, urban and renovation

Wreck of the week: Suffolk. This three-bed farmhouse in Elmswell, near Stowmarket, is yours for £400,000. About £100,000 would replace the wiring and septic tank, and install heating and mod cons. It has thrilling potential for expansion in its 6.4 acres, but the owner is trying to reroute a dead-end public right of way that passes along the drive to the house.
Carter Jonas, 01787 882881
• This article was amended on 8 November 2010. The original had 'sceptic' tank, and we're sure the writer meant septic. This has been corrected.
Photograph: Carter Jonas

Around town: London. The gated mews location in SE1 buffers this two-bedder from city stresses. General life is conducted in a large, polished, open-plan area and there is a roof terrace. Borough Market is a step away. The second bedroom is a slightly public mezzanine. Cost: £585,000.
Stirling Ackroyd, 020 7940 3888 Photograph: Stirling Ackroyd

In the country: Norfolk. This three-bedder and its large gardens sit tranquilly in a no-through lane a few miles from the sea at Sedgeford, near Hunstanton. Beams and an inglenook cosify the sitting room. It’s a shame the third bedroom is essentially a landing. Yours for £295,000
Bedfords, 01328 730500 Photograph: Bedfords

Dream home: Gloucestershire. The perfections of Lower Slaughter have made it one of the most famous of the Cotswold villages. A river runs between honeyed-stone cottages and it’s a walk across fields to ithe similarly renowned idyll of Bourton-on-the-Water. This two-bed cottage overlooks the water in the village square. There are two beamed receptions – one with an open fireplace – and the master bedroom is en suite. The only impediment to bliss is the garden: the small front plot is all you get. Cost: £375,000.
Savills, 01285 627550 Photograph: Savills

Overseas: Kenya. The difficulty is that the homecoming will be so painful. Here, in your African holiday villa, you have the freehold to paradise. The lounge opens on to a verandah overlooking the two swimming pools, there is a huge balcony poised above 1.2 acres of tropical gardens, three of the four bedrooms are en suite, and servant’s quarters could lodge excess guests. It’s in the resort of Malindi on the Indian Ocean, which has a domestic airport and is 120km from Mombasa. Yours for £127,644.
Knight Frank, +254 (20) 4440174/5/6 Photograph: Knight Frank