Snooping around: Rural, urban or renovation

Wreck of the week: Plymouth, Devon. This elaborate Victorian semi is currently divided into bedsits, but the nine bedrooms should give you plenty to play around with. The accommodation is arranged over three floors and comprises two kitchens, two shower rooms, a bathroom and two toilets. The garden, however, is a mere courtyard. Yours for £249,950.
Lang & Co, 01752 256000 Photograph: Lang & Co/Lang & Co

In town: Maldon, Essex. This pretty town house is close to the high street of this historic estuary port, and you get a lot for your money. A kitchen/breakfast room spreads through the basement and there are four good sized bedrooms. The downsides? It is a two-storey hike to the toilet from the kitchen and there is no garden. Yours for £299,000.
John D Wood & Co, 01245 344222 Photograph: John D Wood & Co/John D Wood & Co

In the country: Thorngrafton, Northumberland. This £320,000 three-bedder is embedded in wild and glorious countryside close to Hadrian's Wall. Winter is banished by large fireplaces, a Rayburn and cosy beamed ceilings; in the summer you can enjoy the mature gardens and elevated southerly views over the Tyne valley. Watch out though – the family bathroom has a second entrance from one of the bedrooms. It is half a mile from a train station.
Smiths Gore, 01434 632404 Photograph: Smiths Gore/Smiths Gore

Dream home: Mevagissey, Cornwall. Balanced above the harbour in this fishing village sits this £249,950 grade II-listed cottage with views to St Austell Bay. There are four bedrooms (if a diminutive family member will settle for a snug cubby hole) and all of these plus the two receptions overlook the harbour. The exposed beams are thought to have been taken from a 17th century ship called the Horse after which the cottage is named.
Lillicrap Chilcott, 01872 273473 Photograph: Lillicrap Chilcott/Lillicrap Chilcott