Snooping around: Rural, urban or renovation

In the country: Llandovery. This £295,000 three-bedder in Rhandirmwyn is tucked into the Cambrian mountains with views all round and quaint features within. It has a study, a sitting room, a kitchen/dining room, a utility room, a shower room, a bathroom and a workshop/studio. The otherwise glorious isolation is impeded by farm buildings a few yards away.
Clee Tompkinson & Francis, 01550 720440
Photograph: Clee Tompkinson & Francis

In town: Middlesex. This is an opportunity to see what the riverside village of Sunbury was like before it was absorbed into the sprawl of Greater London. It is petite – only two bedrooms – and you can’t park right outside – cars are banned from the lane. But the south-facing garden is more than 150ft long. Cost: £314,950.
Townends, 01932 785171
Photograph: Townends

Wreck of the week: Surrey. This detached Edwardian house in South Croydon is derelict – £100,000 should resuscitate it, on top of the £500,000 price tag. It is set back from the road in half an acre of wooded grounds with outbuildings. But it's smaller than it looks – only three bedrooms.
Townends, 020 8680 8585
Photograph: Townends

Bargain of the week: County Durham. You would have needed £625,000 for this five-bed farmhouse near Stockton-on-Tees, but the owners hope to shift swiftly so the price has shrunk to £499,000. It sits beside Mordon village green with views over farmland and nearly three acres of garden and paddock. It's a pretty cheap way to acquire three receptions, a study and an attic room with ceiling beams, ancient wooden doors, inglenooks and fireplaces.
George F. White, 01388 527966
Photograph: George F. White