Snooping around: Rural, urban or renovation

Wreck of the week: Isle of Wight. This three-bed bungalow in Seaview, near Ryde, is yours for £280,000. It is habitable, if dated – £20,000 would revitalise its inner looks, while another £70,000 would add a second storey. It's just a two-minute walk from a secluded beach, but there's hardly any garden to speak of.
Wright, 01983 611511
Photograph: Wright

In the country: Oxfordshire. For £365,000 you can relax amid Cotswold glories in this home in the village of Dean, near Chipping Norton. Your four-bed cottage is all rustic prettiness, and you get to shop in quaintly ancient towns. It also has a kitchen/breakfast room with a linked utility area, a sitting room and a study. It’s a shame that one attic bedroom leads off another, and both have restricted headroom.
Hayman-Joyce, 01608 651188
Photograph: Hayman-Joyce

In town: Essex. The rustic charm of this house in Colchester belies its urban convenience. The town centre is a 10-minute walk away, yet the landscaped cottagey garden backs on to a large park. Inside, the £275,000 price tag secures three bedrooms, a lounge/diner and a kitchen/breakfast room. Sadly, although the living room is a stately 18.8ft long it is only 10ft wide.
Fenn Wright, 01206 763388
Photograph: Fenn Wright

Bargain of the week: London. To get 800 sq ft of living and garden space for less than £500,000 counts as a steal in Pimlico. This two-bed, two-bathroom flat is a mere £465,000, partly because the second bedroom is disconcertingly off the kitchen, and the whole is in a basement. Garden flat is the polite term, and it does indeed have its own private patio through french doors from the living room. Rooms are a good size, and it's smart and just moments from the river.
Jackson-Stops & Staff, 020 7828 4050
Photograph: Jackson-Stops & Staff

Over the sea: France. Up to four bedrooms could be hewn out of the attic of this Breton ruin, and when you've sorted the large paved room downstairs you should achieve 120 sq m of living space near the town of St Laurent sur Oust in Morbihan. A goodly chunk of Brittany comes with it, although the boundaries have yet to be officially marked out. Electricity has already reached the site, but you will have to see to water and drainage. Cost: £60,000.
Latitudes, 020 8951 5155
Photograph: Latitudes