Snooping around: Rural, urban or renovation

Wreck of the week: Killiow, Cornwall. The troubles of this four-bed estate cottage, which is yours for £350,000, are mainly cosmetic. A £50,000 revamp would raise its value to around £425,000. It sits in a private estate surrounded by a golf course, two miles from Truro, and has its own sizeable garden. Inside, there's only one reception, but the kitchen is large enough for dining.
Chesterton Humberts, 01872 278288 Photograph: Chesterton Humberts/Chesterton Humberts

In the country: Little Chalfont, Bucks. You shouldn't deprive yourself of pastoral strolls and inglenooks, and you don't have to with this three-bed cottage with the Metropolitan underground line around the corner. Inside is a conservatory, a hall, a sitting room, a dining room, and a kitchen/breakfast room. Outside is a well-stocked garden with beds, trees and shrubs, and a brick/flint outhouse. It's a shame the tube has removed much of the village's character. Cost: £475,000.
Robsons, 01494 766304 Photograph: Robsons/Robsons

In town: London, SE26. Pissaro painted this extravagant piece of Victoriana in 1872, and it hangs in the National Gallery. The lower-ground floor is now a three-bed flat with designer fittings and oak floors, which is yours for £300,000. Claustrophobes may dislike the fact the windows are set high up in most rooms. Crystal Palace is a short walk away.
Wooster & Stock, 020 8613 0060 Photograph: Wooster & Stock/Wooster & Stock

Over the sea: Turkey. On the sea, in fact. This clutch of one- to four-bed apartments is within splashing distance of the Aegean in the resort of Gocek, but if the brief stagger to the beach unnerves you, you can plunge into the swirl of the communal pool set in lush gardens. The town, with its coves, islets and four marinas is 20 minutes from Dalaman airport. Two-bed flats start at £239,595.
Spot Blue, 020 8339 6036 Photograph: Spot Blue/Spot Blue

Dream home: Dorset. This is the first of a short string of coastguard cottages with the drama of Chesil beach and the Fleet water below, and soul-nourishing views over the Dorset coast to Portland Bill. You're paying for the bliss of a beach a few paces from the front door and unmolested green all around – inside it is a miniature affair with two bedrooms, a galley kitchen and two receptions. It's a mile down a track from the village of Langton Herring. Cost: £385,000.
Jackson-Stops & Staff, 01305 262123 Photograph: Jackson-Stops & Staff/Jackson-Stops & Staff