Snooping around: Rural, urban or renovation

Wreck of the week: Spaxton, Somerset. This four-bed cottage is snuggled in the foothills of the Quantocks. The thatch and windows probably need replacing, the walls replastering, and wiring renewing – reckon on £80,000-£100,000 to spruce it up. And that's on top of the £325,000 asking price. Beware – only miniature folk can stand in the Lilliputian kitchen.
Humberts, 01823 288484 Photograph: Humberts/Humberts

In the country: Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire. Half-a-rutted-mile down a Forestry Commission track, and dwarfed by its half-acre of gardens, sits this cottage. Woods and pastures swell magnificently all around, while inside has been renovated. There is also room to expand into an old cider press. It's uncompromisingly dainty – two narrow bedrooms and one reception. Yours for £290,000.
Richard Butler, 01989 567979 Photograph: Richard Butler/Richard Butler

In town: Newmarket, Suffolk. Turf lovers have a front-seat vista of the thrilling spectacle of racehorse training – this two-bed apartment overlooks Newmarket's training grounds. Despite only being completed 14 years ago, the interior is slightly dated. It is within walking distance of the town centre and is yours for £325,000.
Jackson-Stops & Staff, 01638 662231 Photograph: Jackson-Stops & Staff/Jackson-Stops & Staff

Dream home: Dorset. This £545,000 confection of thatch and beams has two acres near Wimborne. From the door you can ride or ramble along forest trails, and can lodge your mount in the stable block. Once home, you can defrost before the Aga, the inglenook or the sitting room fireplace. The 20th century has contributed a garage and an en suite shower room off one of the three bedrooms. It could do with refreshing.
Symonds and Sampson, 01202 843190 Photograph: Symonds and Sampson/Symonds and Sampson

Over the sea: Transylvania. This new-build chalet is perched in an orchard on a wooded hillside overlooking the medieval town of Targu Mures. For the cost of a lock-up garage in London – £65,000 – you're half an hour from an international airport. You do your living in an open plan room with a veranda, and your sleeping in the upstairs bedroom, which opens on to a balcony. Water is pumped from a well, but it should be connected with utilities later.
Investabroad Properties, 0121 616 5108 Photograph: Investabroad Properties/Investabroad Properties