Snooping around: Rural, urban or renovation

Wreck of the week: Newmarket, Suffolk. This detached, 1930s three-bed house is yours for £285,000. The interior dates from the 1960s – anything from £15,000 upwards is needed to spruce it up – but it boasts beams, wood panelled walls and a sizeable garden. It is close to the town centre but is hard by a busy road.
Jackson-Stops & Staff, 01638 662231 Photograph: Jackson-Stops & Staff/Jackson-Stops & Staff

In town: York. There is genuine Victorian grandeur in this £275,000 two-bed portion of a mansion. Floor to ceiling bay windows irradiate the sitting room and master bedroom, and there is also a bathroom, entrance hall and kitchen. There is no garden. It is on an elegant no through road half a mile from the city centre.
Carter Jonas, 01904 558200 Photograph: Carter Jonas/Carter Jonas

In the country: East Sussex. This is an ex-oast house in the village of Darwell Hole with two fat roundels creating a circular dining room and bedroom, and a curvaceous kitchen/breakfast room, a hall and master bedroom. There is a swimming pool outdoors in the 0.7 acres. You have to share the driveway. Cost: £495,000.
Batcheller Thacker, 01424 775577 Photograph: Batcheller Thacker/Batcheller Thacker

Dream home: Cornwall. If you leaned out far enough you could almost trail your hand in the river Pol, which gurgles below. This two-bed cottage used to be a forge in the pretty fishing village of Polperro. The £235,00 price tag buys you all the furniture and fittings (it has been used as a holiday let, but a smart one with polished wooden floors throughout), the kitchen is generous enough to dine in, and both bedrooms are doubles. It's a brief stroll to the shops and harbour.
Bradleys, 01503 264888 Photograph: Bradleys/Bradleys

Over the sea: Italy. Masquerading as Tuscan antiquity 18 miles from Siena sits this new village. Within is a one-bed, open-plan apartment with your name on it. It shares a pool with a clutch of neighbours, but a small balcony allows for secluded tanning. You get underground parking and the use of a gym. It is a walk into the town of Gaiole in the Chianti region. Cost: £196,450.
Knight Frank, 020 7629 8171 Photograph: Knight Frank/Knight Frank