Snooping around: Rural, urban or renovation

Wreck of the week: Sandwich, Kent. This attached two-bed cottage has two receptions, a sitting room, a dining room and a kitchen, all of which are a few decades out of fashion. You'll need around £20,000 to update it. It resides in the centre of this historic town and backs on to the river. It also opens straight on to the street, so beware passing cars. Yours for £235,000.
GW Finn & Sons, 01304 612147 Photograph: GW Finn & Sons/GW Finn & Sons

In town: Shrewsbury, Shropshire. A grade II-listed 19th-century town house, this is a ravishing conversion of ancient judges' chambers right in the town centre. Cast iron fireplaces are sprinkled through most of the living areas and three bedrooms, while the master bedroom is en suite. It has outdoor space, but it is more courtyard than rolling garden. Yours for £395,000.
Strutt & Parker, 01743 284200 Photograph: Strutt & Parker/Strutt & Parker

In the country: Cromdale, Morayshire. The banks of the Spey in the Cairngorms national park is the setting for this stately home in miniature. For £595,000 you get 5,000sq ft of living space, which includes six bedrooms, a drawing room, a sitting room and a dining room. The nearby steading has outline planning for conversion into a home. It's all in need of modernising, but remains a great opportunity to acquire some period living.
Strutt & Parker, 01463 719171 Photograph: Strutt & Parker/Strutt & Parker

Dream home: East Garston, Berkshire. This has all the components for the average fantasy – the river Lambourne splashing past on one side, a pretty village beyond, more than half an acre of lawned and leafy gardens, a large annexe in an adjacent thatched barn and, in the main house, a glory of ancient timbers, fireplaces and tiled floors. It's big, too, with four receptions, two secondary bedrooms and a vast master suite. Cost: £870,000.
Knight Frank, 01488 682726 or Jackson-Stops & Staff, 01635 45501 Photograph: Knight Frank/Knight Frank

Over the sea: Venice. Venetian footholds for £342,500 are a rarity – this counts as a bargain along the city's canals. You can therefore swap your London semi for one bedroom, a sitting room and a terrace in a 15th-century palazzo overlooking the Rio di San Martin. It has been restored with floors of cherry wood and comes fully furnished.
Prestige Property, 01935 817188 Photograph: Prestige Property/Prestige Property