Town or country

Country retreat: Suffolk. For £250,000 you get all the ingredients for fairytale bliss. This cute thatched confection sits in the valley village of Stansfield with views over billowing countryside. It has been newly renovated with a woodburning stove in the kitchen and living room inglenooks, oak and stone flooring and a utility room. Both bedrooms are doubles overlooking the large garden. The planners have agreed to a single storey extension at the back.
David Burr, 01787 277811 Photograph: David Burr/David Burr

Country retreat: Devon. This 15th-century survivor is peacefully concealed down a no-through lane in the Blackdown Hills. Crossbeams, window seats, flagstones and an inglenook fireplace recall its ancient pedigree, but the ceilings are lofty enough for modern residents and the rooms are large and bright. There are three double bedrooms, two reception rooms, a voluminous farmhouse kitchen and a copious quantity of garden. Cost: £450,000.
Stags, 01404 45885 Photograph: Stags/Stags

City pad: London. It is small but exquisitely trimmed, and in an aristocratic postcode in South Kensington. Oak parquet sweeps from the living room to the bedroom, the kitchen floor is limestone-tiled and the worktops granite, while personal hygiene can be a glamorous process in the designer under-floor-heated bathroom. You share a large communal garden and are close to the retail thrills of Gloucester Road and Earl’s Court. Yours for £360,000.
John D Wood, 020 7835 0000 Photograph: John D Wood/John D Wood

City pad: Liverpool. This £182,950 foothold in the city’s Georgian quarter is an elegant square close to the Anglican cathedral and a walk from the docks and city centre shops. The huge sitting room ends in a bay of full-length windows and all the rooms have high ceilings and original cornicing. The study could make a second bedroom for a miniature resident. Large communal gardens extend behind.
City Residential, 0151 231 6100 Photograph: City Residential/City Residential

Dream home: Yorkshire. One of the best views down the West Allen Valley will be your morning pick-me-up. Here, down a track near the village of Allendale, is where you shed the old credit-screwed lifestyle and start anew. You can raise your own meals in the seven acres of land and keep horses in the stone outbuildings. One of the three reception rooms opens on to a balcony from which you can descend to a sunken garden. Cost: £575,000.
Foster Maddison, 01434 605441 Photograph: Foster Maddison/Foster Maddison

Bargain of the week: Kent. A year ago this semi in Aldington was valued off-plan at £310,000. It is now available for £250,000, but the vendor would accept nearer £200,000 from a speedy cash buyer. For that you get views across the Romney Marsh to the English Channel from the front, and across farmland to the Downs from behind. There are four bedrooms - one of which is en suite - two reception rooms and new fittings and appliances throughout.
Hobbs Parker, 01233 506221 Photograph: Hobbs Parker/Hobbs Parker