Devon
Woodview Cottage is a three-bedroom terraced property in South Hams, a short drive from the South Devon National Landscape and Dartmoor National Park. On the ground floor there is a spacious 24ft sitting room, dining room, kitchen and outside utilities area. Upstairs the space is divided between three bedrooms and a family bathroom. Recently refurbished, it is bright and airy. Outside there is a private courtyard for alfresco dining. The property is in the village of Emington, two miles south of Ivybridge, a market town.
EPC D (potential B) — on a scale of A (best) to G (worst)
Upside All rooms are doubles.
Downside No downstairs WC.
Price £350,000
Contact marchandpetit.co.uk
Cambridgeshire
In Caxton, a village 12 miles west of Cambridge, this quaint little Victorian property is sweetly nestled between two larger properties. The ground floor is divided into three spaces: a living room, a dining room and a kitchen, where French doors lead into a garden of mainly timber deck, with lots of storage and a small planting area. Upstairs are two bedrooms, one with built-in storage, and a family bathroom.
EPC D (potential B)
Upside Character features.
Downside The cottage is cute, but tiny at 721 sq ft.
Price £350,000
Contact cheffins.co.uk
Norfolk
St Valentine’s Barn is a converted Carstone agricultural building in Congham, a village six miles east of King’s Lynn that is famous for hosting an annual snail race. Exposed beams bring character to the living spaces, which include a kitchen, a separate dining room, a WC and a sitting room that has a large log-burner. There’s off-road parking and a large garage too. Upstairs are two bedrooms, each with an en suite.
EPC E (potential C)
Upside No chain.
Downside Oil-fired heating.
Price £350,000
Contact sowerbys.com
Gloucestershire
Sandford Lodge has the classic Cotswolds aesthetic: a honey-hued façade, a taupe shaker-style kitchen, and a handsome old wood-burner in the sitting room. The bijou 775 sq ft house is in the village of Avening, about seven miles from Stroud, and has two bedrooms, which share a bathroom on the first floor. There’s an enclosed gravelled patio with wrought-iron railings, and a log store — plus a 50ft-long wooded area that belongs to the property.
EPC G (potential C)
Upside A good pub — The Bell Inn — is close by.
Downside The EPC rating is as bad as it gets, with LPG central heating.
Price £350,000
Contact murraysestateagents.co.uk
Wiltshire
This four-bedroom terraced house in the village of Sutton Veny, three miles from Warminster and 20 miles from Salisbury, is part of a farm building that was converted in the 1990s. The ground floor has a kitchen/dining room, sitting room and WC. The first floor has four bedrooms and one bathroom. There is also a loft, where the present owners keep their record collection, and a courtyard garden. The development has a grade II listed timber-framed barn where residents park their cars. The village has a primary school and a pub.
EPC E (potential C)
Upside Characterful development.
Downside The fourth bedroom is minuscule.
Price £350,000
Contact hamptons.co.uk
London HA7
If you are over 60 you will find much to like about this two-bedroom property in a warden-assisted development in the north London suburb of Stanmore. The ground floor is future-proof with a reception room, kitchen, bedroom, shower room and a stair lift to help you to reach the first floor, where there is a bigger bedroom and a large bathroom. The manager is onsite on weekday mornings and there is a 24-hour emergency call system. Shops and cafés are only a short distance away on the Broadway, and there is residents’ parking.
EPC D (potential B)
Upside Use of communal lounge and gardens included.
Downside Be sure to ask about service charges.
Price £350,000
Contact gibbs-gillespie.co.uk
Bristol
This lower-ground-floor apartment with a courtyard and allocated off-street parking is in a desirable area of the city. It has two bedrooms and a bright, south-facing, open-plan living room with two large sash windows.
EPC D (potential C)
Upside Fabulous location.
Downside An annual service charge of £1,329.
Price £340,000
Contact savills.com
South Ayrshire
Situated less than a ten-minute drive from the Turnberry golf resort (owned by a certain US president), this rustic three-bedroom contemporary steading conversion in the South Ayrshire countryside could be the perfect home for lovers of an 18-hole course. An adjoining byre could be fixed up into self-contained holiday let (subject to approvals) and has abundant potential for monetising its special location. The dual-aspect living room is filled with light that pours in from across the low-lying surrounding farmland. It’s warmed by a Jotul wood-burning stove. The dining kitchen with Rangemaster stove is surprisingly spacious for such a compact home.
EPC B (potential A)
Upside A dream residence for golf lovers.
Downside Byre conversion demands significant additional investment above the purchase price.
Price Offers over £350,000
Contact savills.com
The Highlands
It’s more than a five-hour drive from central Scotland to Lybster in Caithness, in the far north-eastern corner of the country. But your money goes a long way up here, as this impressive six-bedroom 18th-century laird’s house with panoramic views in every direction proves. A few minutes’ walk from the Caithness coast, where North Sea waves crash against craggy sandstone cliffs, Swiney House’s setting is spectacularly dramatic. The interior could use a modern refresh, but the property is in good order and beautifully designed and proportioned. Seven acres of land and a range of outbuildings offers all kinds of additional potential.
EPC F (potential C)
Upside Incredible bang for your buck.
Downside Far-flung location.
Price Offers over £350,000
Contact galbraithgroup.com
Spain
The Jalón valley is a rural, fertile area near Alicante in Marina Alta, Spain. Sitting in a secluded spot surrounded by olive groves, mountains and a river, this refurbished traditional finca is close to the tiny village of Castell de Castells. The three-bedroom, two-bathroom house is arranged over two levels, with an L-shaped covered terrace, an outdoor swimming pool and a driveway and parking area that can accommodate several cars.
Upside Completely off-grid, with solar panel, generator and autonomous water source.
Downside Perhaps a bit too isolated and arid.
Price €399,000 (£344,000)
Contact kyero.com
Or … a pub in Cheshire
If you’ve always wanted to run a boozer, then look to Frodsham, four miles from Runcorn in Cheshire, where a pub and car park are up for grabs. You can buy one or the other for £175,000 — or both for £350,000. Travellers Rest was a popular pub for many years but went out of business recently and has fallen into a state of disrepair. The 0.3-acre plot contains a grassy beer garden and patio, as well as gardens. Subject to planning permission, it could be converted to flats or houses.
EPC N/A
Upside Boozy dream fulfilled.
Downside Money sink.
Price £350,000 (for the pub and car park)
Contact jackson-stops.co.uk
