The Property Equation: What can you buy for £800,000?

If size and grandeur matter, this late-Victorian, five bedroom house in Surrey fits the bill, but it will cost you £800,000. Instead you could buy a set of houses from the Highlands to the South coast. Rosalind Russell does the sums

THE CREST, right, is a flamboyant late-Victorian, five-bedroom house on a slope in Dormans Park, an area of private roads with restricted through traffic, three miles from East Grinstead in Surrey.

The Crest is a flamboyant late-Victorian, five-bedroom house on a slope in Dormans Park, an area of private roads with restricted through traffic, three miles from East Grinstead in Surrey.

Future development is controlled in the park, where the properties are spread out and of differing designs, to avoid compromising its character. The Crest has been restored and updated, with a 27ft kitchen/breakfast area, with double Belfast sink, gas Aga and a second, stainless steel oven.

Doors from the 26ft drawing room (which has a ceiling height of more than 11ft) open on to a verandah, also accessed via a sun room on the corner of the building. Sitting in a quarter of an acre, with its two square towers, it makes an imposing sight. Price £800,000. Howard Cundey, on 01342 833333.

But for almost a tenth of the price you could buy...

A conversion of the former railway station building at Newtonmore in the Scottish Highlands. Every hour, a train will whistle through, few of them very early or late. Passengers gather at the end of the platform.

The three-bedroom house, 15 miles from Aviemore, has the build date of 1893 in the gable. B-listed, it has a 17ft kitchen breakfast room, sitting room with wood stove, bookshelves and views on three sides and one bathroom. Not much of a garden, but good transport. For sale through Bell Ingram on 01738 621121 for £85,000.

And still have plenty left over for ...

A two-bedroom, loft-style apartment in a converted school building in a secure development, Beta Place, London SW4. Part of the Alpha Building, it has a double-height, open-plan living room with a mezzanine area – which could be used as a third or spare bedroom – over part of it. The rooms have cherrywood floors, and the kitchen area is fitted with top-of-the-range appliances. Its three floors are linked via a spiral staircase. It comes with one reserved parking space, use of the residents' gym and a 20ft patio garden. For sale at £335,000 through Hamptons, 0207 498 8686.

Not to mention...

A three bedroom, four-storey, period mid-terrace townhouse in Sillwood Street, in Brighton. Tall, dark and handsome, with bow window fronts and shutters, it has a lounge with stripped wood floor and feature cast iron fire surround, a 15ft kitchen/breakfast room with a slate tiled floor, one bathroom and two under-the-street cellar areas. There's even an outside loo. It's for sale through Fox & Sons, on 01273 777000, for £215,000.

Leaving just enough to buy...

A pretty, converted Victorian chapel, four miles from Appleby in The Pennines. Now a two-bedroom cottage, it still has period fireplaces, panelled doors and Victorian style decor. Central heating was installed recently, as was double glazing. There's a sitting room with dado rails and an Esse stove, bathroom with rolltop bath, second sitting room with an oak fireplace and a fitted kitchen.

Both bedrooms are doubles, one with built-in shelves and cupboards. The perfect writer's hideaway, it has views over the fells. For sale at £165,000 through PF&K, on 017683 52345.