Seabrooke Rise, Grays, Essex, RM17

This three-bedroom split-level maisonette has a useful starting point: the lounge and bedrooms appear usable, there is a fitted kitchen and separate cloakroom, and the private rear garden offers scope to clear and organise. The dated finishes and ceiling staining in several areas create a medium-scale project, with the cause of the staining worth establishing before making good. Scaffolding obscures much of the frontage, so the building’s condition cannot be judged fully from the photos.

At £240,000, value against local £/sqf cannot yet be judged because the floor area is missing. The property is being sold by the Modern Method of Auction; bidding can take the hammer above the guide, so the eventual price may not remain at this level. The score is therefore a weak overall opportunity rather than a verdict on the price alone, with its location near the station, town centre and riverside beach among the clearer attractions.