IF there is one thing that everybody in the world likes, it is a bargain, and now that Land Rover has gone sub-continental, while British Leyland has gone to the Chinese, there are precious few real bargains left in the world. That is, unless you are looking for real estate in a country not so very far from the UK.

The lack of bargains left in the French countryside has long been debated, and for good reason. A nice house in the country down here in the South West (we are not quite the Côte D'azur but we're not Scunthorpe either) will set you back anything from £100,000 for a wreck, up to the 3-5 hundred thousand mark for a tidy example with a bit of land.

The general message is that prices are not up to Home Counties standards, but they aren't bargain basement either. That is, unless you find your way back off the beaten track and into the villages and towns. The French countryside is quite literally bursting with gorgeous little towns that have not quite breathed their last and still support a small community with shops and bars.

It is not quite urban living, there is way too much fresh air and greenery for that, but it does have the small advantage of having living neighbours not of the bovine variety. For some reason these village centre properties are completely overlooked by the majority of ex-pat purchasers who can't wait to get out into the open countryside and acres of nothingness, and they are missing some real gems.

I went to look at one today, which was in the centre of a village that must have a steady population of at least 50 souls and a dog. It was a classic double-fronted Maison de Maître, with most of the façade crumbling off and finding its way on to the street. It had apparently been built by a wealthy land owner who built an access on to the roof so that he could keep an eye on his serfs and make sure that their furrows were going in a straight line and not wandering after a couple of litres of vin rouge at lunchtime. Inside, the place was immense. If 1930s marble fireplaces and dead pigeons are your thing, you need to get one of these houses. Amidst the warren of rooms and cellars, you will find classically-proportioned living rooms with huge double windows looking out on to the streets, rather than the tiny dark and dingy rooms favoured by the cost of heating-conscious farmers. The bedrooms are just crying out for large beds and sumptuous fabrics. The property stretched for 950m of habitable space, the equivalent of nine comfortable two-bed flats, or 15 bedsits, all for the princely sum of £60,000.

There must be some catch, I hear you say. Well, you are not wrong there. Unfortunately renovation costs in a village are the same, if not higher than in the country, due to problems of access, and the resale value is that much less. However, if you don't mind picking up the odd dead pigeon, and getting your hands dirty with a bit of DIY, you could get yourself a superb home at tiny cost.

Escape to the village, they'll all be doing it soon.