Feck it! :(
Am having a bleedin' nightmare trying to find a house here in the west of Ireland!
The dream house - (Victorian convent overlooking surfers beach) fell thru as we couldn't get a sufficient mortgage. Then we found out its been re-possessed by the bank, so swooped in with lower offer, which was rejected 
Our 2nd choice (new but gorgeous house built in natural stone and very gothic) - turns out the builder hasn't complied with planning regs and is also a complete liar 
Now trying to find a compromise
What's more important, size, style or location?
We want a traditional style house with sea views
There are some amazing cottages with views all along the coast, but they are small (they could be extended)
The larger houses are all new and bland with far too much knotty pine IMHO 
We have seen an lovely old pub but its on the main road, with not much land and its a music venue, so the locals might hate us if we moved in and shut the pub down to convert to a residential home (is it easy to do that anyway, would we need planning?)
Price not such an issue as everything is mega cheap here ATM
Usual UK critera such as school catchments don't apply here, as its all lovely rural schools with no catchment area