There are five bedrooms (three with sea views), three bathrooms, a steam room, four turrets and a three acre garden part bordered by craggy cliffs and wild clover. It is light and airy, warm and comforting. It is my castle in the air, far removed from the two- bedroom basement flat we can afford.

Searching for a property is never easy, especially when ideals do not compare with reality. In London, space is the ultimate luxury and a snatch of greenery is the diamond carrot for financially stretched buyers. In this environment, bargains are snapped up before house details are even printed so it pays to either befriend an estate agent or look online.

Warned by Stephen Fry about estate agents - who "with their jangling keys, nasty suits, revolting beards, moustaches and tinted spectacles, roam the land causing perturbation and despair" - I turned to my computer.

Property sites are a booming, gazumping business online. As the new property databases with their virtual tours and vast range of properties propagate, so too have the estate agents produced hi-tech sites of their own to entice their customers back.

An even greater risk to the estate agents are the dot.com property companies who often charge zero commission and are beginning to get a foothold in the industry. Progress may be slow but Rome wasn't built in a day and a house is rarely found in a week.

I began my own search at www.findaproperty.com which is a database of properties from several estate agents, both large and small. Simple to use (just key in ideal prices, number of bedrooms and postcodes), it comes up with a list of properties matching your description. If you find something you like, you can email your interest directly to the estate agent involved. For all the wonders of modern technology, only one in six responded so it is often best to contact them by phone.

The site also gave excellent local information, council tax prices, comments from residents and virtual tours. These tours allow you to see into the home using panoramic imagery which can really test estate agent speak ("funky" meaning "ghastly paintwork" and "light and airy" meaning "one window in the basement").

Other good sites are www.assertahome.com - it has a change of address service and online applications for new utilities - and www.08004homes.com (with online interior design magazine). www.propertylive.co.uk also provides information on buying and selling a home.

According to Tim, one of that rare breed of nice estate agents, properties are updated every week on the internet so the chances of finding a home still for sale are much higher there than from the colour brochures that come through your letterbox - these are often a month out of date.

Vendors and buyers can avoid agents altogether with sites such as www.loot.co.uk,, www.linkupproperties.co.uk and www.easier.co.uk. These charge vendors a small sum to advertise but are free to buyers. You can search for a property then email your interest and details to the seller who will then contact you direct. Some sites allow you to contact the sellers direct.

Some even price their properties a little more competitively since they will be saving on estate agency fees. These are a useful resource if you are not in a rush to buy. Most sites require registration.

At www.auctions.co.uk property/ there is a list of forthcoming property auctions. You can request brochures online and subsequently view a property in your desired area and price range. It is important to have cash up front and know your prices. We met a lot of professional "auction buyers" who intimidated us with their shiny grey suits and patronising manner. I am still seeking a website that teaches you how to deal with such individuals.

My castle in the air proved to be a subterranean flat. Dark in places with the odd whiff of mildew, but it felt like home. After a thrilling sealed bid where the advice of sites such as www.findaproperty.com and www.propertylive.co.uk was useful in understanding procedures and competitive prices, we started the next stage: looking for a mortgage.

Mortgage advisers are another strange breed with their peculiar passion for all things numerical. The potential embarrassment of exposing my knowledge of figures had me reaching for my mouse and looking online. I went straight to my home page and linked through to www.charcoalonline.com where a mortgage wizard takes you through a series of relevant questions to help find your ideal mortgage before calculating the cost.

The site does offer special deals but it is useful to have some kind of prior knowledge to get what you want. I did my background research at www.mortgages-online.co.uk , which offers an excellent guide to most kinds of mortgages. We eventually found what we wanted at www.woolwich.co.uk which not only offers good (if biased) mortgage advice but also information and details about the very latest open plan, offset mortgages.

With both property and mortgage secured, it was back to my castle in the air and to the ultimate property website, www.property.org.uk. This is a daydreamer's paradise. Here you can buy a safari park in Kenya, a castle in Perth, floating homes in London and an island in Loch Lomond for only £15,000.

So, as I dream about turrets and ravaged coastlines; galloping through the savannah back to my homestead; watching the sun come down on the deck of my 60ft narrow boat, property prices continue to rise and estate agents continue to irritate. Or in the tempered words of Stephen Fry: "There's only one thing worse than an estate agent but at least that can be safely lanced, drained and surgically dressed."