Buy to let in South Yorkshire and North Notts.
I buy in a patch I can drive across in under an hour, because that's the only way to know a street rather than a postcode. Here's what each town actually costs, what it rents for, and where I wouldn't buy.
16 properties sourced at 10 to 20% below market value. Every figure below is what I see on the ground, not a portal average.
South Yorkshire
- Premium location Sheffield Sheffield won't give you the biggest monthly cheque in South Yorkshire. It gives you the tenant base and the growth profile that the high yield towns can't, and I'd rather own here in fifteen years.
- Entry
- £95,000+
- Rent
- £700 to £900
- Gross yield
- 6 to 7%
- High cashflow Doncaster Doncaster produces the highest headline yields in my patch and the widest gap between a good street and a bad one. I bought 55 Hunt Lane here at £61,500 against a £70,000 asking price.
- Entry
- £70,000+
- Rent
- £600 to £750
- Gross yield
- 8 to 10%
- Value play Rotherham Rotherham gets you a Sheffield tenant profile at a Doncaster price, but only in about four of its postcodes. The town centre isn't one of them.
- Entry
- £90,000+
- Rent
- £650 to £800
- Gross yield
- 6 to 7%
Nottinghamshire
- Strong cashflow Worksop Worksop pays like Doncaster and behaves better. I bought 7 Ashley Terrace here at £65,000 against a £78,000 asking price, and 23 Beech Grove three miles up the road at 28% below the original listing.
- Entry
- £70,000+
- Rent
- £575 to £700
- Gross yield
- 8 to 10%
- Commuter hub Retford Retford is 1 hour 30 from London Kings Cross on a direct train, and that single fact does more for the tenant profile here than any employer in the town. The income is thinner than Worksop or Doncaster. That's the trade.
- Entry
- £100,000+
- Rent
- £650 to £800
- Gross yield
- 7 to 8%
- Consistent performer Mansfield Mansfield is the most predictable market I buy in. Long term working families, low turnover, and a price that hasn't been dragged up by Nottingham. It's a working town, and some of it works better than the rest.
- Entry
- £80,000+
- Rent
- £625 to £775
- Gross yield
- 8 to 9%
Common questions
Where is the best place to buy a buy to let in South Yorkshire?
It depends what you want the money to do. Doncaster and Worksop give the highest income, with gross yields around 8 to 10% at entry prices from £70,000. Sheffield gives the best capital growth and tenant quality, with gross yields nearer 6 to 7% at entry prices from £95,000. Neither is right for everyone.
What deposit do I need for a buy to let in South Yorkshire?
Buy to let lenders normally want 25% of the purchase price. On a £90,000 property that is £22,500, plus stamp duty, legal fees and a survey. Budget for the purchase costs on top of the deposit rather than assuming the deposit is the whole outlay.
Do you have to live near a buy to let to own one?
No. Most of the buyers I work with live in London and the South East, and some are outside the UK entirely. I attend the viewings, film the walkthrough and handle the local side so you do not have to travel.
Not sure which of these fits you?
That's the first conversation. Tell me the budget and whether you want income now or growth later, and I'll tell you which of these towns I'd point you at, including when the answer is none of them.
Connor Blades, Founder and Director.