Our Ticehurst Location Guide for Landlords & Property Investors aims to provide a comprehensive overview of all of the main factors that could affect landlords making a decision about investing in the Ticehurst area. We also cover factors that can impact upon the decisions of which properties a landlord should purchase to get the return that they are interested in.
Ticehurst is just 10 miles to the south east of Tunbridge Wells but feels like a different world. Surrounded by fields, It is in the High Weald Area of Natural Beauty and just 17 miles to the coast at Hastings too. Belvoir have managed several local rental properties in the centre of the village which are always popular and these homes rent quickly because this location not only has lovely countryside all around but also has interesting shopping and dining facilities on the doorstep.
Factors that a landlord might consider in deciding whether to invest in Ticehurst include:
- Housing stock
- The village has a mixture of properties with white clapboard cottages and tile-hung houses – period properties in a variety of sizes. The highest value house sold in the 12 months up to June 2021 was £1.35m demonstrating the diversity in homes available for sale.
Return on investment:
- Ticehurst properties had an average price of £422k in 2020/21.
- The average monthly rent is currently over £1270 pcm and rents were 25% higher than the previous 12 months, mapping to the national property price rises. (As it is a small village, the rental of one larger property can skew that value considerably of course.)
- Economy
In general work hubs are either Hastings or Tunbridge Wells, both of which have relatively large insurance companies, Hastings Direct and AXA. There is an element of tourism in Ticehurst. The central Bell Inn attracts couples and families for a weekend break to Kent, often down from London, and soared in popularity after being listed as Pub of the Year in the Sunday Times. This brings money into the small, local community and to the handful of locally run, boutique shops such as the Greenfinch Gallery, The Old Haberdashery and The Art Bunch florists. Proximity to days out such as Hastings Old Town, Battle, Sissinghurst, Pashley Manor and Bewl Water also makes it attractive to short stay tourists.
- Local Authorities
The local authority for this area is Rother District Council.
Ticehurst Parish Council manage committees for waste and recycling, licencing and planning.
- Transport links
The nearest railway stations are at Stonegate and Etchingham, or Wadhurst where trains run direct to Hastings or to London Bridge and Charing Cross. There is a bus service to Tunbridge Wells and to Wadhurst for school pupils. Tenants would generally need to drive.
- Village facilities
Ticehurst village centre is a lively hub with several interesting shops and a true heart to the village. It has a convenience store, 3 pubs, a café, a florists, an interiors store and it did have a local bakery which sadly closed due to Covid.
- School options – Tenants with children of all ages have good local options: young children go to Ticehurst & Flimwell Church of England Primary School rated ‘Good’ by Ofsted or there are private options in Tunbridge Wells which is 10 miles away approx. Older children go to Uplands Community College in Wadhurst or to the grammar schools or non-selective secondary school in Tunbridge Wells.
- History/Heritage
There are a higher than average number of properties of historic significance in the area compared to the South East as a whole. The beautiful historic home of Pashley Manor is an easy day out from Ticehurst for example. Bodiam castle is under 10 miles away and as mentioned, Ticehurst is also convenient for a trip to the historic 1066 town of Battle.
- Local days out
Ticehurst is significantly less populated than other villages around Tunbridge Wells so access to green outside space is not an issue.
Dale Hill Golf Club is under a mile from Ticehurst and is an AA 4 star rated hotel as well as hosting 2 golf clubs. Members are also entitled to use the hotel leisure facilities i.e. the swimming pool, gym and sauna so a great option for those interested in wellbeing and exercise. This could appeal to renters moving away from larger town facilities.
Buy to Let Considerations
Rental properties in Ticehurst are popular and rent quickly because of the countryside location with shopping and eating out facilities on the doorstep. They usually take longer to rent than properties in Tunbridge Wells because the pool of people seeking a property in a small, rural village is always smaller than those looking for property in a town.
For renters, broadband speeds are significantly lower than other areas in the South East and high speed provision is poor being in only 3.6% of homes. In our experience, however, tenants in Ticehurst have told us that broadband speeds are perfectly adequate for working at home
For schools classed as ‘outstanding’, residents would have to travel the 10 miles to Tunbridge Wells or further, Tonbridge, where the selective grammar schools are consistently listed in the Sunday Times top schools guide. However, as stated above, there are good, mixed gender primary and secondary schools locally and single sex, selective schooling is not right for many children.
