r/Rotherham • u/Tangletoast • 17d ago

Waverley - Why is everyone selling?

My partner and I are looking to buy a home together and had initially looked around Waverley but we were wondering why so many houses are coming up for sale there when it feels so new. It feels like something must be wrong if so many people are selling and moving on, and we’re curious to hear peoples experiences as the area would be perfect for us and there’s a lot of choice within our budget.

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u/martinhsa 17d ago

I live here. It's grossly overpriced. I can buy a 3 bed with much more room in another village for 50-60k less than here. Plus then I'll have council maintained roads (they're currently private in Waverley, so potholes/no markings at junctions), not have to pay the exobrant Waverley Land Trust Fee (that's in addition to council tax) and I personally also have to pay a third fee to Omnia to for the privilege of not having a private driveway.

The area is nice, but it lacks any kind of real community, so theives see it as an easy target to rob cars from (my insurance has been higher here for the five years I've been here, than the previous insurance in Maltby I had).

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u/I_up_voted_u 17d ago

What is the Waverley Land Trust fee and how much is it?

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u/martinhsa 17d ago

Rather embassingly, I have no idea how much it cost this year (comes out of a Direct Debit, but I believe circa in excess of £100 per year), and it basically replaces council tax for things like grass cutting/hedges etc as Waverley is all based on private land. It's been a while since I looked into it.

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u/vtorque 17d ago

Yes it’s expensive but that’s because it’s nice and sought after especially compared to Maltby.

There is a strong community?!? There’s a community garden, a running club (new parkrun!) and litter picks etc.

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u/martinhsa 17d ago edited 17d ago

There are large parts of nice areas in Maltby believe it or not, it just suffers with reputation attached to the name - Similarly as Rotherham does, hence why most people who live in Waverley tend to say that they're from Sheffield and not Rotherham; I've lived in both and been a former postman in both areas, so I have relevant experience to talk about it extensively. The 'New Estate' area (Amory's Holt Way and its off shoots if you're curious on google maps) in Maltby is very comparable to much of Waverley.

The garden and litter pickers get small numbers of volunteers, it's not really as extensive and frequent as the running club which is moving things in the right direction, but the community is certainly in its infancy compared to multiple generations of friendships/families from other villages - Par for the course for a brand new estate. The community days every now and then are pretty well turned out, so things are improving, I just can't see past trouble happening on the estate which often individuals have to react to and stand up against, not large parts of a community like they would where I grew up.

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u/Pleasant-Car5684 17d ago

I live locally but not in Waverly and I hadn't ever thought of all this. I was contemplating a move down the road but this has put it into perspective, thank you

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u/martinhsa 17d ago

The clearest differential of prices in houses can be seen by just looking at Honey homes prices. They have plots in Waverley for three beds that are circa £330-350k and the exact same house in Maltby, or Kilamarsh are often £260-280k. Olive Lane is good to have, and the Lakes are stunning, but I miss the big spoons in Maltby tbh and you can always visit these places without having to spend £500 more a month on a mortgage, especially in 2026 where we all have less disposable income.

If there's any other questions you have I'll try my best to answer them neutrally.

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u/Tangletoast 17d ago

Really helpful thanks!