The blink-and-you'll-miss-it county of Bedfordshire doesn't always top the table in the eyes of investors looking to buy into the UK, though does present more than its fair share of buy-to-let investment opportunities. Comparatively low property prices and reasonably high rents equate to a country average rent yield in the region of 5.5 per cent. This may not be quite in the same league as Southampton or Manchester, but nonetheless towers over the average in the capital. Bedford itself has an extremely strong long-term letting market where demand for affordable properties is generally quite consistent.