Freehold or Leasehold

If you are looking into buying a house, you may have heard of the terms freehold and leasehold. Below is a little more information about these.

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Freehold Property:

Freehold is when you own the property and the land it's built on including the outdoor spaces like the gardens, for as long as you want. There will be no lease and you will not have to pay ground rent or maintenance fees. Freehold is the most popular and common way to buy a house. There are many benefits of a freehold property such as you will not need to worry about the lease running out as you will own the property outright, you will not need to deal with the freeholder and as mentioned you will not need to pay ground rent, service charges or any other charges from the landlord.

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Leasehold Property:

Leasehold is when you own the property for a set period but you do not own the land it is built on. The land is owned by the freeholder. This is common in flats but you can buy leasehold houses too.

Leaseholds usually last between 125 and 999 years. The shared spaces such as the gardens, hallways are the responsibility of the landlords. You will pay them a service charge to cover this and you will also pay ground rent. You can look into buying the freehold but this is not always possible and the freeholder does not have to sell. When buying a leasehold property you will need tyo consider how many years are left on the lease. You will need to budget for service charges and other related cost. You should also consider the lease might affect getting a mortgage and the property resale value.

Are you looking a buying a freehold or leasehold property and need some advice? Give us a call today or please follow the link to book a free Initial Consultation