Buying house in London. help!

[boompah]

Long time lurker but joined for property advice.

Could someone explain to me in very simple terms what buying a property in London means with freehold. Does it mean I could lose my house if I don't own the land?

Can I avoid this?

The point of freehold is that you own the land and anything built on it forever.

Whereas leasehold you only own the specifically described areas for a set period of time.

Leasehold you often get charged a ground rent / service charge as well

@MinnieMountain

The point of freehold is that you own the land and anything built on it forever.

Whereas leasehold you only own the specifically described areas for a set period of time.

Ah. So I have it the wrong way round.

So if someone else owns my leasehold then could they bar me from my house?

You own the 'unit' whether it is a house or a flat leasehold and a freeholder owns the rest of the building and/or the ground underneath.

I don't think you can be barred from your house, but you have to pay ground rent to the freeholder and possibly pay towards repairs of communal areas/facilities/services. You might not have control over these costs but still be liable to pay them.

Plus with leasehold houses recently, it's been a ruse to make the place look artificially cheaper while making more profit for the freeholder, eg with doubling ground rent clauses that cause it to escalate in cost and make the property unmortagable and hence effectively worthless in extreme cases.

If you're looking at a leasehold property, make sure you use an independent solicitor, never one recommended by the seller (if newbuild).

Always worth looking at Moneysavingexpert for a clear guide of any pitfalls.

www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/what-is-a-leasehold/