What is the difference between freehold and leasehold?

Question

Does freehold mean that the property is yours forever?

What does it mean when a flat is for sale with "a share of freehold"?

Is it better to buy a flat on leasehold or freehold?

So is it possible for someone to buy a flat (not house) that it would be theirs forever? (that is no 99 year contract)

Answer 1

Here in UK owning a freehold property means that the owner of said property owns it outright forever.

Leasehold is quite different.  A leasehold property is usually held for a fixed period of time, such as 25 years or however long the leasehold contract is agreed for.  At the end of the lease, the owner of the lease can either renew that lease with the owner of the property and land, or simply move on out etc.

Please note that any leasehold home owner in UK has the legal right to buy the 'freehold' from the owner of the property and land.

Leasehold Advice Centre

http://www.LeaseholdAdviceCentre.Co.Uk

Freehold: Legal advice - London solicitors: overview of freehold ...Freehold: legal phrases UK defined. London lawyers & solicitors firm in UK, England. ... Gillhams - Law Firm Commercial Property Lawyers London, UK ...

http://www.gillhams.com/dictionary/256.c...  

In terms of you buying a flat - it might be to your advantage to buy a freehold property and the reason I say this is because very often a leasehold property can be difficult to sell on.  This is particularly the case where such a property only has say 10 or 15 years of life left on it's present leasehold agreement.

If you are thinking of buying property here in UK, I recommend you have a look at some property auctions - don't buy right away, but see how it goes and see if you like the experience of bidding etc.

Property Auctions - UK Property Auction Database cheap property ...UK Auction List provides property auctions in England and Wales. Visit our website to see all the auctions and properties that are listed today.

http://www.ukauctionlist.com/

High-speed house building the American method. . . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuEIzBhbu...

Meanwhile, here in UK, the construction industry is taking time out until things start booming once more.

On the property front, it's a buyers' market as house prices continue to fall slowly.

Good luck. . . .

Answer 2

AS THE OTHER POSTS HAVE SAID BUT AVOID SHARED FREEHOLD AT ALL COST WITH ANOTHER FLAT, THEY WANT UP AND OUT YOUR LEFT HOLDING THE BABY SO TO SPEAK

Answer 3

Freehold means the building and the site it stands on is yours out-right. lease hold means that the property is yours but the land it stands on is not.You have to rent it from its` owner on a lease. Generally a lease is for 99 years.

The flat with the shared freehold is a new one on me, but it would be in-advisable to share a freehold with anyone other than a partner. Usually flats are leasehold, but many are freehold. It is always better to buy `freehold` because then the property is yours. Leashold is really a glorified way of saying `rented`, because once the lease expires, everything reverts back to the person who owns the lease of the property and the ground freehold. This person must, at the end of the lease term, offer you a new term of lease, but they can charge you anything they like for it, in as much as they could "price you out of the market". You can always approach your landlord and ask him to sell you the freehold of the property in question, but  he is not obliged to sell it to you if he does not wish to.