What is the freehold of a property?

What is the freehold of a property?

Freehold is a type of property ownership, where a person or organisation has outright ownership, forever, of a property and the land on which it is built. Leasehold is a form of property ownership where a property is leased from a freeholder.

Why is it called freehold?

Freehold, in English law, ownership of a substantial interest in land held for an indefinite period of time. The term originally designated the owner of an estate held in free tenure, who possessed, under Magna Carta, the rights of a free man.

What is the legal definition of freehold?

An estate in land which provides the holder of the estate with rights of ownership. There are several different types of freehold estate. The most common are: Fee simple, which is effectively absolute ownership of the land. Life estate, which effectively means ownership for the duration of the holder’s life.

What is the benefit of owning a freehold?

Freeholds are usually houses. The advantage of a freehold property is that you have complete control over it, and are not subject to any further payments, like ground rents, service charges or admin fees, which can be the case with leasehold properties.

How do I know if a property is freehold?

Alernatively, you can go to the Land Registry website and search for an entry for your property. Most property is registered and you should be able to obtain a copy of your title who will confirm whether the property is freehold or leasehold.

Do I own the freehold of my property?

If you own the freehold, it means that you own the building and the land it stands on outright, in perpetuity. It is your name in the land registry as “freeholder”, owning the “title absolute”. Freehold is pretty much always the preferred option: you can’t really go wrong with it.

Does freehold mean you own the land?

The freeholder of a property owns it outright, including the land it’s built on. If you buy a freehold, you’re responsible for maintaining your property and land, so you’ll need to budget for these costs. Most houses are freehold but some might be leasehold – usually through shared-ownership schemes.

How long does a freehold last?

Leasehold means that you just have a lease from the freeholder (sometimes called the landlord) to use the home for a number of years. The leases are usually long term – often 90 years or 120 years and as high as 999 years – but can be short, such as 40 years.

Is it worth buying my freehold?

If your property is a house it’s almost always worth buying the freehold, as there’s no real reason why you should be paying additional money for the land it’s built on. You can’t purchase the freehold on your flat alone. You need to have everyone in your block of flats to agree to buy a share of the overall freehold.

Is it good to own the freehold?

Benefits of owning the freehold to your flat: Free lease extensions: you can usually extend the lease to 999 years at no extra cost (excluding legal fees) You control service charges: you can choose value for money, quality providers. No ground rent: you normally don’t pay ground rent.

Is it worth buying the freehold of my house?

Who owns the property next to me?

Start with a public records search at the local county recorder’s office or the tax assessor. The recorder’s office keeps all the permanent public records that have to do with real property. The clerk will do the property owner lookup for you with the address you’ve given them.