There has never been a better time to invest in buying the freehold title.
In the l970’s and 1980’s it was quite usual for people to purchase a new build house which was Leasehold as this generally made the cost cheaper.
If you own a house (rather than an apartment) with such a Lease it is likely that there is now less than 70 years remaining on the term of the Lease.
This will raise the following complications for you:-
The house will not be suitable for mortgage finance which means should you decide to sell, you will be unable to sell to anyone other than a cash buyer, thereby severely limiting your market. Indeed, if you did sell to a cash buyer they will more than likely make a low offer to compensate them for the future expense they will be put to regarding the purchase of the Freehold interest
You yourself will be unable to raise further mortgage finance on the property (remortgage).
If you wish to take advantage of an Equity Release mortgage in later years, the property will not be acceptable to the Lender because the term of Lease.
The longer you leave purchasing the Freehold interest in your property, the more expensive it will become.
If you have owned your property for more than 2 years you have a statutory right to purchase the freehold interest in the property and thereby increasing your asset and investment.
Please contact a member of our Residential Property Team on 01905 721600 for more details and advice to assist you with this very wise investment.