Mortgage Information > Other Information

Ownership

. Freehold - If you buy a freehold property, you own the land, any buildings on it and the right to live there indefinitely. You can make any changes to the property, within the bounds of the law and planning restrictions. Houses are commonly freehold.

. Leasehold - With a leasehold property you buy the right to live there for a set period of time, paying ground rent to the freeholder. The freeholder could live in the building or could be an individual or company in the background. At the end of the lease, ownership of the property reverts to the freeholder. The lease also includes information about your responsibilities to the property and the freeholder. There can be a service charge for maintenance work to any internal or external communal area.

. Share of the freehold - A flat may be sold with a share of the freehold. This means that each flat in the block (this could be any number from two upwards) has a lease, but the residents have clubbed together to buy the freehold and act as their own landlord.

Buy To Let
Buying property to let is becoming a growing trend. Social attitudes changes have meant that many young people are renting not buying. Buy to Let is a joint initiative between Letting Agents and Mortgage lenders. The scheme is designed to help private individuals invest in property to let without being penalised by mortgage surcharges or paying commercial rates of interest.

Right to Buy
Having the right to buy means that you can buy your home from a local authority or non-charitable housing association. This method of buying is usually cheaper because as a tenant you can obtain a discount.

Equity Release
If you are looking to release what money may be in your property, without having to pay more mortgage payments or remove this maybe the mortgage for you. Generally, this type of mortgage is only available to those over retirement age, and often the mortgage lender will not ask for any repayment. The downside to this type of mortgage is that after you die, the lender will own the property.