Owning property in Britain

[Dawud Beale]

Hi everyone, first post in the forum.

I have a question. My boss from a previous job owned the premises that we were on (it was an engineering business). He said that he still had to pay rent for the land, something like £8,000 a year, to some duke or member of the royal family who owned the land in Sheffield. He also only had a 99 year lease and then he had to return the property or repurchase it. That is my understanding from our discussions.

Is this correct, does anyone have some good info I can read further on how that works, and is this the same for all commercial and residential properties?

I may wish to buy a residential property in future but I don't know how it works in terms of ownership. Does some duke still own the land my house would be on and would it be a lease that they would eventually reclaim from my childrens children or would the property belong to my family until we decided to sell it?

I actually think thats an incredibly archaic system aswell that I would like to oppose as it essentially gives some random duke a load of property by birthright and essentially ensures that the working and middle classes will never be able to work their way up in society. So if anyone knows of any campaigns, pressure groups, awareness videos or articles or informative documentaries etc so I can learn more about the history of the system and why it is the wya it is and how it works etc, any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks and best wishes

Dawud Beale

 

[Veronica]

Most residential property tends to be freehold not leasehold apart from flats in some cases.
Obviously if you are considering purchasing a home you would make sure that the property is freehold. The estate agents who have the properties on their books would tell you if they are freehold or leasehold.

 

[totallyproperty]

It is always best to check whether the property you are buying is leasehold or freehold - I think new laws were brought in over the last few years to support those who own leasehold properties.

This is a very important matter and advice should always be taken.

 

[dcmhomebuyers112]

As I have mentioned, one of our significant 2012 events was the purchase of a flat in south-east London. Purchasing property anywhere is a big milestone, and doing it from the other side of the world was quite an adventure.

 

[Ron0]

Definitely,you need to check out whether the property is leasehold or freehold. Its an important fact. You need to make sure about all these through your real estate agent...