Money Tips Daily By Charles Kelly, Former Ifa And Author Of Yes, Money Can Buy You Happiness.

Have you read your lease? Leaseholds properties are a legal landmine for the hundreds of thousands of uninitiated buyers purchasing leasehold flats every year. Like me, the majority of first time buyers, as well as buy-to-let landlords, will buy a leasehold flat under rules which exist in very few countries outside the UK. When you buy most flats in the UK, you are a tenant under a long lease which usually runs for more than 99 years, but diminishes in value as the lease gets shorter. You pay ‘rent’, known as ground rent, to the ‘landlord’ or freeholder, which used to be a peppercorn rent but on new developments is increasingly running into several hundred pounds with sharp increases in the future. You will also pay a service charge for insurance and upkeep of common areas. In blocks which have lifts, pools and concierge desks, expect to pay from £2,000 pa upwards.