Buying Property in the UK - What You Need to Know

Real estate in the UK is steadily growing in price. Especially it concerns the capital of the United Kingdom. Last year, housing prices in London rose by 9.4%. The main reason for the constant rise in prices experts call a large number of foreigners who want to make investments in real estate in London. Over the past five years, the proportion of housing purchased in the UK by foreigners has increased by 39%. Among those who want to buy property in England, there are many Russians. But in order to purchase real estate in the UK did not lead to losses and problems, it is necessary to know the specifics of British law. First of all, it concerns the forms of ownership of real estate.

In the UK it is:

• Freehold and his version of Share of Freehold.
• Leasehold and its version Part by part rent.
• Commonhold.

Freehold is the most understandable property right for us, which can be realized only if the land under the real estate object belongs to the owner of the object! It turns out that an apartment in a block of flats can not be freehold? Indeed, until 1993 it was so! After the adoption of the "Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993", it became possible for tenants of apartment buildings or townhouses to redeem the building and the land under the building on a shared ownership basis. This is the Share of Freehold

Leasehold - a long lease (for example, for 99 or 125 years), the amount of which is the value of the property. But, for example, buying an apartment in Leasehold, you need to understand that you have to pay an annual land rent, the amount of which is set by the owner (usually within 100-300 pounds per year), as well as services for servicing real estate in housing complexes (in the central areas of London The cost can reach 2,500-10,000 or more pounds per year, it depends on the area of the apartment, the deterioration of the building and the set of services provided to residents.). However, the same law of 1993 establishes the possibility of compulsory extension of the lease for 90 years, if the initial contract is concluded for a period of 21 years and the last two years the actual owner was the signer. This reservation is due to the fact that by leasing real estate in Leasehold, you have the right to resell this contract to a third party. In fact, this means that, for example, by entering into a contract for 21 years, in 2 years you can extend it for another 90 years at market value (of course, it will cost a pretty penny, but the owner can no longer fix any price, and annual land rent Is canceled!). A variant of Leasehold is the purchase of a part of the property (less than 60%). In this case, any resale actions must be coordinated with the owner, and you do not have the right to extend the contract (that is, after the expiration of the period the owner can refuse or assign any new price). When buying a property on the basis of Leasehold, you need to pay attention to the remaining lease period!

Commonhold is the newest form of ownership for the UK (homeowners' association). At the same time, you own your apartment and collectively together with neighbors are responsible for the maintenance of the entrance, basement, attic, etc. This type of property appeared in 2002, according to the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002.

From the above, it follows that the most interesting for investors can be the purchase of real estate in the UK based on Commonhold and Freehold.

In addition to the above forms of ownership, it is necessary to know that housing in the UK is valued traditionally by the number of bedrooms. In fact, this means that the cost is indicated for the whole apartment or house, based on the number of bedrooms, and not per footage! Also, since any apartment has a living room or dining room combined with a kitchen (in English it is a "breakfast room"), for example, a 2 bedroom apartment in our understanding is a 3-room apartment.