The flat that will cost you £69trn a year to rent

Treating a long-term lease like a virtual freehold could be a recipe for a nasty surprise, says Sarah Moore.

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Always check the small print on leasehold terms
(Image credit: elenaleonova)

Prospective house buyers are being warned about "virtual freehold" agreements that could leave them with astronomical charges and make properties almost unsellable, says Richard Dyson in The Daily Telegraph. Virtual freeholds are leaseholds where the lease term is so long that they are usually considered almost equivalent to owning a freehold. However, buyers are not always fully aware of the potential pitfalls in this type of agreement that make them very different to a true freehold.

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Sarah is MoneyWeek's investment editor. She graduated from the University of Southampton with a BA in English and History, before going on to complete a graduate diploma in law at the College of Law in Guildford. She joined MoneyWeek in 2014 and writes on funds, personal finance, pensions and property.