How to buy your freehold

There has been a lot of controversy recently over leaseholds that could make properties impossible to sell. A solution is to buy your freehold. Emma Lunn explains how.

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They wouldn't be smiling if she mentioned the ground rent
(Image credit: sturti)

Nationwide Building Society announced last week that it would stop lending against any new-build leasehold flat or house where the ground rent is more than 0.1% of the value of the property. This is in response to a high-profile series of stories about onerous leasehold contracts that impose spiralling ground-rent charges on buyers a liability that could eventually render these properties unsellable.

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Emma Lunn

Emma Lunn is a multi-award-winning journalist who specialises in personal finance and consumer issues. With more than 18 years’ experience in personal finance, Emma has covered topics including mortgages, first-time buyers, leasehold, banking, debt, budgeting, broadband, energy, pensions and investments. Emma’s one of the most prolific freelance personal finance journalists with a back catalogue of work in newspapers such as The Guardian, The Independent, The Daily Telegraph, the Mail on Sunday and the Mirror. As a freelancer she has also completed various in-house contracts at The Guardian, The Independent, Mortgage Solutions, Orange and Moneywise. 

She also writes regularly for specialist magazines and websites such as Property Hub, Mortgage Strategy and YourMoney.com. She’s particularly proud of her work writing about the leasehold sector and a Guardian front-page story about a dodgy landlord. She has a real passion for helping people learn about money – especially when many people are struggling to get by in today’s challenging economic climate – and prides herself on simplifying complex subjects.