– SPONSORED CONTENT –
Before we started our property hunt, I had no idea what a freehold or leasehold was. They didn’t teach it in school (to my knowledge) and it’s something that you don’t have to think about when you’re renting. To put it in laymen’s terms, a leasehold is where you own the property but not the ground it sits on. Freehold is where you own the property outright, both land and home. Our first property is a leasehold and we weren’t fussed about a freehold because we knew that this property was only going to be an investment for our future. Eventually, we want to move out of this home and into a house big enough to start a family. So what are the perks of living in a leasehold property?
Structural Damage Isn’t A Problem
Westchase Roofing has offered residential roofing since 2008. As we own our apartment and not the building itself, we don’t need to worry about the overall structure of the building, including the roofing, drainage etc. This for myself and Sam does take a lot of pressure off our shoulders as first-time buyers. Any costs or damage incurred gets covered by our annual service charge and I’d rather pay that set amount every year, knowing it’s just the appliances inside the property that I have to worry about.
Communal Gardens = No Gardening Duties
I’ve yet to mature enough to enjoy gardening but I also don’t think I’m great at it. We recently brought two houseplants and I’m keen to keep them alive because they cost around £50. I also didn’t realise that plants are so bloody expensive. Anyway, we don’t have a private garden, mainly because we’re situated on the top floor, so that wouldn’t be physically possible. However, we do share a communal garden, which is looked after by a gardener. This means we have absolutely zero gardening responsibilities but can enjoy lazing out in the garden with a bottle of prosecco and a good book. I’d be sharing the prosecco obviously…
A Real Community Feel
It’s a shame that neighbourhood life isn’t as friendly or close knitted as it used to be. Especially in London, no one speaks to one another but in our development, there is a sense of community. We have a WhatsApp group in which we all communicate in and we’ve attended a meet up where we had drinks in the communal garden. Most of them are similar ages either in their late twenties or thirties, so we get on with everyone well.
Site Management
We have a lovely chap who looks after the development and is here every day as the work continues to finish off the other phases of properties on our site. This is actually a great perk because he’s managed to help us out a lot with deliveries when we’ve been away and notified us of any issues. It’s great to have that extra pair of helping hands, especially when you’ve just brought your first property. It’ll be sad when he goes eventually but I feel like we have him on site for at least another six months to a year.
Do you own a property and if so, what are the perks of living in your home? Let me know in the comments below.
*Disclaimer – This is a collaborative post with Westchase Roofing. All words are my own.
