UK property combines familiar concepts with distinctive structures. The most important: tenure. Most houses are freehold (you own land and building); many flats are leasehold (you own a right to occupy for a term of years), which affects value, fees and resale.
Market structure in brief
- Process varies by nation. England & Northern Ireland, Scotland (where accepted offers become binding earlier) and Wales differ procedurally, always check which applies.
- Surveys are central. Buyers typically commission condition surveys before committing; the 'offer accepted' stage is not binding until contracts exchange.
- Mortgages often start with short fixed or discount periods that then revert to a standard variable rate, remortgaging at the end of a deal is routine.
- Area is quoted in square feet AND square meters: listing portals show both.