Er, is that something to do with freemasons?
Young homebuyers have displayed a startling level of confusion over property terms, with two per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds believing that a freehold property is one that only freemasons are allowed to buy.Although the above is probably the most alarming display of ignorance, a poll from AA Legal Services revealed that only 59 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds could accurately define the term freehold and only 57 per cent knew what a leasehold was.Around one in ten of the younger age range believed that a leasehold property was one that you could let to other tenants and two per cent wrongly believed that leasehold properties were exempt from Council Tax.Apart from those who thought that freehold properties were something to do with freemasons, a further nine per cent of young people thought a freehold meant a property with a lease of over 50 years and six per cent thought freehold owners did not have to pay Capital Gains Tax. The new research also revealed that buyers in the north of the country were more in the dark about property terms than their southern counterparts. While 61 per cent of people in London were clued-up on the term leasehold, 77 per cent of people in the north-west were clueless as to its definition.James Molloy, head of AA Legal Services, commented: "Our research suggests that many homebuyers are so desperate to get onto the property ladder that they may be over-looking vitally important basic legal principals."
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