The cost of real estate in the UK depends on the multiplicity of factors. Of course, the proximity to transportation, cultural and large infrastructure hubs, as well as the prestigiousness of the district play an essential role. However, there are more aspects you should take into account and the form of ownership is one of them. Basically, there are two types of ownership in the country: freehold that implies buying a house with the land on which it is located and leasehold that in most cases stands for buying an apartment in a house or building. In this case, you don’t own the property technically, but only for a specified period, which may vary greatly: from 25 years to 999 years, depending on the particular embodiment. Legally speaking, you are entitled to long-term lease apartments from the owner of land and buildings and are required to pay for the lease of land and building maintenance costs, usually in proportion to the area of the premises. When acquiring this or that property you have to keep in mind the expenses for the services of conveyance solicitors - typically they charge up to 0.6% from the total price of the housing.

Mentioned below are the basic costs of maintaining a premises in the capital city - the ones you will have to cover regularly:

• Council tax, replenishing the local budget. The amount is defined by the area where the premises is located; this amount typically ranges between £800 and £1,500 annually; however, the cost may be individually calculated. These funds are used for municipal needs, such as garbage collection, police and fire departments maintenance, and etc. In the case of apartments rental, this tax may be covered by the tenant, ie, those who actually lives in an apartment.
• Utility costs such as water, heating, electricity, gas, internet, TV, etc. On average these expenses account for £100 - £300 per month. In the case of renting the apartments, these costs are paid by the tenant
• In the case of tenure on condition of Leasehold you pay for the lease of land (ground rent). The amount of this payment is usually determined depending on the number of rooms in the premises and ranges up to £700 per year and higher. This fee is payable by the owner of the apartment. Even if you rent an apartment, paying ground rent is considered to be your responsibility.
• In case of leasehold, you cover the costs of maintenance of the building (service charges), which are calculated in proportion to the area of the premises. The amount of service charge in London varies in the range of £2 - £4 per square foot, that is, from £1,000 a year for a one-bedroom apartment. If the residential complex is equipped with sports gym or a swimming pool, the expenditure items will go further.
• It is also necessary to take into account the costs of finding tenants and managing the apartment. On average, the cost of the service to search for a tenant in London makes up to 8-10% of the annual rent. The cost of finding a tenant and taking care of full property management ranges from 15% of the rent and higher.

In the UK, a Victorian house is any house built during the time of Queen Victoria's reign in any style of Victorian architecture. All these houses, standing out with slate roofs and protruding windows, Victorian houses make up about 70% of residential real estate in London. Municipal homes represent a form of public housing in the UK. Municipal residential houses were built and managed by local authorities to provide housing for the local population. In 2005, approximately 20% of such housing is owned by local authorities and housing associations. Construction of municipal residential buildings has decreased dramatically with the arrival of the Conservatives who spoke in support of homeownership. Importantly, council houses built in the 20-40-ies of XX century are quite suitable for comfortable living, especially if you are considering economy class options, while the houses of a later period are oftentimes smaller and less convenient. Municipal houses account for 20% of London's residential property.

Laws forbade local governments to invest in the construction, which doesn’t allow it to subsidise it out of tax revenues. Moreover, persons who rent housing in the municipality, receive a right to buy their council house at very favorable terms. Buying the Right has allowed tenants to buy their homes in the property at a discount of up to 60% of the market price of houses and 70% of apartments depending on the lived life. Municipal authorities could no longer invest in the resulting profits from sales in the construction of new homes, and the total number of houses, especially those that are in demand, decreased. Today, municipal homes are very unpopular among the population, and the term ‘municipality’ is used with a pejorative connotation, although initially most people thought that living in such homes is quite acceptable option. Now more and more people living in municipal buildings receiving the support of social security funds.

Nearly 5% of London property is comprised of houses built in Regency era (most often it is the luxury expensive mansions, palaces and manor houses, built in the XVII-XVIII centuries), and modern buildings, also called ‘new developments’ in style and appearance design reminiscent of New York's skyscrapers. The latter do not enjoy the wildly popular among the indigenous British, but they willingly inhabit, businessmen and investors, making London their second home.

Residential real estate market makes a huge contribution in Great Britain's prosperity, it’s one of the most important factors determining the development of the British economy. It contributes to the growth of other industries, including legal industry, servicing a multiplicity of aspects, e.g. conveyance solicitors make the deals happen, banking lawyers deal with mortgage and loans issuance and etc. There’s a point of view that the growth may be associated with the emergence of bubble because of flowing international capital. Well, in fact it’s just a single aspect of the system that is considered by many aspects along with the deficit of real estate.

Of course, the largest selection of student property is concentrated in London. There are 18 special complexes - Purpose Built Student Housing - cottage settlements providing such infrastructure. They are scattered throughout the city, and new construction is concentrated in the 1st and 2nd zones.

Britain is good that the best universities are located not only in the capital - a huge number of educational institutions from around the world is located in other cities. For example, in Manchester and Sheffield the University of Manchester and Sheffield Hallam University are rated 2nd and 3rd most attended institutions after London Open University. Almost every major city in England has a decent university, and the choice of locations is quite diverse. In addition to these locations, as well as the world famous Oxford and Cambridge, this type of facilities is available to investors in Liverpool, Nottingham, Canterbury, Plymouth, Leeds, Liverpool, Bristol, Newcastle, Birmingham and many other cities.

The price aspect Such a variety of locations provide a wide range of opportunities for domestic and international investors, so while in London the price of such objects can easily go beyond £150,000 mark, in other cities the average cost of student housing is estimated at £50,000 - £60,000. The cheapest offer, found on the market today, starts from £32,000. It was a room of 15 square meters. with a bed, desk, TV, wardrobe, shower, toilet and shared kitchen. The apartment, sold out as for now, is located in a residential complex with a gym and relaxation area. This way or the other, you should add around £1,000 - £3,000 payment for conveyance solicitors and real estate agencies services.

Some experts mention even starting sums as low as £25,000. This is where much depends not only on the city, but also on real estate itself. If this is a tiny studio or room in a long-established and somewhat outdated design, of course, it will be cheaper. Objects of the same area in the new ultra-modern units are quite expensive, although you may want to located in rebuilt buildings, previously used for other purposes, the price may be slightly lower (though not always). Also, the cost depends on the type of accommodation. You can buy a simple student apartment - modernly equipped rooms with a shower and toilet but with a shared kitchen, they will be much cheaper, and you can also make a choice in favour of improved student apartments - more comfortable and spacious, as well as some studio apartments in new buildings, which tend to be more expensive. In addition, the proximity to the educational institution is also crucial - the more remote it is, the cheaper it will be.

Remarkably, the special student complexes are typically managed by large asset management companies, maintaining strict order and enter into contracts with universities, that is, find tenants, and thus completely eliminating this concern for investors. Moreover, the demand from tenants and income from rental is oftentimes guaranteed by developers themselves.