According to NAEA Propertymark, most people that have bought a leasehold house now regret it, with almost half of home buyers not knowing the full terms of their deals “until it was too late.”

The findings come from the body’s latest report: “Leasehold: A Life Sentence?” which polled leasehold home owners on their experience of buying, living in, and selling leasehold property.

Hinting at the cause of major dissatisfaction from buyers, the report states that 78% of leasehold house owners bought their property directly from the developer, and that 65% used a solicitor that the house builder recommended. Of these people, 15% say that were not informed of the fact that they were entering a leasehold deal.

Issues such as escalating ground rent (which 48% of respondents say they weren’t aware of) resulted in 94% of those asked stating that they regret buying a leasehold house. When it comes to selling a leasehold house, 31% of the people asked said that not owning a freehold was causing problems, and 25% reported that prior interest had dissolved once the potential buyer was informed of the leasehold.