There are many ground rent houses in Baltimore.

What does this mean?

Guest blogger, T Jeremy Loomis, Sales Manager for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, explains more about Baltimore ground rent homes:

What is ground rent (also known as a leasehold estate) and why would I have it?

Ground rent is when a fee is paid to the holder for leasing the land that the property sits upon.  This dates back to the 18th century and was meant to keep homeownership costs low because the buyer only paid for the building and simply rented the land at a fixed cost (this is your ground rent or leasehold estate).  You will not find ground rent on all Baltimore houses, and generally it is not a high cost; anywhere from $50 to $150 per year.  Your REALTOR can tell you if the property you are looking to buy has ground rent, if not then the property would be called “fee simple”.

Thank you, Jeremy!

In Baltimore County, you can find Rodgers Forge ground rent homes, as well as Loch Raven Village ground rent homes. They take a little extra in the appraisal process, but one thing to understand and be aware of is that as long as you pay your “ground rent”, you may do what you want with the property. The ground rent holder (or leasehold owner) cannot do anything or take anything of your property as long as you pay your ground rent!

Please contact Jeremy and myself for further information on Baltimore Ground Rent homes and the new FHA Appraisal Guidelines for leasehold properties.