Unlikes flats or apartments, houses are commonly sold as freehold properties.
Freehold
With freehold properties, you own the land that the property stands on and you are responsible for everything. A safe bet would be to keep a reserve in a savings account for the up keep for your property.
Leasehold
With leasehold properties, you enter into an agreement to buy time. The land is owned by the landlord, also known as the freeholder and the ownership of the property reverts back to the landlord when the lease runs out.
You will pay a service charge and ground rent. When you want to carry out alterations to the property, you will need to get permission from the freeholder. You may also have to pay for any major repairs that need to be carried out.