Who's buying into these?!
Is it a case of ignorance or no choice? It's been awful for decades and only getting worse.
Bit of both I'd say. One thing people were getting suckered into was from the likes of Taylor Wimpey where buried in the small print was a clause about the lease rates doubling every 5 years or something. So they may have looked very appealing at £100/yr, but after 15 years you're now paying £800/yr with the increase to £1600/yr by year 20. At that point mortgage companies don't want to touch them.
Another issue I read the other day about a small group of houses in Wales I think it was - where the freehold had been sold to a company who's not even registered in the UK! Which meant mortgage companies weren't interested, making the houses unsellable. The homeowners were pleading with the council to buy the freehold so that they could sell their homes.
We also live in a leasehold, but thankfully don't have to pay for a management company, or any kind of services. It's solely a ground rent charge - which is still frustrating having to pay the freehold for essentially doing **** all.