While purchase and sale transactions of real property may be more familiar, a significant portion of improved land in the United States is constructed on leased fee land. Examples include the Empire State Building and the World Trade Center complex in New York. There are over 4 million residential leasehold properties in the United Kingdom and over 2 million in the United States.
Some of the Wealthiest People and Entities in the World created a good portion of their wealth through ownership of leased fee interest The Royal family of England, The Catholic Church, The Government and Sovereign Wealth Fund of Singapore, The William Pears Group. Jay Shidler –also most Major Universities Like Stanford University. Hawaii, University of California etc. all own Leased fee interests. Additionally, almost all major countries’ sovereign wealth funds own leased fee interest along with hundreds of pension funds (see attachments).
What is the Leased Fee Interest? – When the property owner decides to sell the legal rights to use of the land, the owner retains a leased fee interest in the land and any improvement on the property. The leasehold interest allows the tenant/lessee to occupy and use the land and any improvements and does not convey ownership of the land itself.
