It means you'd own the home but pay rent on the ground under it, and that carries real financing and resale consequences. Residential land is held two ways. Fee simple means you own the dirt along with the structure. Leased land (a ground lease) means a recurring payment to whoever owns the land. Leasehold communities are uncommon, but they exist. The financing rule matters most. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac require the ground lease to extend at least 5 years past the loan's maturity date. In practice, the maximum loan term is roughly the remaining lease minus 5 years, so a 30-year loan needs about 35 or more years left on the lease, and a home with 15 years remaining can't support a standard 30-year loan at all. Value follows the same clock. As the lease winds down, values tend to erode unless the landowner offers an extension or buyout, and many don't, because the arrangement favors them. Before you write an offer, have a real estate attorney read the actual lease: the remaining years, the ground rent, and any escalation clauses. A leasehold can suit a narrow buyer, say an older cash buyer unconcerned with long-term appreciation or leaving the property to heirs, but for most buyers the fit is wrong. This is general information, not legal advice.