I was interested in buying a leasehold property, but I asked the estate agent whether I could also buy the freehold through the owners signing the necessary forms. After a long wait they told me this was not possible and couldn’t tell me what it would cost.
The owners could have sought a voluntary sale from the freeholder, but if the freeholder refused they would have had to use the procedures set out in the Leasehold Reform Act. This could have been expensive and time consuming, and would have involved engaging a surveyor to calculate the value of the freehold. Although it may have increased the value of their house the owners may have decided it wasn’t a worthwhile project since (I take it) there was no commitment from you to purchase the property at the end of it.