Looking at something else?
Run it through the check.

Who is actually building this, who stands behind the contract, and what happened to the last companies these directors ran.

1. 001Companies House record pulled in full — incorporation date, registered office, SIC codes
2. 002Filed accounts for the last three years, read rather than skimmed
3. 003Net asset position, and whether shareholders’ funds are negative
4. 004Directors’ complete appointment history, including resignations
5. 005Every director checked against the Insolvency Service disqualification register
6. 006Previous companies of the same directors, and how each of them ended
7. 007Any strike-off action, Gazette notice or proposal to dissolve
8. 008Charges and debentures registered against the selling company
9. 009Persons with significant control — who ultimately owns it
10. 010Whether the entity selling is the entity that actually owns the land
11. 011Group structure, and whether the SPV is deliberately thinly capitalised
12. 012Completed schemes evidenced independently, not taken from the brochure
13. 013Whether previous schemes completed on the date buyers were given
14. 014County court judgments against the company or its directors
15. 015Litigation history and any adverse press
16. 016Reviews read for the pattern of complaint, not the star rating
17. 017Whether any scheme has ever been handed back to a lender or receiver
18. 018The main contractor’s own solvency and track record

Whether the scheme is actually funded, and what happens to your money between exchange and completion.

1. 019Whether senior debt is in place or still an application
2. 020Who the funder is — a bank, a bridging lender, or other buyers’ deposits
3. 021Whether construction is funded to completion or dependent on further sales
4. 022Whether the deposit is held as stakeholder or as agent for the seller
5. 023Which firm holds the client account, and its SRA number
6. 024Whether the deposit can be released to the developer before completion
7. 025Deposit protection — insurance-backed, escrow, or none at all
8. 026What percentage falls due at exchange, and when the balance is called
9. 027The long-stop date, and what happens the day after it passes
10. 028Who holds the right to rescind, and on what grounds
11. 029Whether the price is fixed or subject to a review clause
12. 030Assignment rights before completion, and any fee attached
13. 031Any incentive, rebate or cashback — and whether the lender is told about it
14. 032Whether the reservation fee is refundable, and for exactly how long

Whether the building may lawfully be used the way it is being sold, and whether what is delivered matches what was consented.

1. 033Planning permission located and the reference checked on the council’s own portal
2. 034Whether what is being sold matches what was actually consented
3. 035Conditions attached to the permission, and whether they are discharged
4. 036Any Article 4 direction in force over the address
5. 037Permitted development rights, and whether they have been removed
6. 038Use class, and whether the intended use is sui generis
7. 039Enforcement notices or breach history at the address
8. 040Building control route — local authority or approved inspector
9. 041Whether a completion certificate exists, or is merely promised
10. 042Construction type, and whether lenders treat it as non-standard
11. 043Measured floor area against the marketing floor area
12. 044Room sizes and ceiling heights against the statutory minimums
13. 045The specification schedule — what is contractually included
14. 046Whether white goods, furniture and flooring are included or extra
15. 047Parking, cycle store and bin store provision
16. 048Lift provision against the number of storeys
17. 049Communal areas, who maintains them, and who pays
18. 050EPC rating, and whether it meets the minimum standard to let
19. 051Whether that rating still complies under the proposed uplift

The area that has cost leaseholders the most money since 2017, and the one most often absent from a sales pack.

1. 052Measured building height, and whether it is a higher-risk building
2. 053Whether the building is registered with the Building Safety Regulator
3. 054External wall system — cladding type and insulation behind it
4. 055EWS1 form, its rating, and the date it was issued
5. 056Whether an EWS1 is required at this height at all
6. 057Remediation status, and who is contractually paying for it
7. 058Whether the developer signed the government’s remediation pledge
8. 059Building Safety Act leaseholder protections, and whether they reach this flat
9. 060Qualifying lease status — an investment flat may not qualify
10. 061Whether a landlord certificate has been served, and what it says
11. 062Any waking watch, and its cost apportioned per flat
12. 063Fire risk assessment date, and the actions still outstanding
13. 064Compartmentation, sprinkler and alarm grade
14. 065Second means of escape
15. 066Whether the fire door standard is documented
16. 067Any prohibition or improvement notice from the fire authority

Every figure rebuilt from source rather than repeated — because the yield on the front of a brochure is the one number nobody checks.

1. 068Price against Land Registry sold prices for the same block
2. 069Price per square foot against comparable new build in the postcode
3. 070Price per square foot against comparable resale stock, which is what you exit into
4. 071Whether any “discount” is against a price anything has ever sold at
5. 072Gross yield recalculated from achievable rent, not quoted rent
6. 073Net yield after every cost — not a gross figure presented as net
7. 074Ground rent, its level, and its review mechanism
8. 075Whether ground rent doubles, or is linked to RPI
9. 076Service charge per square foot against the local norm
10. 077Service charge history, and its year-on-year increase
11. 078Sinking fund provision, and whether it is adequate for the building
12. 079Management fee basis — percentage of rent or fixed
13. 080Letting and re-letting fees
14. 081The void allowance used, and whether it is realistic for the street
15. 082Maintenance and renewals allowance
16. 083Insurance cost, and whether it is block or landlord
17. 084Stamp duty calculated with every surcharge that applies to you
18. 085Legal fees, searches and registration costs
19. 086Furniture pack cost, and whether it is optional
20. 087Total cash to complete, stated as a single number
21. 088Mortgage cost at a real product rate, not a headline rate
22. 089The same model stress-tested at a materially higher rate
23. 090Cashflow in month one, not averaged across year one
24. 091Total return modelled against a named, published growth forecast

What the register actually says, as opposed to what the particulars say it says.

1. 092Official copy of the title register and title plan obtained
2. 093Freehold or leasehold, and the unexpired term
3. 094Whether the remaining term is mortgageable, now and at your exit
4. 095Who owns the freehold, and whether it is being sold on separately
5. 096Restrictions, covenants and easements on the register
6. 097Rights of way, and whether access is adopted
7. 098Whether roads and sewers are adopted or private
8. 099Any charge or restriction that must be removed before completion
9. 100Local authority search
10. 101Drainage and water search
11. 102Environmental search — contamination, landfill, ground stability
12. 103Flood risk, and whether insurance is actually obtainable
13. 104Coal mining or brine search where the area requires one
14. 105Chancel repair liability
15. 106Planning search across the surrounding area
16. 107Whether the seller has good title to sell at all
17. 108Whether the property is registered land
18. 109Rentcharges
19. 110Any existing tenancy, and the terms you would inherit
20. 111Whether vacant possession is genuinely being given
21. 112Deed of variation history
22. 113Whether the lease permits letting, and on what terms

The costs that surface at exchange if nobody raised them at the outset — and the filings an overseas buyer is not always told about.

1. 114Stamp duty band and the correct rate applied
2. 115Additional property surcharge
3. 116Non-UK resident surcharge
4. 117Whether multiple dwellings relief is being claimed, and whether it is available
5. 118Whether the property is residential or mixed use for SDLT
6. 119VAT position on the purchase price
7. 120Whether buying personally or through a company changes the lending available
8. 121ATED exposure on company purchases above the threshold
9. 122Corporation tax against income tax treatment of the profit
10. 123Mortgage interest relief position
11. 124Capital gains position on exit
12. 125Non-resident capital gains reporting duty, and its deadline
13. 126Inheritance tax exposure for a non-domiciled buyer
14. 127Whether a double taxation treaty applies
15. 128Register of Overseas Entities registration where it is required

Who is regulated, who is insured, and who you can complain to — checked on the registers, not taken on trust.

1. 129Solicitor checked on the SRA register — the firm and the individual
2. 130Whether the solicitor is genuinely independent of the seller
3. 131Whether professional indemnity cover is adequate for this price
4. 132Client account details confirmed by telephone, never by email
5. 133Source of funds evidence prepared before exchange, not at it
6. 134Anti-money-laundering checks completed on the buyer
7. 135The estate agent’s redress scheme membership
8. 136Client money protection for any agent holding money
9. 137The letting agent’s redress scheme membership
10. 138Whether the property meets the current lettings regime
11. 139Licensing requirement for the address, and who is responsible for applying
12. 140Right to Rent process for the eventual tenancy
13. 141Deposit protection scheme for the eventual tenancy
14. 142Whether the sales material complies with consumer protection rules

What is actually covered if the building is defective or the income does not arrive — and who is standing behind the promise.

1. 143New home warranty provider and policy number
2. 144What the warranty covers in years one and two against years three to ten
3. 145The warranty’s deposit protection limit, and its cap
4. 146Whether cover passes to a second owner
5. 147Whether mainstream lenders accept that warranty provider
6. 148Buildings insurance in place from exchange
7. 149Whether the block policy covers full reinstatement value
8. 150Excesses on the block policy, particularly escape of water
9. 151Any rent guarantee, and who actually underwrites it
10. 152Whether a rental guarantee comes from the developer or an insurer
11. 153What happens to that guarantee if the guarantor fails
12. 154Professional indemnity cover of the valuer and the surveyor