It is practically identical! I haven't looked at their listing for a while but the only difference is I believe their bedrooms are next to each other while ours are either end of the flat. We also have the larger balcony space rather than the utility space which is at least half the size of ours. There's the added benefit of having a huge loft space so storage isn't an issue for us whereas the other flats if they aren't top floor don't have much in the way of built in storage.
The lady selling that one is looking for a quick sale which is why it's marketed cheaper. We had 3 valuations all for 240, one of which was the agent that she's on the market with so she would have received the same valuation.
We only really need the heating on for end of November through to end of Jan as we get quite a lot of heat through the floor (another benefit of being top floor). We replaced the boiler in 2024 so it's very energy efficient and everything heats up really fast. I don't know if the EPC really reflects that, not sure if we can actually pay for one while the old one is still valid, EA didn't say it was important so we didn't.
I can't say about insulation as I genuinely have no idea but we've never had an issue being cold or too hot! We can hear the neighbours downstairs sometimes but we aren't directly attached to other flats so noise is minimal. Neighbours are all lovely! There's a family in the flat on the north side and a couple in the flat on the south side, middle floor has two families and I believe the other flat that is up for sale is a single older lady, bottom floor has one vacant (family of the occupant travel down occasionally from London to stay for odd weekends) one single man and I believe a couple in the third. They're all lovely, everyone's friendly and we've never had any issues with anyone!
Service charge is paid twice a year in March and October which softens the hit a little bit! We put it away each month so it's ready to go when the bill comes in. I've checked with DP and he said £130 gas and electric and £60 water. Council tax is £159 this coming tax year. I don't know when they review the service charge but it has never increased significantly while we've been here. The ground rent has always been £75 and it's in the deeds as such so they can't change it.
Every flat has a garage (except one weirdly, and another that appears to have two, no idea) but ours is in a corner so you can't park in front of ours. There's a strip of unallocated but residents' permit parking along the main road and there's also a layby out the front of our flat. You can see it in the external picture on the listing. Most people park in front of their garage or on the main strip.
There's a new build development over the other side of the railway (bellway Elizabeth square) but there's nowhere else to build nearby so nothing should be affected. We have a lovely manor house that you can see from the living room window that is part of the local fitness group and it's also a wedding venue. We've never heard any noise from there and even though we have a pretty busy road out front, we don't hear any road noise either.
Hope that covers everything! Please do ask more questions if you think of anything else! We are also open to offers so please please don't be put off by the price. I promise we're reasonable humans!