Japanese knotweed

[ELBBUBKUNPS]

How many times has that house sold in the past, say, 10 years ?

Think about it, if you are having doubts, your buyers will have similar. But, a lot of unsellable houses eventually do sell but at massive discounts etc.

Yeah I know what you mean thats my thinking to, the house in question never been on market before its 1930's but past through family other houses on same side sell but only 1 a year typically goes on the market, this house I intend to live in for 30-40 yrs then downsize. The other side of the track is the best road in area which you would need £2million plus to get on, those house don't seem to have problem selling but I suppose people over look stuff when there is a lack of property / area is in demand. Thought it was going all too smoothly.

[Mark McBurney@CMME]

From a mortgage point of view, knotweed is a real pain, and can mean that a property is virtually unsaleable as many mortgage companies would run a mile.

There are ways to get rid of it (usually quite expensive requiring specialist treatment), but I'm told that one square inch in a field, for example, can render the whole lot unusable for crops on a farm.

This sounds odd, however, that they have an issue with the idea that there 'could' be knotweed in the future - which lender are you using? Might be worth trying to get hold of the surveyor to see what they suggest as a preventative measure if necessary, I can't imagine that there is no way around this if they haven't actually found it?

I had a client last year who was moving house and the place he was selling had knotweed, it was discovered on survey, and that was overcome by some specialist treatment and an indemnity from him to the vendors, protecting them against future cost as a result of the knotweed for a defined period of time.

[mudskipper]

Also worth considering that different surveyors will pick up on different things. Yours appears to be somewhat over cautious (arse-covering) mentioning the (absence of) knotweed. Another surveyor probably wouldn't have mentioned it.

[ELBBUBKUNPS]

From a mortgage point of view, knotweed is a real pain, and can mean that a property is virtually unsaleable as many mortgage companies would run a mile.

There are ways to get rid of it (usually quite expensive requiring specialist treatment), but I'm told that one square inch in a field, for example, can render the whole lot unusable for crops on a farm.

This sounds odd, however, that they have an issue with the idea that there 'could' be knotweed in the future - which lender are you using? Might be worth trying to get hold of the surveyor to see what they suggest as a preventative measure if necessary, I can't imagine that there is no way around this if they haven't actually found it?

I had a client last year who was moving house and the place he was selling had knotweed, it was discovered on survey, and that was overcome by some specialist treatment and an indemnity from him to the vendors, protecting them against future cost as a result of the knotweed for a defined period of time.

Morg not been refused just deferred for further review, lender in question appears from googling to understand issue so I would be surprised if was rejected but as you say other lenders might not be like in future. Thanks for info on getting the seller indenify the risk. The line is actually a tube line / train as overground Im actually on it now going into office used to read the paper on the way in now Im looking out the window for JK lol

Its a risk though even though he couldnt see it during survey that could just have because its the winter. I think I will ring round get more info, wait to see what morg company say (they may say no so then its out of my hands) and in mean time look at other properties.

Yeah surveyor did seem very cautious and I was surprised at the level of detail he even mentions a fox set in the garden, needing to get drains looked at with CCTV due to the number of plants in garden.

[sal]

Also, do neighbouring houses sell? They back onto the same railway, so same risk factor. JK is big in the news now, but it's been around since Victorian times. How long do you intend to stay in the house? If more than a few years then there will be a new bogey man - we had a similar thing with our house and subsidence, because some of the houses in the area had suffered. 15 years on, and no problems.

This puts it into perspective:
Japanese knotweed: the scourge that could sink your house sale | Money | The Guardian

^This

Especially if you are going to stay in it for the next 30 years. If the lender is happy to proceed, i don't see why you have to be bothered that much. In the event of the JK actually appearing you might have to pay for the specialist treatment, but it can't be that much if you spread the cost over 30 years. And if as you say it's a nice rare property, that you really like otherwise, personally i would go for it and just keep an eye for JK

[Archangel]

we have just walked on a property because of JK, the owner knew he had it, but had no maintenance plan in place, so we could have had him bring in specialists etc but due to tight timescales we felt this would have taken too much time so we moved on to another property. The house has been for sale for 2 years and is now 20% less than it was originally being marketed at. The seller should just get a specialist in methinks as the problem is not going to go away and it seems to be a hot topic at the moment (we were asked about it on our questionnaire when we sold our house)

[JRCT]

As rail lines are not maintained (beyond trimming back) & NR will not pay for removal of JK, rail lines are a high risk area.

I think the main reason that railways are a risk is that the wind created by the trains blows seeds along the track, creating a much greater rate of disperal than would naturally occur.


Similarly, this has happened with Oxford Ragwort which was originally only grown in Oxford Botanical gardens (hence the name) and is now prevalent on pretty much every railway siding on mainland Britain.

[Martin@AS Financial]

Japanese knotweed is not easy to control and can take a long time to get rid of once it takes root. Its effects can be devastating to yours and your neighbours property. It causes structural damage and can block/crack your drains.

Barclays is one of the lenders who will consider if it is proven to be there as long as it is over 7 metres away which it sounds like it will be. However I would personally walk away as you have to think about future resale value.

[xoggoth]

This thing about JK is utter garbage. Pull it out for 2-3 years running and it's gone. There's some clumps in our local area, they don't spread in the UK.

Think it is just an invention so people can make money out of "tackling" it. Similar to dentists inventing tooth decay.

[SueEllen]

This thing about JK is utter garbage. Pull it out for 2-3 years running and it's gone. There's some clumps in our local area, they don't spread in the UK.

Think it is just an invention so people can make money out of "tackling" it. Similar to dentists inventing tooth decay.

I am glad you know more than the RHS and the environment agency

The rhizome system beneath a stand of Japanese knotweed can be over 4 metres deep and could extend for at least 7 metres around the stand. If you are going to dig out the rhizome system you will need to remove all of the plant material.