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Comments
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I would look at another house.
The resentment from any neighbours who might or might not be able to sell their properties. The ability for you to be able to sell. The process of dealing with it and managing it. All problems i'd imagine most people dont need to be having.
If the house is a steal which means something is affordable that might otherwise not be then it might be worth it. But then if your that close to the line with affording it i'd have to point out the additional cost of rectifying the issue.
Ok it might not be a huge problem to some and can be manageable. But its a bit like having a graveyard in your back garden, its a massive undesirable characteristic of a property.
The way i see it is you wouldnt buy a house without a roof, you dont buy a house with japanese knotweed. I know im adding to the scare stories. But they do exist and its a very known problem when it comes to getting finance for a place that has japanes knotweed.
Plus youll have no comeback if you have issues dealing with it. Youll have bought with full knowledge there is a problem.0 -
I'd negotiate if you really want it... they're pretty much going to have to agree to deal with it or else they're not going to be able to sell. Once the agents know (and they'll have to find out why you're renegotiating), they have to disclose to any other potential buyers, so just pulling it up and hiding it (which as far as I can tell is what most people do when they realise they have some and want to sell) isn't going to wash.
How come such a large patch didn't turn up on the survey, by the way? Is garden really overgrown or something?0 -
glasgowdan wrote: »I'd look to negotiate a significant discount based on this, but would still proceed, as even 5m2 close to the house is easy to manage yourself, or via a professional if you like. Over the course of your ownership you can get rid, and come selling time you may have to declare it used to be there but has been managed and not came back after X amount of time.
What would say say a "a significant discount" is? Its not just the cost of removing it, its also the hassles of when I come to sell the place.0 -
trigger_fish wrote: »There's a whole new industry growing up around knotweed.
From my experience of it the horror stories about it are ott.
In my old garden I had some and so did everyone else. The adjacent hillside was infested with it.
But this was back in 2003 and the 'industry' seems to have grown massively since then.
Peashooter they called it where I was because of the plants bamboo like hollow stem.
So tackling it has created a whole new industry.
There is horror stories.
But its OTT?
Id say having a plant growing through my foundations and up my living room wall was OTT.
https://www.google.co.uk/search?biw=1240&bih=865&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=zZEyWpqSLIfAgAbtoJiYAg&q=japanese+knotweed+problems&oq=japanese+knotweed+problems&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0.12673.13808.0.13944.9.6.0.3.3.0.93.435.6.6.0....0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..0.9.449...0i67k1j0i24k1.0.4Fk96TOKBn40 -
AH!! I just heard back from a friend and theyve identified it as bind weed! (apparently they look similar). This is better yes? Does bindweed cause any headaches like knotweed?0
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Bindweed - I'd go ahead and think "Whew - saved by the bell" if you're quite sure that's what it is. Damn nuisance - but sort-able.
JK - you'd still see my trail behind you - as I'd taken off running down the road away from it.
Bet that's a relief to you that it's not that...whew...whew...whew...
Not quite sure just how anyone could mistake bindweed for JK though and I'd doublecheck in your position.0 -
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What damage can it do? Does it just find its way into the drains?
Essentially it is a plant that wants to occupy as large an area as it possibly can. It has the ability to grow up through tarmac and the roots can penetrate cracks in concrete. The cracks don't have to be big enough to get your hand into, they can be the almost invisible cracks that nearly all concrete has.
The damage is caused by the plant spreading and the measures that need to be taken to control the spread.It can damage walls and sheds, but my understanding is it can't do much to buildings with foundations. But nonetheless, most lenders consider it a risk to asset value. Treatment involves removing lots of earth, and this may be very disruptive if the property doesn't have direct passage to the front.
All buildings and walls have foundations to a varying degree. The difference is a house built with substantial walls on substantial foundations will resist longer than a single-brick shed wall sitting on a thin slab foundation.
Homeowners don't need to panic that their house is going to fall down, but it is plausible that JKW could find a weakness in the foundations/footings of a house and work up through the floor or an internal wall. This is not going to cause the building to collapse any time soon, but would require considerable work to remove the plant and make good the damage.
If treatment requires excavation then it is not just the disruption but also the cost that has to be taken into account. The excavated material has to be transported and disposed of properly and all equipment used has to be thoroughly cleaned/decontaminated. For this reason excavation of affected land is not normally recommended until treatment has been successful."In the future, everyone will be rich for 15 minutes"0 -
AH!! I just heard back from a friend and theyve identified it as bind weed! (apparently they look similar). This is better yes? Does bindweed cause any headaches like knotweed?
Does the friend know enough to be sure?
Remember, you can sue a surveyor or solicitor who gets it wrong. Suing a friend is not so easy."In the future, everyone will be rich for 15 minutes"0
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