Selling a house with knotweed

sxcizme3010

Dan-Dan - really? And Id come onto a money saving site to sabotage a perfectly good sale of my friends why? Talk about conspiracy theories.......

Dan-Dan

Well , I and many others have advised that this issue is addressed directly in the Property form , all you can do , really is remind them of that

sxcizme3010

Dan-Dan , Thank you very much for your help

Marktheshark

Does your "friend" know you are going to be trying to contact people looking to buy the house and try to put them off the sale ?
I do hope you have revealed this to your friend.

sxcizme3010

Im not planning on doing anything like that! I am merely asking for advice on what other people would do. Some people do not like to be ripped off by thousands of pounds. I am going to advise my friends about the form and send a recorded letter to the agents who will then notify any buyer to the problem. It is then upto them if they buy :-)

DaftyDuck

The PIF clearly asks (Section 7.8)

Is the property affected by Japanese Knotweed : Yes ... No ... Not Known

Checking "no" when it was evident it was would open the seller up to potential legal action.... "not known" might (might....) be excusable (who actually knows what JK looks like? Oh, Oh Sir, Sir, me, Sir,.... Hands down MITSTM, hands down...). Yes opens a world of pain as a vendor, partly because of the hysteria the subject generates.

Note that you are not asked on the PIF if your house has woodworm, dry rot, wet rot, whatever.....

So, hands up who thinks you should tell a buyer/agent about Japanese Knotweed, but shouldn't if you know the house has (fairly hidden) dry rot. Care to explain why there's a difference?

I just don't see there is any rational point at which I could say "that's a line I can draw"

sxcizme3010

I think it comes down to the fact mortgage lenders wont lend or dont like lending on properties with JK. Most people can live with the plant and not encounter any problems but mortgage lenders just dont like it as its an evasive plant.

sxcizme3010

pimento wrote: »

With 'friends' like you, who needs enemies?

Atleast this way they wont be subject to legal action against them! There is so many dishonest people around! I sincerely hope you do not encounter this sort of thing when buying a house.

Rosetinted

sxcizme3010 wrote: »

but mortgage lenders just dont like it as its an evasive plant.

I think you mean 'invasive', but I did enjoy the mental image of knotweed lurking in gardens like some kind of stealthy ninja and then vanishing whenever anyone turned up to treat it. :rotfl:

I think your plan is the best you'll be able to do, really. As you're not a neighbour, you can't report them for nuisance and have the plant dealt with that way. Just make sure the estate agent can't wriggle out of their duty to inform potential buyers of known issues (although realistically, you'll never be able to check on that) and impress upon these friends the seriousness of lying on the property form. As others have said, they could be sued for misrepresenting the property and it could get very pricey for them in the long-run.

Oh and BTW, I thoroughly approve of and (as a current buyer) appreciate your efforts to let your friends not be douchebags. If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem, after all. If my friends were planning something immoral, I'd definitely let them know how I felt about it!

moneyistooshorttomention

Davesnave wrote: »

Do it in writing, tracked, from two different POs and keep a copy +your proofs of posting.

Having told the agents in writing, they will have to disclose, or they will be in breach of their legal responsibility to make buyers aware of material facts.

It will be hard for them to deny this knowledge, if you do the above and it later goes to court.

Agreed.

EA I told verbally didn't tell the buyers - but they are supposed to say.