Selling a house with knotweed

Bart1

I wouldn't poke my nose into my FRIENDS civil dealings...... Or at least I certanley wouldn't side against him in said dealings......,guess I have a different idea what friendship means

DaftyDuck

Annie1960 wrote: »

I agree with much of what you say, but JK is different from the other matters you mention as it can be hidden from a surveyor. The others can't.

Oh, but they can, and are. Piling boxes up in the attic where there's woodworm, moving furniture in front of the damp wall, painting over the cracks, even filling in and painting cracks in exterior brickwork, plants like clematis grown over the subsiding corner. I've certainly seen all of those done in houses I've viewed, I've met people admitting they do them on here (and even asking how much they can get away with )

It is actually quite difficult to hide anything but a mild case of JK. In addition, you won't be able to do much about any that's not directly in your own plot, and surveyors (who are actually often quite wily, and know their local area) will know the areas that are likely to have knotweed. (Similar with subsidence: there's a street near here where every house that's gone on the market in the last 2 years looks just fine; to my knowledge, most have serious subsidence issues, and I'm certain a surveyor heading out to them expects to find it...). But, damp, woodworm, plenty of other serious issues can be hidden or masked, and that's even if a surveyor gets involved!

For me, the only (and it is significant) additional step in the OP's scenario is the lying on the legal PIF. However, if they were to tick the "Not Known" box, given the wording , I might just accept it as a legitimate (if not very honest) answer.

Annie1960 & Dave, at least you have faced up to the problem that there is a line that has to be drawn somewhere. Plenty of people move because, say, "the neighbourhood isn't what it used to be"... which is a fine reason. Others for "The direct neighbour is a violent, threatening man who shouts and throws stuff at me if I cut the lawn at a weekend.... had to call the police many times, but I'm not declaring that, oooh no!"... If you'd point the latter case out to the agent selling, would you even consider the former? But, the first statement is encompassing the second....

Just as an aside.... in selling my own, I take an extreme view; I point out almost every defect I know of to the buyer before survey. In this case, that's a slightly rotten door, a rotten window frame, damage to the brickwork (which looks a bit like subsidence, but is actually a removed downpipe), and a leaking gutter. The surveyor found little (nothing?) else, was able to confirm likelihood of removed downpipe, and the buyer has no opportunity to renegotiate price - oh, and trusts me! (Somewhat! ) Let's hope it works... I still have a while to go!

Although some people do seem to be expressing the "say something" view for the best of reasons, others appear to maybe have other motives. Certainly the furore over JK has obsessed this forum, just as it does the Daily Mail. JK is treatable, and doesn't need to cost the earth - in most situations.

One more point. If, in the OP's case, a company was called out to give a quote, it may be worth pointing out to the vendor that she will be unable to claim ignorance. Registered companies report outbreaks that they are called to inspect or to treat..... So, this could give the OP an easy way to point out to that vendor that she can't disguise her knowledge.

Rambosmum

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

Level 1 - injection method. Roots still there. Is it 101% certain they are dead for evermore. I don't think its deemed advisable to dig around freely - else why have I read somewhere it would invalidate the guarantee the firm would give?

Level 2 - expensive job. Everything dug out and organic gardeners happy. Means all contaminated soil removed and disposed of properly and new topsoil needing to be bought.

Guess which one some of us would use. Yep....a level 2 job. Status quo restored, as I understand it.

Level 2 isn't actually suitable for JK which is in close proximity to a building due to the depth of digging out which needs to be done and the risk that roots could have travelled under the building.

We opted for a different path (you could call this level 3) where the plant was sprayed with a chemical, twice in 6 months, then any remaining accessible roots/ visible plants were dug out and the ground near the dug out sprayed, new topsoil put on and no restrictions on digging. They came by once year to take a soil sample and check for regrowth, we haven't had any are as this has been the case for 3 years are considered JK free and our soil and stuff can be freely moved around.

This year I've had a lovely bloom of tulips and daffodils.

jimpix12

I'd honestly just ditch the friends and move on. They are creating stress for you, although they probably don't know it. Who needs that from supposed 'friends'?

dekoder

Being so honest and righteous did you tell your "friends" you will send the agent letter with this information and planning to disclose it to buyers if you get a chance?

Putting aside unethical vendors, hope I never have a friend like you.

sxcizme3010

Yes I have told them that I will look into the matter to see where they stand legally and also I have told them that I have informed the agents who have a legal obligation to notify any potential buyers. I cant believe that people are justifying this - just to add it is illegal to knowingly defraud money from people! Im clearly wasting my time on here as fraud, lying and stupidity is obviously normal for some members!

DTDfanBoy

sxcizme3010 wrote: »

Yes I have told them that I will look into the matter to see where they stand legally and also I have told them that I have informed the agents who have a legal obligation to notify any potential buyers. I cant believe that people are justifying this - just to add it is illegal to knowingly defraud money from people! Im clearly wasting my time on here as fraud, lying and stupidity is obviously normal for some members!

Well good on you for taking the moral high ground, do come back and let us know how many thousands of pounds that approach costs you when you disclose every single defect when selling your own property

pinkteapot

Hoploz wrote: »

The best thing to do is to advise your friends that, if they haven't already found out, they will be asked by a direct question on the property information form whether there is Knotweed on the property. If they were to tick No, then as soon as the buyer realises it is there they will come back to them and sue them for the costs they incur in getting rid of it.

Absolutely agree with this advice. Tell them in words of one syllable why they can't hide it and what will happen if they do. Then move on and find new friends. What they choose to do with the information isn't your problem.

There's nothing you can really do - unless you stake the house out and accost people viewing it, you're not going to know who the buyer is so you won't be able to tell them directly. What else were you thinking of doing?

moneyistooshorttomention

DaftyDuck wrote: »

. Registered companies report outbreaks that they are called to inspect or to treat..... So, this could give the OP an easy way to point out to that vendor that she can't disguise her knowledge.

Can we have more details on that please?

rach_k

I would send it in writing to the EA and then remind your friends that if their neighbours have seen the knot weed and know your friends know it's there, they will probably tell the buyers at some point and then they will be able to come after them for the costs anyway, so they may as well be upfront about it now.

For me, the line is drawn when I know somebody is doing something wrong. Had they not mentioned it, I would probably be happy to not think about it and trust the EA and vendors to do the right thing. That they have told the OP that they are purposely concealing the problem would make it feel like something I needed to at least write a letter about.