Buying a house, Don't know what to do, knotweed

marie32123

Hello,
I was wondering if I could have some advice,
I am in the process of buying my perfect first home which I plan to live in forever,
The banks valuer has come back with finding Japanese knot weed, a small patch at the back of the garden ( level 3 )
(I have read up on this online as I didn't know what it was)
Now the bank has put a £0 value on the property whilst this is there, they have said that if the vendor has a removal plan in place with a minimum of 5 year guarantee then they will overturn the value decision.
The vendor has agreed to get this removed but the stories online scare me, there are a lot of conflicting opinions about it, one side of people saying they would never buy a house with it,
Others saying it's an over reaction for money making,
I don't plan to sell the home,
I don't know what to do, I am not going to find a home I love as much as this one anytime soon, After 5 years if it returned, I would happily pay for it to be removed again but am I going to end up in over my head with problems from this? I'm already in the process of buying it, would I be allowed to lower my offer now knowing what I would be taking on? I'm just feeling so deflated with this arising, my bank has said don't consider knotweed a deal breaker as it can be fixed, but online it seems nobody will go near the thing.

any advice or experiences with this? Thankyou
Marie

ThePants999

If you manage to satisfy the bank, you should be happy too. It's not a problem if properly managed. It can be an issue with selling as it scares some people off, but you're not selling for ages, hopefully it'll be gone by then.

As for reducing your offer, there are no rules about whether you're "allowed" to. It's a negotiation, right up until exchange. You just have to try to predict what the seller will do if you try :-)

elsien

It is sortable, but in part will depend where it's come from. If it's a patch on your land which can be effectively treated that's a different scenario to if (like me) you have a someone in a neighbouring garden who doesn't care and is spreading it every time they cut the lawn.
I have treated a patch in a neighbours garden which so far this year hasn't reappeared - we reckon if we do the same if it comes back a little we can get shut of it in a year or two without having to call in the contractors.

marie32123

Thankyou both,
I am going to arrange another viewing with the estate agent as I haven't seen it myself yet, I will have to take some photos to know where exactly it is / come from, any suggestions of questions I may need to ask at the viewing?

DaftyDuck

Elsien is correct. If the patch in your garden is all there is, and there is no knotweed nearby, it's really no problem at all. I have knotweed, I have treated it, and it is far, far less vigorous and intrusive than it was, and will be gone in a couple more years. IF you can easily get at JK, it is easily treated.

You need to be sure of the neighbouring areas surrounding your property. If clear, or easily treated by you (verges, etc), it will be easy for you to treat.

The mortgage co will insist on a professional programme (hopefully paid for by vendor as you suggest) to deal with that patch. You should be able to cope with any reoccurring growth in your own garden after that ends. If you aren't intending to sell for decades, there will be no impact on selling price, etc. No reason not to bargain heavily on purchase price, though. Since there is now known knotweed, it will be difficult to find another buyer.

Slight red flags to consider... Patch is at back of garden, so what is beyond the back... Has current owner treated and hidden the knotweed that was all over the place... Although you don't intend to sell in two years or so, circumstances change, and it might be a difficult house to sell so quickly with JK.....

Oh, and brutal truth... No home is perfect, no first home is for life... If it ain't knotweed, its asbestos, or neighbours, or rot, or new by-pass, or... Well, something always crops up. The number of posts that begin with "my dream home"... that end up as a nightmare...

But, knotweed would not put me off, if localised. It would make me fight for the best price, as it's good leverage.

Edit. Ask if there has been any prior knotweed treated at the property. Ask your solicitor to get this in writing. Post photo here when you have been. Look at neighbouring area, take lots and lots and lots of photos around the area... Do make sure you tell the estate agent there's knotweed.

sevenhills

I like gardening and would be ok with any weeds, including knotweed. A very small issue, but it gets blown out of proportion.

NelliePie

I've lived in a rental property that had knotweed in the back garden (and the neighbours) It was a bit of a nightmare to start with because it was all over the garden and wrapped around many of the bushes and trees but saying that it only took 3 people one day to clear it. We treated it and over the course of the year the odd patch reappeared (we must have missed bits) so we re-treated it and it was manageable. I think that as you're not planning on selling it any time soon, I wouldn't let it put you off just be aware that it might need a little more time and attention than a garden without.

Rambosmum

We had it in our front garden. Had it removed, no issues since.

Back of the garden, away from the house, your land and easy to get to? I wouldn't worry.

Soundgirlrocks

Another one who says don't worry, what distance is it from the property? It is one of those things that does get blown up out of proportion.

Marvel1

There is Knotweed next door to me, overgrown, luckily so far none on my side and this must be for the last 9 years I have been here.

Grenage

Knotweed would not put me off, as elsien describes. A bit of knotweed on your property is easy to deal with, but a mass of it in neighbouring land is another story.