Japanese Knotweed and negotiating discount

JeremyE1

Hi All,

I am in the process of buying a house and the lender's surveyor found Japanese Knotweed growing at the bottom of the garden next to an outhouse. Both this house and the neighbour's house have the knotween growing in the same area - a few strong sprouts from under the fence. The house behind is also very close to the knotweed in this garden ~ 2 metres from the house itself. The agent is proposing to reduce the sale price by excavation costs by an approved contractor (about £15k) and for us to do the removal- however this does not price in any of the risk
- legal risk to 2 neighbours
- house price depreciation due to stigma of having JK as we would need to disclose in any future sale
- further costs for removal as it's just an estimate

What would people advise doing in this situation? From my research it seems a 10% decrease in our offer seems appropriate but agent has said this is very unreasonable and we stand to lose house

Thanks in advance
Jeremy

quantumlobster

Ignore the agent. They're not working for you.

Get a quote from a specialist you trust, and then reduce your offer by this amount.

On your bullets, in order:

* That's why you get a specialist to give a quotation, not an estimate.
* How do you propose to price this? Sorry, this doesn't pass the laugh test.
* That's why you get a specialist to give a quotation, not an estimate.

davidmcn

Is the lender happy to advance funds with the JK still in place?

SmashedAvacado

I would first of all want a very clear idea of the cost of removing the problem (because that is the amount you should be looking to get as a discount plus any further amount for the hassle factor of doing it)? For that i would want a quote from a reputable company that included some sort of aftercare / guarantee.

If you get a discount, your lender may need to issue you with a new mortgage offer
Your lender may also need to disclose this to the lender - will they still lend? They might want to retain some of your funds until this work is done.

if there is liability to neighbours, its best to find out now. Can the seller not get the work done between exchange and completion and get you the guarantee as a deliverable on completion?

JeremyE1

Thanks for the replies.

The lender has approved the mortgage on the provision a treatment plan with guarantee is put in place whilst also holding a £30k retention until the work is complete.

The specialist the quote is from is a reputable company however I can't help but feel reducing purely by the cost of the work + guarantee does not factor in any future risk and hassle

quantumlobster

JeremyE1 wrote: »

The specialist the quote is from is a reputable company however I can't help but feel reducing purely by the cost of the work + guarantee does not factor in any future risk and hassle

So you need to pick a number to represent what "future risk and hassle" means to you, and then making a determination of whether your seller will find this in the least palatable.

As a seller, if you presented me with a quotation (not an estimate) from a reputable company along with a corresponding reduction in the offer price, I wouldn't like it but I would be honour-bound to at least consider it, as it's an entirely reasonable and evidence-based approach.

My buyer adding some arbitrary figure to factor in future risk and hassle? Nah. Jog on. There are other buyers.

need_an_answer

Methods to eradicate are reasonably good nowadays however if you want to add in a "hassle" factor then you may need to reconsider if this is the purchase for you going forward.

SmashedAvacado

quantumlobster wrote: »

My buyer adding some arbitrary figure to factor in future risk and hassle? Nah. Jog on. There are other buyers.

I would add in a number here - i don't agree that there will be other buyers. Most buyers wouldn't touch this type of issue and also many buyers would struggle to get their lenders to fund treatment and therefore it would be hard for most sellers to get a buyer given the cash required post completion. Probably worth £5k all day long. Otherwise offer them the opportunity to do it.

ReadingTim

JeremyE1 wrote: »

The specialist the quote is from is a reputable company however I can't help but feel reducing purely by the cost of the work + guarantee does not factor in any future risk and hassle

The problem is that the cost of the work is quantifiable and evidence based, whereas "future risk and hassle" is not - it's a completely fictitious figure which is extremely easy to disagree with, and which the vendor almost certain will. Before suggesting you go forth and multiply.

Soundgirlrocks

We have just paid £1.5k for a 5 year insurance backed treatment plan for knotweed. We are a block of flats and it was need for one of the flats to sell.

The buyers mortgage company were happy with the proposed works and the insurance. If it were me and someone asked for a £30k reduction for knotweed I'd tell them to jog on.