Discovery of Knotweed while buying

narkymark

Hi all,

First time caller - long time listener.
My partner and I are trying to buy our first house and we have progressed up to the point where we have received information from our solicitors regarding a Japanese Knotweed treatment plan for the property due to a small outbreak of it next door which has encroached.

We are now in a bit of a dilemma as to what to do because we worry that this will affect the resale value if we need/want to move on but we are also extremely :mad: angry that this has only just come up now after getting surveys, mortgage arrangement fees etc. meaning we are almost £3k sunk into this now.

Two questions really:
If there is Knotweed but a guarantee backed treatment plan (which there is) would this put you off purchasing a house (especially if you were looking to extend)?

If this information has been withheld from us until this point when it was known about earlier (estate agents for example), do we have any scope to try and claim our money back as they have broken the consumer protection regulations regarding dissemination of a "material fact"

Any help or advice appreciated.

Tiexen

narkymark wrote: »

Hi all,

First time caller - long time listener.
My partner and I are trying to buy our first house and we have progressed up to the point where we have received information from our solicitors regarding a Japanese Knotweed treatment plan for the property due to a small outbreak of it next door which has encroached.

We are now in a bit of a dilemma as to what to do because we worry that this will affect the resale value if we need/want to move on but we are also extremely :mad: angry that this has only just come up now after getting surveys, mortgage arrangement fees etc. meaning we are almost £3k sunk into this now.

Two questions really:
If there is Knotweed but a guarantee backed treatment plan (which there is) would this put you off purchasing a house (especially if you were looking to extend)?

If this information has been withheld from us until this point when it was known about earlier (estate agents for example), do we have any scope to try and claim our money back as they have broken the consumer protection regulations regarding dissemination of a "material fact"

Any help or advice appreciated.

You should read this:


https://www.unbiased.co.uk/news/mortgages/the-truth-about-japanese-knotweed




AECOM’s principal ecologist, the aptly-named Dr Mark Fennell, said, ‘We found nothing to suggest that Japanese knotweed causes significant damage to buildings – even when it is growing in close proximity – and certainly no more damage than other species that are not subject to such strict lending policies.’

davidmcn

How quickly are you likely to be selling? I would have thought the knotweed would be long gone by then.

spadoosh

I wouldnt buy a house with japanese knotweed.

I appreciate the fact that it is manageable and can be treated, sounds like a ball ache though and completely unnecessary for me to be taking on such risks when ive got zero doubt i could find an equivalent house without it.

Youve got no scope to try and claim your money back. You paid the money to ensure things like this are found out and you dont end up wasting considerably more money.


You also couldve got a good idea of the potential for there to be japanese knotweed from here.

http://www.planttracker.org.uk/map/knotweed

kdotdotdotdot

The only problem with JKW is that by law it has to be reported and dealt with, and the treatment can cost a pretty penny.

I can understand that you're annoyed, but is it really likely that the EA even knew about the next-door neighbour's infestation? Surveys don't usually look for it, even in your own garden, let alone next door [my own surveyor's small print says they don't check for it, but will mention if they happen to notice it].

Whether or not to buy depends on how long you want to live there. If you're planning to flip it and sell, then maybe not, but if it's going to be your home for some time and you love it, then why not?

Jumblebumble

Tiexen wrote: »

You should read this:


https://www.unbiased.co.uk/news/mortgages/the-truth-about-japanese-knotweed




AECOM’s principal ecologist, the aptly-named Dr Mark Fennell, said, ‘We found nothing to suggest that Japanese knotweed causes significant damage to buildings – even when it is growing in close proximity – and certainly no more damage than other species that are not subject to such strict lending policies.’

All of this may be true but is unfortunately unlikely to change peoples entrenched views
I would ask your solicitor for advice
You will likely not obtain compo from anyone if you do pull out

Mutton_Geoff

There seem to be many of these type of posts regarding house buying. For most, this is the most expensive purchase of your life and due diligence should be undertaken, this includes surveys etc.


If during your investigations, you uncover issues that may cause you to rethink the purchase or alter the price, why should those costs be due from anyone but yourself? If you were buying a used car and paid for someone to look at it for you and they reported it was a pile of rubbish, would you chase the seller for the inspection fee?


We seem to live in a world where everyone is looking to blame others and get compo or refunds when those reports/surveys reveal the very things you wanted to be warned against.


Buying a house is expensive. Buying one with underlying issues more so.

hazyjo

What did the vendors answer on the Property Information Form? You usually get that quite early on during the process.

caprikid1

personally if its not anything special I would walk away.


Alternatively I would want a 5-10K reduction to cover the risk I was taking.

narkymark

Thanks for the info all. Done varying opinions which is what I expected really.

The property has quite a bit of scope to extend but we are worried that the costs of this will be potentially higher due to the knotweed.

Also, if selling on, do we need to declare the knotweed if it's been treated and not reoccurred?

Davesnave

No one here can observe the situation, or assess what the extent of the problem was prior to the treatment, so the chances of comments reflecting the true likelihood of a risk are only so-so. Treatment plans are usually insurance backed and last 10years; well beyond the time when any re-emergence might occur.

If I were buying, I'd be meeting with the neighbour, looking in other neighbour's gardens, researching the history of the area and contacting the treatment company to get their take on my plans to dig footings.Then I'd make a judgement.

Unfortunately, you also want to judge others' likely opinions at some random point in the future when you sell, but that's impossible. We're where we are on knotweed because of the ill-informed scare stories in the mainstream media. These have diminished in recent years as more reasoned scientific assessments of knotweed risks have been published, but who knows what the red tops will run with next?

My guess is that homes blighted by climate change will take centre stage, but it is just a guess!