I’ve got Japanese Knotweed but want to sell

NegroniNic

Hi,

I want to sell my property within the next 12-18 months but I’ve discovered a tiny amount of Japanese Knotweed in my garden (literally a couple of immature stems!).  I’m in the process of getting quotes to treat/remove it (along with an insurance backed guarantee) but the quotes I’ve had so far vary quite a bit - with various options/companies ranging from £2000 - £9000.  From what I’ve read online, it feels as if the value of the property will still be affected even if I do pay thousands for treatment so I’m inclined to spend as little as possible to try and at least make the property easier to mortgage.

I’ve read all the horror stories online and understand it will affect both the value of the property and a prospective buyers ability to get a mortgage but I’m wondering if anyone has been in the same situation and if so, what did they do?

Thanks

MovingForwards

You can do it yourself, it's been discussed in the gardening / greenfinger section.

hazyjo

MovingForwards said:

You can do it yourself, it's been discussed in the gardening / greenfinger section.

That's all well and good if staying, but not exactly ideal if trying to sell and having to declare it!

Mutton_Geoff

I would spray with Roundup then suddenly develop amnesia concerning all things horticultural and let the buyers survey guide them. A lot of plants can appear similar.

Marvel1

Roundup tree stump, spray in September, see what happens in April/May, nothing like mine = great.

Doozergirl

“The latest research suggests that the physical damage to property from Japanese knotweed is no greater than that of other disruptive plants and trees that are not subject to the same controls and do not have such a substantial ‘chilling’ effect on the sale of a property”.

https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmsctech/1702/1702.pdf

May not help all that much, but things are moving in the right direction.  

Davesnave

I think Marvel has it. Don't be tempted to hit it till late September though, because you want the max amount of  spray to return to the roots with the nutrients the plant reabsorbs in autumn. If it really is only a very small amount of JK, you may be clear in spring and you'll certainly have less.

But what about neighbouring gardens? The JK came from somewhere. If they have stands of the stuff a surveyor may well notice, as will clued-up buyers.

It's true many lenders want an insurance-backed treatment plan before advancing money, but as you've found, these are not cheap. It's like indemnity insurance  people find themselves being forced to buy, but much more expensive. Parliament might know this, as above, but will they do anything? I can guess!

SouthLondonUser

Once you know about it, you are obliged to declare it in the property information form when selling a property. If you lie and you get caught, the buyer can sue you. That you might be unlikely to get caught does not make it right - maybe no neighbour will tell the new buyer that he saw you use gallons of roundup or that he saw a van with "Japanese knotweed treatment" written on its side parked by your door, but, still...

First of all, are you absolutely sure it is Japanese knotweed? Non-experts can easily confuse it with other plants.

The ideal approach would be: call an expert company, pay them for a full survey, then pay for a treatment with an insurance policy. There are threads on this; the insurance is, IMHO, quite useless, because it doesn't insure you against damages from the plant - it will simply pay for the rest of the treatment for x years if the company were to go bust. I have heard of million-plus sales being held up because the lender insisted on these policies, often worth less than £1k, which doesn't make sense to me, yet I guess the underwriters had to tick the box.

How close is your garden to those of your neighbours? Are you in a fully detached house with huge spaces or in a mid-terrace house? Depending on the situation, it would be good to check if your neighbours have it, too.

Finally, do you have any idea of how widespread, or not, Japanese knotweed is in the area? I know of a few areas in London where there is a history of Japanese knotweed, yet houses where it's been treated and which have this insurance managed to sell just fine, not at a discount vs other houses.