Lending on property with Knotweed

oah276

Hello,

We are in the process of buying a property. Our mortgage offer has been made and we have progressed through searches and are near the end of the process.
There is a presence of knotweed within 7meters of the property which is coming from the neighbouring property. A professional knotweed company has done a survey and put it in category 4. They have also put together a treatment plan with a guaranty as well which will all be sent to the lender. The infestation is currently small and affects the outbuilding garage. The treatment plan has already been paid for by the seller and is confirmed. Has anyone had any experience with this and what are the chances of a lender deciding not to lend once there is a treatment plan place?

LAD917

This came up in my sale, and the buyer was able to proceed without issue.  I was honestly surprised, but apparently it's not quite the same issue it used to be.

oah276

Thanks @LAD917 did your buyer have to get a treatment plan in place prior to proceeding, was the issue of knotweed in a high risk category?

oah276

Has anyone else experienced this with selling or buying? 

LAD917

Category 4, within 2 metres of the building, but small patches with a pre-paid treatment plan and guarantee that would be in place at the conclusion of the treatment plan.

I am not sure the mortgage lender picked up on the knotweed - it was not visible at the time of appraisal (or elsewhere). The managing agent disclosed the knotweed (which honestly I, as the leaseholder, didn't know about!) and provided the appropriate paperwork.  I don't know what happened from there, or how hard it was, but the sale completed within weeks of the knotweed disclosure, so I'm guessing nothing terribly time-consuming.

oah276

On this property it is within 5meters and is category 4. Our solicitor has said we will need to provide the survey on the knotweed and the treatment plan to the lender. They already made a mortgage offer which we accepted but they did not pick up on the knotweed at the time. The seller disclosed it in the TA6 form and so our solicitor then said we need to report to the lender with all the appropriate documentation in place which we now have. Can a lender still not lend after approving a mortgage?

user1977

Offer of mortgage is always subject to whatever due diligence is still to be carried out at that point.

oah276

Anyone else had experience with knotweed?

aoleks

I would run hard in the other direction if I was you.

Doozergirl

aoleks said:

I would run hard in the other direction if I was you.

"Research has demonstrated, and it is now generally accepted, that Japanese knotweed poses little or no risk of structural damage to buildings with substantial foundations, such as dwellings. The so-called '7m rule' focused more on what has been demonstrated to be an overstated risk of Japanese knotweed to buildings rather than its sometimes-serious impact on amenity."

https://consultations.rics.org/japaneseknotweedgn/viewCompoundDoc?docid=12239476&sessionid=&voteid=&partId=12240820

New guidance due to be issued later this year.  It genuinely isn't the issue it has been made out to be for the vast majority of homes. 

chanz4

Can cause a lot of damage, we had to sell a house for cash as know one would touch again