Lending on property with Knotweed

SouthLondonUser

Doozergirl said:

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. 

Exactly this. It turns out it's not the nightmare it was made out to be.

I am in a very similar situation: knotweed not in my property, but in the neighbour's; treatment plan involving 6 houses, including mine, which had got together and paid for a combined treatment. Insurance-backed guarantee.

I have had mortgages with Santander and Halifax, no problems. My broker tells me that, as long as an insurance-backed plan is in place, most lenders will be OK with it.

Since it was discovered, 4 of the 6 properties have changed hands (no idea how often they have been remortgaged), no issues at all.

By the way, the lenders' focus on an insurance-backed guarantee means much less than many people think: the insurance will cover the cost of the rest of the treatment if the treatment company were to go bust. In our case, this value was the grand sum of... £800. Blocking the mortgage of a £1m property for an £800 guarantee doesn't make a lot of sense, but the box had to be ticked.

SouthLondonUser

chanz4 said:

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

When was this? What damage was caused? What treatments were attempted? Was it not caught in time?

BikingBud

aoleks said:

Doozergirl said:

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. 

It is probably the worst thing that can happen to the property, I’d rather have a flood. These articles are meant to put you at ease, but this plant will literally destroy everything in its path, including reinforced concrete.

Evidence?

oah276

@SouthLondonUser yes we are in a similar position, the seller and the neighbour have gotten together and paid for a treatment plan. We have provided the treatment plan and the insurance backed guaranty to the solicitor who will now report to the lender. You mentioned you have had mortgages with Santander and Halifax, was that on two different properties both with Japanese knotweed? We are with Accord mortgages, who are owned by Yorkshire building society. 

SouthLondonUser

The same property was mortgaged first with Santander and now with Halifax. I don't know who my neighbours' lenders have been, but I know they have all got mortgages without much fuss.

LAD917

oah276 said:

@SouthLondonUser yes we are in a similar position, the seller and the neighbour have gotten together and paid for a treatment plan. We have provided the treatment plan and the insurance backed guaranty to the solicitor who will now report to the lender. You mentioned you have had mortgages with Santander and Halifax, was that on two different properties both with Japanese knotweed? We are with Accord mortgages, who are owned by Yorkshire building society. 

I am not sure if you read the article I linked yesterday, or scrolled down to the table with the various lenders' policies.  If not, scroll down to "Current Japanese knotweed lending policies at banks and building societies" and look through the table.
https://www.which.co.uk/money/mortgages-and-property/mortgages/getting-a-mortgage-with-japanese-knotweed-argmh3p6u64x

Yorkshire Building Society's policy is quoted as:
"Depending on the severity of growth of the weed and its proximity to the property, we might ask for a specialist report, and in some cases we might not lend. We’d always recommend that if borrowers affected by the weed have work done to treat the infestation, that they secure some form of insurance-backed warranty or guarantee."

Comparing it to some of other lender's policies, the wording is a lot looser and seems to imply flexibility.

Santander's policy also seems flexible.  My buyer's mortgage was with Royal Bank of Scotland.

oah276

I just thought I should come back to this thread to get some input rather than starting a new thread. My solicitor has done reporting to the lender and we are waiting to hear back regarding the knotweed. I found out that Accord Mortgages policy for category 3 and 4 is to retain the mortgage until the first stage of works have been completed, however according to this treatment plan which is now in place, the first stage starts in January 2022. My understanding is that knotweed has to be treated at certain times of the year. Can banks still be flexible on these policies? It’s not going to be possible for us or the seller to wait until the first stage of works is completed. The plan is in place and there is an insurance backed guarantee in place. Any thoughts on this would be much appreciated.

oah276

@Doozergirl would be good to get your thoughts given your experience. 

SeanG79

oah276 said:

I just thought I should come back to this thread to get some input rather than starting a new thread. My solicitor has done reporting to the lender and we are waiting to hear back regarding the knotweed. I found out that Accord Mortgages policy for category 3 and 4 is to retain the mortgage until the first stage of works have been completed, however according to this treatment plan which is now in place, the first stage starts in January 2022. My understanding is that knotweed has to be treated at certain times of the year. Can banks still be flexible on these policies? It’s not going to be possible for us or the seller to wait until the first stage of works is completed. The plan is in place and there is an insurance backed guarantee in place. Any thoughts on this would be much appreciated.

Knotweed was found in our property at the end of July (4 canes - 3 under 1m and a shoot under 30cm) circa 5m from the property in a flower bed. We had the first treatment completed in August, second treatment is due October/November for end of Season with the following treatment due in 2022, so not sure why the first treatment cannot be completed now?