Has anyone bought a house with knotweed?

GDB2222

Maria85 said:

Thanks everyone. There are so few houses available in our area at the moment. It has taken over a year to even have an offer accepted so the thought of pulling out makes me what to cry. As does shoots of knotweed popping up all over the place! 

There’s a middle course of going ahead, but at a reduced price. At the very least, the sellers ought to be paying for the remaining costs of the treatment programme. 

A small point, but, if there’s a ten year guarantee on the treatment it needs to be insurance backed. If it’s just from a limited company that did the work, it’s worthless.

daveyjp

The hysteria of knotweed now appears to be reducing, which is a shame as it removes a barrier to getting a decent price reduction!

As long as the amount is limited and there isn't a huge area of it outside the property boundary it wouldn't bother me.

Woolsery

Maria85 said:

Thanks everyone. There are so few houses available in our area at the moment. It has taken over a year to even have an offer accepted so the thought of pulling out makes me what to cry. As does shoots of knotweed popping up all over the place! 

Why? You've told us the JK is over 60' from the house and under an eradication plan, so why do you think it's likely it will start 'popping up all over the place?' That's sensationalist language conferring some kind of superpower on what is just a large and persistent weed.

If this is the first house you've been able to bid on and win in a year, doesn't it seem likely the JK has actually assisted you, either by putting others off or causing the vendor to pitch the price lower? There are many reasons why some houses are deemed less desirable: they may be next to a take-away, close to pylons, have had some underpinning, or maybe there's some kind of legal restriction on occupancy. These things don't necessarily make them bad buys for the right people.

You have to decide if you are the right person for this house, which obviously has a longer garden than many. If you'd rather have a 20' plot you can pave over and have no worries about weeds of all kinds, then maybe this house isn't for you. All larger gardens are going to involve a maintenance comittment.