to have reduced my offer?

[Ididthattoo]

My husband and I have been looking for a house for a very long time. We found one nice house and we made an offer on it (which was accepted).

However, we found out that there is a small electricity substation behind the garden fence and there might be knotweed too. The area behind the garden is a green footpath that leads to a small park.

We had the emf emissions measured from the substation and they are normal. However, the surveyor said that it might affects saleability.

I am very anxious and haven't slept because of these issues. My husband says there are risks everywhere and we should just go ahead.

So, I have decided to offer about 7% less than what we originally offered in order to take into account of the increased risk. I would have just pulled out but the house is really nice and we are tired of looking.

What is your opinion on this? Am I being unreasonable? Am I mad in seeing risks everywhere or do you think there is a real problem?

I would really appreciate your views, I don't know what to think any more.

Thanks.

Hi the first thing I did is download the land registry data and flood risk.

It said that it does not fall within a river or see floodplain but it is within 25 metres of the nearest river or floodplain.

It is unlikely to flood except in extreme conditions.

What worries me is this within 25 metres of rivers...

Thanks thelwell as I said I looked it up straight away. There is a river behind the house which worries me. But then, everything worries me, I see dangers and risks everywhere.

A surveyor might be honest but they don't have to value it at what you have offered and you still might get the loan if the amount required falls within the acceptable parameters of loan to value for that product. You will need a surveyor from the lender's panel to do the valuation and that may or may not throw up the same issues as an independent one.

The agreement is that if the surveyor values it at less than the amount we have agreed, we walk away, no negotiations. This is to validate either mine or his point of view.

I will let you know what he/she says. It will be interesting

I'm confused. Are you in Flood Zone 1 or 3? You said you were in Zone 3, but then you said you aren't in a floodplain.

Before paying for data from the Environment Agency, ask them to confirm what they can actually provide you with for that specific location. If it's just a detailed flood map, don't pay - it's the same as the map freely available on the website. But if they have modelled flood extents showing potential depths and velocities of flooding, and maps of historical flood events in the area, that could be useful. Sometimes they take your money without checking what they've got, but if you ask they'll ususally let you know what they have.

Is the watercourse in culvert or above ground?

There is a watercouse near my house but it is tiny, definitely not worth worrying about. Also take a look at the ground levels and see whether water is likely to flow towards or away from the house.

House is in Flood zone 3 very near a river. But this is what the land registry said, that it is not a risk. I copied and pasted what the Lr says. The map from the environmental agency shows high flood risk around the river (which is 10 metres away from the house) but no high flood risk for the house.

I hope it is clear.

A river as well!

This house is not a good option!

Good time of year for knotweed, as you can eat the emerging shoots, its like rhubarb.
If you are worried about electromagnetic fields, then best move of Earth, otherwise you can't avoid them.

Small update. There is a house for sale 3 doors down which has been on the market for 2 years (in London). I called the estate agent for that house and the reason why it didn't sell is that it had knotweed in the garden coming from the council-owned land behind.

I wonder if the vendor knew, they said when we asked 10 days ago that there had not been any knotweed problem ever in the 20 years they have lived there.

So, hopefully now we will pull out.

Ah - walk away then. There will be other houses. If the knotweed has already started spreading then you don't want that house!

We probably will unless we can get a massive discount (which I don't think we will).

My DH is now upset at the estate agent as he told us that categorically there has never been knotweed on or near the property. I hope the next buyers are informed but I doubt it.

Oh well back to searching for houses, there is not much on the market but I hope with the change in stamp duty we will not have to compete with too many developers...

Run a mile, why would you want to put yourself in this position when you don't have to?

I don't want to but the house is really nice the best we have seen. Maybe the reason we could afford it was because of all these problems.

I prefer other compromises where I can control the problem, but my husband is sooo disappointed.

Maybe the reason we could afford it was because of all these problems.

I would say there is no "maybe" about it. Houses, like anything else, are worth what someone is prepared to pay for them. This house is priced to attract you to it, in the hope that the HUGE problem lurking just beyond the garden (if you're lucky) is not enough to put you off.

I would walk away, and I would think less of my DH if he had a strop about pulling out just because we'd been looking for a while.

Op new houses come on the market every day. The right one is out there, please don't settle. --

If your dh is upset now then imagine how upset he would be if you are left with a big problem and not being able too sell in the future because no one in there right mind would buy a house with knotweed

Youll be lucky to get a mortgage if it is knotweed.