Has anybody ever bought or sold a property with Japanese Knotweed

[alittlequinnie]

I'm trying to sell a property for a client and Knotweed has been found on the grounds.

It was found and eradicated in 2015 and there is a 5 year management plan in place to continue to eradicate the Knotweed with a professional Knotweed company.

The property is a Leasehold Flat (really long lease) and is on the second floor up and the Knotweed was found in the communal gardens.

I declared it on the Law Society Property Information form and included the management plan but the latest buyers have pulled out.

Am I wasting my time - there is a vague option of renting it out instead of selling it - am I never going to be able to sell it at market value?

The property is very nice in a great area and very popular with renters - in fact we were expecting an investment buyer to purchase and rent it out.

All experiences would be greatly appreciated.

I was about to by a flat at the end of last year with similar problems. I wasted a great deal of money getting quite far down the line in the process of buying before the knotweed issue was discovered. I was really pissed off that it was half hidden on the information form. Not a single mention at multiple viewings and no visible signs (removed) at the point of survey.

I did a great deal of research and found that it is very difficult to get a mortgage on such a property. I was a cash buyer but needed to remortgage after refurbishment. The proximity of the knotweed to the building is the most important factor that I could see regardless of any treatment plan in place (this one had a 10 year plan in place but it was worthless in the circumstances as the knotweed was

I've just had a look again at the report and it is less than 7m from the block.

The report says there have been "no visible signs of it growing" since 2015.

I did declare it before the property went on the market on the Law Society Form.

Now that it has fallen through I have asked the estate agents to mention it as soon as anybody puts an offer in.

Do you think I have no chance of selling it?

If it is eradicated does anybody know how long before you can be sure it won't come back?

My understanding is that there are many banks that will mortgage a property but only if there is a plan in place. The management company are in charge of the plan.

Probably not helpful to you but there has recently been new research on JKW that shows it's not as much of a threat as its been made out

leaf.leeds.ac.uk/japanese-knotweed-is-no-more-of-a-threat-to-buildings-than-other-plants/

I don't know how long it will take for the mortgage/property form requirements to catch up with this new research though.

I always thought if a treatment plan was in place then that satisfied the majority of mortgage companies June. Did you explore different mortgages or was it just the one bank you had problems with?

it seems an incredibly unfair problem considering how widespread it is in certain areas, and how it can spread from neighbouring properties. Surely if everyone is treating it, it shouldn't make a property impossible to sell?

I'd imagine the biggest problem is perception - it's been turned into a bogeyman (a while ago it used to be rising damp and massively expensive wall injections) so sellers will be spooked.

I’m sure I read a few months ago that it can never be completely eradicated, only managed.

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