getting cold feet about house purchase

[abouquetofsharpenedpencils]

Some of you may remember my previous thread "estate agent got our offer wrong".

Well, since then, a few things have cropped up and now I am having doubts about the purchase. I am not sure if this is just usual cold feet though. Please offer your honest opinion!

The searches came back and highlighted a few points. I realise that searches will usually do this so was not getting too anxious about it... but the vendor's reaction has been a bit strange. We had a chance to do a second viewing/measuring up and asked him a few questions.

First- radon. The property is in an elevated area for radon. Fine, many properties are and as long as steps are taken to mitigate this, it shouldn't be a problem. However, he dismissed it as nonsense and did not seem keen to do anything about it. He hasn't had his property tested, nor does he think it necessary.
Personally, a bit concerned and would like to initiate testing. Especially as husband has chronic respiratory disorder and is an ex-smoker. But perhaps I am being neurotic?

1. Ground instability and land contamination - similar reaction , all nonsense although he then said he wouldn't touch the neighbouring house with a bargepole.

1. Bamboo - we noticed a bamboo plant at the end of the garden the first time we viewed. The second time we went he seemed reluctant to let us in the garden, but did let us when I pushed. The bamboo had tripled in size! it was like jack and the beanstalk! and that was in the space of a month! Also, could see where bits of it had popped up on his side of the fence and he had hacked the stalks down. A bit concerned, I casually asked him about the bamboo. His response was to brush it off, absolutely no problems whatsoever he said.

Also interesting to note is the bottom half of his garden has all been concreted over in one part and gravel laid in another part with a black weed membrane thing underneath. He was getting visibily irritable at this point and I thought best not to pursue it anymore.

Am I overthinking all these things?

I don't know what to think now.

After all the business with the lying estate agents and now this, I am just sick of it all and just wish I had never bothered.

The estate agent had also done their best to dissuade us from getting a proper survey saying the bank valuation is enough and nothing could possibilt be wrong as the house is under 20 years old but as I don;t trust them, I booked it anyway. The vendor has now told me to take the survey with a big pinch of salt.

Also, he is still very insistent on completing by the end of the month and I am feeling very pressured to dismiss these concerns in order to help him attain this. He has told me he will be losing thousands of pounds if I don;t compete in time.

Any advice much aprecciated.

many thanks for reading.

Are you sure it is bamboo and it is not Japanese knotweed?
Of course the agent doesn't want you to have a survey, his commission is based on the sale going through. He's working for the seller not you.
It all sounds rather dodgy to me...

Well, it really depends on how things are worded on the survey. If you are happy that radon can be dealt with, then it is isn't a major problem. Apparently it takes 3 months for a radon survey, which is probably why the seller isn't keen.

With regard to the ground instability, was that a 'might be a problem given the area' or 'this is happening' type item in the survey?

It’s shouting no to me . Far too many concerns and people trying to hide things .

Just found this...(taylor-weed-control.co.uk)

According to industry experts, invasive breeds of bamboo can be just as bad, if not worse than Japanese knotweed, in terms of its ability to spread underground.

Don’t dismiss a gut feeling and him losing thousands of pounds isn’t your problem. I’d pull out as it doesn’t sound quite right from what you’ve said.

Bamboo quite straightforward to remove though - not sure why you're surprised it's grown a lot - that's what bamboo does! And what's your concern with weed membrane - don't most people put this down?

Sorry posted too soon..... don't know anything about other issues though. Have a survey and take advice from surveyor. Ignore vendor and estate agent - they just want their £ ASAP, you'll get that whatever house you buy.

Haven't read the previous thread so don't know the background.

1. What does your solicitor say? Mine said "The property is within an intermediate probability Radon area as between 1% and 3% of homes may be above the Action Level. This is a common entry to find on Search results in this area." so I ignored it. You can check www.ukradon.org/information/ukmaps and maybe consider if other areas with lower levels of radon are affordable/feasible for you.

2. What are the reasons for this? I imagine searches are highlighting a risk of ground instability and land contamination, not the actual issue. A surveyor should be able to tell you if ground instability is causing damage to the house. Speak to neighbours about contamination and ask what they know about it, if anything.

3. Non-issue.

Many thanks for the replies.

@TwoLeftSocksWithHoles, yes it is definitely bamboo and not Japanese Knotweed. Thanks for the quote, I have been reading similar and also have some experience of it from previous and know it can be an utter bastard to get rid of.

@JellyMouldJnr the survey hasn't happened yet, that is on Monday. These are results from the searches which have advised the next steps are to test the property as it is in an elevated area.

@Splashinginpuddles15 yesterday I woke up thinking this, today I woke up thinking maybe I am overreacting. It has all been incredibly stressful and I am not sure I am capable of being level-headed anymore

@Retrievemysanity thanks, you are quite right, him losing thousands of pounds due to missing the SD deadline isn't my problem. I have gone as fast as I could since picking up from the previous buyer who backed out, but don't want to end up jeopardising our situtaion just purely to help him save thousands! At the same time, I understand his frustration at wanting to wrap things up as fast as possible.

@titchy the weed membrane and concreted over bottom of garden could be measures to attempt to keep the bamboo at bay as it can be very destructive and has an underground root system which spreads rapidly. It looks odd as the rest of the garden is lawn. We can see bits of bamboo popping up even though it is the neighbour's and on the other side of the fence.

not sure if this link works! so sorry if it doesn't. Suffice to say, bamboo can be dreadful and at times worse than JK but not many people are aware of this. I didn't realise it had the potential to be worse than JK until I did some research.

www.whatmortgage.co.uk/feature/bamboo-damage-property-threaten-mortgage/

If in doubt don't, personally something doesn't sit right to me and I'd walk away.

We had friends who had bamboo come through from a neighbour and it cost thousands to sort out as it was underneath the house. If you’ve already paid for a structural survey perhaps mention the bamboo to the surveyor and see it they think there’s likely to be any issues with the foundations.

I’d trust your gut instinct

@aLittleL1fe I think the radon will be fine if steps are taken to mitigate it but unfortuntaely time is running out due to the mad rush to try to get everything completed before 30 Sept (I am a first time buyer so doesn;t affect me). The solicitor has pointed out the steps that the search report suggests, next step testing.

I have contacted the surveyor to ask them to pay attention to the ground instability that has been flagged as high risk. The survey is happening on MOnday, so we shall see I guess. Good advice about speaking to the neighbours. We know the area used to be a landill site .

@imonlyhooman @Chronicallymothering thanks sorry to hear about your friends. This is exactly what I fear, as it looks like he has been battling it and losing - the bamboo shoots poking up everywhere on his side, the hacked off stalks, the concreted over bits and then when asked he denied any problem whatsoever. The garden is only small and bamboo roots can spread rapidly and aggressively.
I have mentioned it to the surveyor as you suggested and they sounded concerned and said it could be be a problem so we will see what they say on MOnday. However, I have never done a Home Buyer'ss Report before so not sure how thorough it will be!

Thanks very much for all responses. I just can't thinking clearly and being rushed by the EA and vendor is not helping at all.

sorry for all the typos

Please don't be rushed or bullied by them, take this at your own pace. At the end of the day you are in the driving seat here and it's another red flag if they're trying to push you.

Not wishing to add to your worries but landfill sites can often exude methane gas.

Please do not buy with doubts in your mind.

At a previous property we did an EMF test because it was close to a railway line (non issue but gave me peace).

We hadn't realised that there was a elevated road at the back of our garden with a piece of woodland in between. Looked harmless. Turned out it had an oil pipeline going through and the owning company hacked down all the trees for maintenance. Our house and garden were completely exposed to the road/noise/pollution. Despite loving the house we sadly sold in a few years.

Bamboo is a nightmare and so are structural/soil problems. At the very least know what you are getting into and be happy with the price/reduction due to it.

DO YOUR RESEARCH! Buy only when you are satisfied.

You wait for your survey results and go from there.

Just read the title of your thread. Your concerns are not 'cold feet'. They are 'due diligence'

Honestly, in your shoes, I'd walk away. Too many lies from the outset - I think you'd regret going any further. Listen to your gut.

Wait for the survey report but be prepared to walk.

This all sounds as though the EA and seller are trying to rush you and take advantage of the fact you're a FTB (so they assume naive/desperate). Wait for the survey results and go from there. If the survey is OK but your gut still says "this is dodgy", go with your gut.

I would cancel the survey and walk away tbh!

Bamboo is a bastard. That’s all I have to say