Japanese knotweed… WWYD?

[StuckInARug]

I’ve mentioned this on my other post (about roof needs replacing) but thought I’d create a separate post for this as I’m a bit anxious about it!

Full building survey on house we’re buying showed no signs of Japanese knotweed and none on neighbours gardens (from what he could see), but apparently he saw some plants on a small patch of grass between houses on the other side of the road. So the Japanese knotweed is sort of diagonally opposite the house, about 30 metres away. For reference this is south east London where apparently there’s lots of JNW.

surveyor wasn’t concerned but said we could ask for an indemnity or pay for one ourselves, in case it does show up in our garden. We don’t intend on never selling this house but of course we don’t know what the future holds.

WWYD? Ask for a dog survey? Pull out? Ask or pay for an indemnity and forget about it?

Edit: just double checked Google maps and it’s about 40 metres away. With a road in between.

just to add (Sorry for multiple posts!) but neighbours gardens are very well kept so I am sure if they had JNW it would get treated soon.

Indemnity insurance is normally really cheap - I would just buy it.

Indemnity insurance and forget about it. It’s over the road so wouldn’t concern me.

Yeah, I’m pretty risk averse, but that wouldn’t bother me.

It’s on a patch of land, diagonally opposite my house like you described. The people who offered on my house before me pulled out after the survey and although I don’t know why they pulled out, I assume it was because of the knotweed. It never came up on my survey, I knew about it because of a quick Google and found the land had been for sale recently. I still brought my house anyway. As it happened the neighbours got together and treated it and I’ve never seen it in all the time I’ve lived here.

Since you know it’s nearby, you can keep an eye out and treat it if necessary.
It wouldn’t bother me.

Hi OP, I honestly wouldn't worry about that at all. Historically there was a '7 metre' rule regarding Japanese knotweed for surveyors but that was downgraded to 3 metres in March.

'Infestations more than three metres beyond the boundary are not categorised or reported to lenders, although a record should be made in site notes.' ww3.rics.org/uk/en/journals/property-journal/japanese-knotweed---new-guidance-comes-into-effect.html

Interesting. We are also in a knotweed predicament - though different from yours - also in South East London. Wonderful house, neighbours had a small patch of knotweed about 10 years ago, both the house + next door treated, nothing since.

I am between sacking it off completely because it is just a potential issue or going for it knowing it has been dealt with and there is some risk of return but that we would have a lovely family home. The alternative is we could be renting a year easily with nothing on market (our property has already sold) get a worse mortgage deal with interest rates increasing, get into bidding wars (with nothing on the market )and have surveys find different issues on different properties. We also dont intend to sell. There is such a shortage of decent family homes in London I'm pretty sure a future buyer somewhere would make a similar comprimise.

From what i have read, I think there has been too much hysteria about it, the RCIS guidance has just been downgraded which is massive, a few research papers have been published in the last few years about the damage (lack of) it actually causes vs other similar plants hence RCIS changes, European countries do not treat it in the same way and there is a lot of critisism of the industry that has built up around it - it feels to me like the tide is turning - its probably the issues you don't even know about that government/agents/brokers will decide will be issues in 10+ years time not knotweed.

I can understand if the garden was overflowing with JKW and it was right next to the house but I wouldn't worry about it if I were you.

We have a bit pop up in our garden every few years or so. We zap it and then it goes for about 5 years. Apparently our neighbours had it running rampant in their garden about 30 years ago when they moved in. They dug it all out but a bit might reappear every so often for all I know.

I've never given it any thought. Our house is structurally sound and so is theirs.

My mum and dad bought a lovely house with JW in garden. Treated and no issues. Been there years.

It wouldn't bother me at all and I'm highly risk averse. Your other thread went typically mumsnet, someone announced they wouldn't touch it with a barge pole due to JKW, then everyone jumped on agreeing.

Pleased to see you now have some sensible, factual answers above 😊

It wouldn't bother me either...its a plant...not a flesh eating triffid...my dh is a landscaper...he has been called out to get rid of JKW in a few places...says its not difficult to get rid of and he cannot understand the hysteria around it.

Thanks all, we’ve decided to go ahead and not let it bother us!