Japanese Knotweed

[Grandad Gaz]

Chrisgr31 said:

Once you have got rid of the knotweed do you still have to declare it in the future? Seems to me that if you are going to hold it a long time then its worth going for. As regards price I think you can be aggressive, most people wont want to touch it.

Exactly. In fact it could be a blessing.

Most people panic when Japanese knotweed is mentioned (as proved by a couple of posters on here)
As long as you expect to be there a good few years, then I would give it a go. I'm sure there is a bargain to be had if you are prepared to bide your time.

[cossy400]

Excuse my ignorance on the matter, but you ve said there is a plan in place to remove/kill the knotweed and that its paid for by the estate.

I assume as its a 4 year plan its not cheap?

Will the estate cover it again if it came back?

Does it/can it come back?

Id not want the hassle myself and would want it very cheap to even want to consider having the hassle.

[xyz123]

Is there any damage already due to knotweed?

[Zetec-S]

B17NNS said:

castex said:

I hired a mini-digger. I went to town on it.
It worked. Minimal new growth.

So it didn't work then

I didn’t think the words “minimal new growth” were used when talking about Japanese knotweed...

[blueg33]

cossy400 said:

Excuse my ignorance on the matter, but you ve said there is a plan in place to remove/kill the knotweed and that its paid for by the estate.

I assume as its a 4 year plan its not cheap?

Will the estate cover it again if it came back?

Does it/can it come back?

Id not want the hassle myself and would want it very cheap to even want to consider having the hassle.

Normally you pay once and the contractor warrants the removal. If the knotweed comes back they come and sort it.

[227bhp]

OP i'd be overjoyed to find this stuff on my potential 'forever home'! Ignore the doom mongers it really is piss easy to get rid of with weedkiller. You don't have to care about any resales, but if you did simply take very carefully dated pics every year to prove what you've done.
Use the massive profiteering money making hype to bring down the price and spend £50 on getting rid.
There was some near me on private land, but it was breaking through onto a public walkway, I notified the Council, someone hit it once with weedkiller and apart from 2 single new shoots it hasn't been back.

[hotchy]

Use it as a way to knock a further 50k off the price. No one is touching it as shown with price reduction, infact if your not embaressed by your own offer, its not low enough. You can always increase later.

[Condi]

hotchy said:

infact if your not embaressed by your own offer, its not low enough. You can always increase later.

Not sure about that, as a seller if someone bid me too low, I'd not want to deal with them full stop. Generally people with an attitude like that are difficult to deal with, and even once you have agreed a price, I'd not trust them to complete successfully without trying it on again during the paperwork.

Never forget all deals are emotional in some way.

[Blakeatron]

deckster said:

Do you need a mortgage? Because you won't get one with the knotweed there.

Oh yes, and run away.

Absolute rubbish - we purchased a renovation project/forever home in oct 16.
Had 3 pretty major patches of knotweed.

All 3 mortgage offers had a clause we had to sign upto a 4 year treatment plan with an approved knotweed contractor.
Found a local conpany who did all the forms for us and come twice a year to survey and treat.
Costs us £150 a year.
After the first treatment 2 batches went and the other is down to a couple of sprigs.

We finally went with santander for the mortgage

[blearyeyedboy]

blueg33 said:

cossy400 said:

Excuse my ignorance on the matter, but you ve said there is a plan in place to remove/kill the knotweed and that its paid for by the estate.

I assume as its a 4 year plan its not cheap?

Will the estate cover it again if it came back?

Does it/can it come back?

Id not want the hassle myself and would want it very cheap to even want to consider having the hassle.

Normally you pay once and the contractor warrants the removal. If the knotweed comes back they come and sort it.

And if the contractor goes bust/phoenixes?

It's not unreasonable if the estate has given an assurance that they will manage the knotweed after you become the owner of the property. However, if I were buying then I'd make damn sure the estate signs up to remaining liable if the contractors fail to do so for any reason, and that such liability is transferable should you choose to sell it in a couple of years while the problem is still being resolved.

[Temo_Wil]

Thanks for the reply and info thus far, very much appreciated.

To confirm, no damage to the property itself from what I can see at surface level. Some damage to the front wall and rockery area. It’s also within a meter of the properties either side.

From speaking to the estate agent, the 4.5 year remaining treatment plan will be paid in full by the estate. I believe this is upfront upon completion. A very good point was raised about what happens if the company goes bust which I’ll query so thanks for that.

I’ve offered £332k which was 80% of current asking but it’s been declined by the beneficiaries. They have stated that they want £375k minimum which I would not be prepared to go to. The property’s been on the market for 4 months now, only 2 offers in that time including mine and a lower one of £300k.

Debating if I should up it to £340k or let then stew for a while. Ultimately no developer would want it due to the hassle of a sale within the remaining 4.5 years of treatment.

[8-P]

Just pretend it doesnt exist and move on

[mdw]

We had this next door on a communal parking area which no one was dealing with. Cut a notch into the stems ( 1" diameter) on the ones I killed. Get a syringe and carefully squirt as much TREE root killer liquid into the hollow stem as you can do that at 12" above ground level on most of the stems. Once its died off, 1-2 months cut and burn. Did the same to the straggly stems that came up for next 2 years. Seen nothing since and that's 3 years ago. I'm not an expert but it worked for me. I think digging up has a greater risk of spreading than the above method.

[Andehh]

mdw said:

I think digging up has a greater risk of spreading than the above method.

.....and you'd be right. Systematically poisoning it will kill every little bit. Just digging risks severing roots underground and letting them work their way to the surface/spread undetected for a few years.

[blueg33]

blearyeyedboy said:

And if the contractor goes bust/phoenixes?

It's not unreasonable if the estate has given an assurance that they will manage the knotweed after you become the owner of the property. However, if I were buying then I'd make damn sure the estate signs up to remaining liable if the contractors fail to do so for any reason, and that such liability is transferable should you choose to sell it in a couple of years while the problem is still being resolved.

The warranties are under written. I have been paying for knotweed treatment for 20 years. Never had an issue getting people back if there has been a regrowth.

[castex]

Oops sorry, forgot I'd posted about this.
I took the roots with the digger, wrenched the lil buggers out. Bagged it, took it to the tip. Was that wrong?
By minimal new growth I meant like three sproutings discovered over 5 years. It's gone.
Dig deep. Be thorough.
Apologies again for the late response.

[227bhp]

castex said:

Oops sorry, forgot I'd posted about this.
I took the roots with the digger, wrenched the lil buggers out. Bagged it, took it to the tip. Was that wrong?
By minimal new growth I meant like three sproutings discovered over 5 years. It's gone.
Dig deep. Be thorough.
Apologies again for the late response.

Well it was 'illegal' and punishable by fine.

[blueg33]

Indeed. Its a notifiable contaminant.

[Flibble]

The penalties are not fun:

Gov.uk said:

You could be fined up to £5,000 or be sent to prison for up to 2 years if you allow contaminated soil or plant material from any waste you transfer to spread into the wild.

[strath44]

Yes it's dreadful stuff there is a hazard plan to follow for removal as it can propogate from a 1 inch cutting!!
We looked at a house that had a 2x2x1.5m bush in the garden and were quoted £7k for full removal and warranty against further growth.
That's nonsense about mortgages though you will still get one.
RBS I think it was at the time wanted a £10k retainer until the work was done and certified - keep in mind that you still have to pay the £7k on top to the contractor!
Interestingly I was at a old mansion in Argyll last summer and it had 4 varieties of knotweed in the garden "on display" which were brought to the uk several centuries ago!