House Drops £400K To Zero

[Frank Hovis]

Dreadful stuff I know but 'unsaleable'? Poor bloke.

Though I would suggest he pays £500 and has it eliminated. Just a thought. Stupid bloke.

Japanese Knotweed in garden

A homeowner who tried to remortgage his £400,000 property had his application refused because of a type of weed in his garden.

Published: 11:40AM BST 26 May 2010

Dave Williams, 42, wanted to borrow £83,000 but has been turned down after surveyors found Japanese Knotweed in his flower beds.

The bamboo-like weed can grow up to 12ft tall and push through concrete and damage buildings and is hard to to eradicate with pesticides.

Mr Williams had applied to remortgage his property through Santander but they rejected him after a house survey was carried out.

Officials explained the knotweed posed a risk to the structure of the building, which was now ''unsaleable''.

Mr Williams, of St Austell, Cornwall, said: ''I think it's crazy. It is an intensive weed but an element of common sense has got to be applied. If we were infested then fair enough.

''But all I've got is half a dozen sticks of Knotweed not two foot out of the ground. That's what incensed me.

''If I had a survey done in the winter I would have been OK because it only comes up in the spring and summer. How can that be? It just makes a farce of it.

''With the housing market in the state it is in, to put this measure in place is beyond belief.''

Knotweed is now so prevalent experts say there is not a single six mile square area in the UK where it is not found – except the Orkney Isles.

It first escaped into the British countryside in the mid-19th century after being brought over from Japan as an ornamental garden plant.

The plant usually grows in poor, rocky soils on the sloped of volcanoes in Japan and is now immune to most natural pests and diseases.

It has become highly successful in the UK and is capable of regenerating from just a tiny fragment and cutting it back often makes it grow back thicker.

Mr Williams, who runs a carpentry firm, wanted to borrow 20 per cent of the house value but mortgage provider Santander has refused.

A surveyor report stated that the property ''is not considered suitable for mortgages purposes as Japanese Knotweed was discovered within the curtilage of the property.''

In a letter to the family, Santander wrote: ''The valuer has said that the property is not readily saleable for owner occupation.''

A Santander spokesman said: ''Due to the invasive and destructive nature of the Japanese Knotweed, if the weed is found in close proximity to the property we would need to assess whether or not a mortgage could be accepted.

''In such circumstances, decisions for these applications would be made on a case by case basis. However if the weed poses a threat to the structure of the building the mortgage application would not be accepted.''

A spokesman for Knotweed eradication company Herpetosure said: ''It makes no sense – it can be dealt with if treated properly.''

Santander is among a string of high street lenders – including Lloyds Banking Group and Barclays – who are now refusing mortgage applicants if knotweed is deemed to threaten a property.

A spokesman for Lloyds Banking Group, which owns Lloyds TSB, HBOS, Cheltenham and Gloucester, said the extent of the problem could affect the price of a property.

Barclays Bank, which also own the Woolwich, also said they would refuse an application unless specialists were brought in to deal with the knotweed.

There have also been reports that some banks have even refused to lend on properties where the plant has been found growing – next door.

It is thought that getting rid of the weed costs up to £100 for every square foot of the plant. The cost of trying to eradicate the plant in the UK has been estimated to be more than £1.25 billion

But a spokesman for the Royal Horticultural Society said knotweed is a 'nuisance' but not a 'problem'

He said: ''I've never heard of anything like this before. Japanese Knotweed might be a problem on land being developed but in an ordinary domestic residence it is more of a nuisance than a real problem.''

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/7768301/Homeowner-turned-down-for-mortgage-due-to-Japanese-Knotweed-in-garden.html

[_w_]

Knotweed is now so prevalent experts say there is not a single six mile square area in the UK where it is not found – except the Orkney Isles.

Does that mean that within a few years not a single house in the UK will be mortgageable???

[Shrink Proof]

Surely it's only going to be worth nothing at all if it's going to cost him £400,000 (or more) to get rid of the wretched plant.

[enrieb]

Does that mean that within a few years not a single house in the UK will be mortgageable???

Yup, there goes the UK's AAA rating.

[Monkey]

idont think this is the full story, and that this is possibly part of the reason to be refused the mortgage.

so does this mean (assuming he stil lhassome mortgage left on his house) that he has to pay up the rest of the money that he owes to his mortgage supplier in full?

[The Masked Tulip]

They have just started some bio experiment in Swansea, so bad is the knotweed, by relasing some genetically modified insects, or something like that, to try and kill the knotweed by eating the roots.... years from now the World will be plagued by genetically modified insects destroying property valuations...

[Roseland69]

They have just started some bio experiment in Swansea, so bad is the knotweed, by relasing some genetically modified insects, or something like that, to try and kill the knotweed by eating the roots.... years from now the World will be plagued by genetically modified insects destroying property valuations...

I think the insect is from Japan and only eats knotweed. Don't think its been genetically modified though.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8555378.stm

[The Masked Tulip]

Giant insects eat our homes!

Giant foreign insects eat our homes!

[_w_]

Giant foreign insects eat our homes while on benefits!

Giant foreign locusts eat our homes while on benefits!

[Redcellar]

Does that mean that within a few years not a single house in the UK will be mortgageable???

I don't get the problem. So a highly destructive weed has infested the property and could undermine the foundations. Give the poor bloke his loan. It's not like it's going to collapse the economy. (just his house)

While we are at it, given loans to people who live on flood planes, cliff tops and on top of subsiding mine shafts. What is wrong with this country.

[Monkey]

imigration rampent, imigrants eating all our crops, biritsh families starv

[Monkey]

I don't get the problem. So a highly destructive weed has infested the property and could undermine the foundations. Give the poor bloke his loan. It's not like it's going to collapse the economy. (just his house)

While we are at it, given loans to people who live on flood planes, cliff tops and on top of subsiding mine shafts. What is wrong with this country.

whats building insurance for?

gas pipes explode

houses catch fire

shall we not give loans to people whi have gas,electricity or anything flamable in their houses?

[Redcellar]

whats building insurance for?

gas pipes explode

houses catch fire

shall we not give loans to people whi have gas,electricity or anything flamable in their houses?

Unexpected or unlikely events.

And no, not if they are pyromaniacs, gas sniffers or in to electrocution fetishishes.

[bearbullfence]

Giant foreign locusts eat our homes while on benefits!

Benefit scrounging giant foreign locusts eat our homes and set up traveller camps in Diana's home town!

[SarahBell]

You can eat it

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_knotweed

The young stems are edible as a spring vegetable, with a flavor similar to mild rhubarb

wiki says so.

And no I didn't just make it up and edit wiki.

and

Japanese knotweed flowers are valued by some beekeepers as an important source of nectar for honeybees

[bingobob777]

Japanese Knotweed is nasty stuff and if left alone could undermine his house in a few years. I carry out track renewals on the railway and if any is found it's stop the job and bring in the specialists for removal. They must ensure that every single last bit is removed as a tiny piece left can grow up to 4 inches a day and within weeks you have an infestation again.don't think the bank are being unreasonable, the guy will just need to pay for it to be removed.

[Bootsox]

Benefit scrounging giant foreign locusts eat our homes and set up traveller camps on Diana's home town Grave!

Amended for even more dramatic effect!

[juvenal]

Royal Horticultural Society views Japanese Knotweed as a 'nuisance' and no more. There are specialist firms who can get rid of it.

[RentingForever]

AIDS-Carrying, benefit scrounging giant foreign immigrant locusts eat our homes and set up traveller camps in Diana's Grave!

More DM-friendly

[needsleep]

We have an extensive bloom of this about 40m from our house. Quite a bit of it around here, some within a few metres of houses and in one place within metres on two sides of a pumping unit on a major gas main.

[kingsgate]

So, if you have any, you should chop it down and pour nasty chems all over it. Hydrochloric or sulphuric acid drain unblocker burns its way through most things, and is very cheap.

And certainly chop any down before getting your house valued!

[Once in a lifetime]

idont think this is the full story, and that this is possibly part of the reason to be refused the mortgage.

so does this mean (assuming he stil lhassome mortgage left on his house) that he has to pay up the rest of the money that he owes to his mortgage supplier in full?

It would be the same story if there was a tree within structural influence of the building.

[Jadoube]

Mmm

Surveyor says property is unsaleable, because if he were to come back and do a survey for a buyer he would say it was unsaleable, because if he were to come back.........