We bought a house a year ago that had knotweed ten years prior. No problem with mortgage or house insurance.

We’re also interested in buying a house that had knotweed present although it seems to have been clear for about 6 years now. I’m not sure what needs to be done if it’s no longer visible above ground and what any ongoing impact on house price/selling/mortgages/insurance is so would be keen to hear from anyone who has had knotweed in the past.

Hello

I am keen to hear what the outcome has been for you?

We recently viewed a property with an apparent spread of knotweed in the neighbouring garden and have been mulling over putting an offer in but quite concerned about potential ongoing issues both with the weeds and the neighbours.

Did the knotweed affect your mortgage and insurance?

Thanks

We found Japanese Knotweed in an alley adjoining our house and although the land was not ours, we got a treatment plan in place as it was our house that would be affected. The treatment plans are costly but compared to the cost of the house in this area it is a drop in the ocean.
The plans also come with a 10 year guarantee so if you live there for 5 years and then move on, the guarantee would still be in place.
We sold our house about 2 years after the treatment with no problem.
As you say, the media keep sensationalising the situation and the truth is that research is now showing the effect of the knotweed is not as bad as they first thought.

Walk away

It is hugely expensive to treat. May not sell in a weak market and you never know, it may come back.

There are plenty of homes out there in this weak market waiting for offers. Maybe you have your hear set on it but use your head and walk away.

They will probably come back 5% cheaper a couple of days after you walk.

We have put an offer in a house (and this has been accepted), only to find out that the neighbour has japanese knotweed in the garden (it is tiny and currently being professionally treated), the current owners have also put in a treatment plan, although there is none in their garden.  So no problem with the mortgage. But is it worth it?  Should we just walk away? 

I know it is fairly common in this area (Balham, Tooting, near the Wandle) and I'm not particularly worried about it causing 'damage' (especially if treated) as from my understanding the media makes it out to be worse than it is but whilst we love the house, we only envisage ourselves there for five or so years, I'm worried about the stigma and whether it could affect resale in the future.