Banks Refuse Mortgages Due To Potential Damages from Japanese Knotweed
21-10-2013
Last updated 06-01-2022
Japanese knotweed could potentially cost many Londoners a mortgage, according to BBC One’s Inside Out programme. The plant is resistant to fire, poison, and concrete, and the discovery of it on a property has resulted in many banks refusing mortgage applications. People who want to purchase or sell their property are failing to make a deal due to the discovery of Japanese Knotweed. What’s more, many people have been told that the value of their property has fallen dramatically, after insurance companies are refusing to pay for damages caused by the weed, the BBC reported. Matthew and Suzie Jones are two homeowners that found Japanese Knotweed growing in their house. As a result, the value of their property was cut to £150,000 from £300,000. They were told that they might have to tear down the house, which was something that people do not expect to hear when they have just purchased a property, Suzie Jones said. Natalie Waterworth told the BBC that her mortgage was withdrawn by the bank after it was discovered that Japanese knotweed was growing near the property. The plant was about 90 feet from the house, but a few weeks later it spread another 60 feet, and then by another 30 feet, it is claimed. Sue Anderson, from the Council of Mortgage Lenders, said that the Japanese Knotweed situation is evolving, and the plant has gained so much attention that it could now make a real estate property undesirable. As a result, banks have started factoring it in when lending, she added.
