At SE Knotweed, we unblock mortgages and sales held up by Japanese knotweed by producing the survey, management plan and insurance-backed guarantee that lenders and valuers require. Knotweed rarely stops a mortgage outright once the risk is shown to be managed.
Knotweed affects a mortgage because the lender's valuer flags it as a risk to the property, and the lender wants that risk managed before lending. The plant can spread and is expensive to remove, so the valuer looks for evidence that a specialist has assessed it and has a plan.
At SE Knotweed, we produce that evidence: a survey, a costed management plan and an insurance-backed guarantee. Get in touch if a valuer has flagged knotweed on a property you are buying or selling.
Lenders want to see a management plan from an accredited firm and an insurance-backed guarantee that would pay for further treatment if the knotweed returned. That guarantee reassures the lender because it moves the future risk off the property.
We write a mortgage-ready survey and report to the format a lender expects, setting out the RICS category, the plan and the guarantee term.
An insurance-backed guarantee unblocks a sale because it is the document that lets a lender proceed even before treatment finishes. It commits an audited contractor to returning and re-treating at no cost if regrowth appears within the term.
The guarantee page explains what it covers, and because a plan can be produced within a week or two, the sale rarely has to wait for the full treatment.
You do have to declare knotweed when selling. Question 7.8 of the TA6 Property Information Form asks specifically about it, and since 2020 you may only answer No if you are certain there is no rhizome above or below ground or within 3 metres of the boundary.
A survey gives you the certainty to answer honestly, and answering No when knotweed is present can expose you to a misrepresentation claim later.
Knotweed can affect a property's value while it is untreated, because a buyer and their lender price in the cost and the risk. A completed management plan and an insurance-backed guarantee usually restore lender confidence and most of the value.
The residual effect is often smaller than owners fear, and the diminution in value page explains what the courts have said about it.
We can usually survey a property and issue the report and costed plan within a week, which is often enough for a lender to proceed. The treatment then continues after the sale completes, covered by the guarantee.
Contact us with the address and the lender's requirement, and we will set out exactly what they need to lend.
INSURANCE-BACKED GUARANTEE
An insurance-backed guarantee from an audited contractor commits to returning and re-treating at no further cost if regrowth appears within the term. It is the document that reassures a mortgage lender, because it moves the future risk off the property. The term is confirmed with your plan.
Tell us the address and what a surveyor flagged. We confirm the plant, record the RICS category and set out the figures.