Another unpleasant item to keep an eye out for when buying a property…
As we all know, buying our first house is difficult for many reasons, including high costs and hidden issues that will make your life miserable.
Lois Connelly, regrettably, knew all too well.
The Brit has warned first-time buyers about a red flag she saw while house-searching in Bristol, UK.
She was purchasing a terraced home last year when she discovered something in the garden that she didn’t realize was a red sign.
Connelly, who works for the UK’s publicly financed healthcare system, the NHS, told Wales Online: “It was my sister who first noticed the bamboo when we viewed the property.”
Bamboo was planted “straight into the earth” in both the back and front gardens.
“Although it had been cut back, we could see it had spread and was growing right up against the house on both sides,” she told us.
“I realized I had to act when the surveyor mentioned it in his report and suggested an expert check.”
While bamboo may appear to be a wonderful garden addition to some, Homebuilding & Renovating explains that because bamboo rhizomes can undermine foundations in a property, ‘this is a worry regarding the condition of the property as well as the possibility of disputes or legal action involving affected neighbors’.
Connelly went on to say, “The bamboo was already on the move, and it was only a matter of time until it caused property damage.
“As a new homeowner, I was concerned about the possibility of legal action because it was already encroaching into the neighbor’s garden.”
“I would advise anyone buying a property with bamboo in the garden to have a professional survey done and, if necessary, be prepared to walk away if the seller won’t resolve it.”
This is just what Connelly did, and it may have saved her hundreds of pounds.
The magazine went on to describe that in 2022, a woman in England had a similar bamboo problem, but it was significantly more serious, growing through her flooring and costing over $131,000 to repair.
Bamboo appears to be one of a number of property red flags, including black fungus and inadequate lighting!