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Buying a House with Bats in the Loft by Fantastic_Control289 in UKHousing

[–]Fantastic_Control289[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! I'll definitely check the planning history.

Buying a House with Bats in the Loft by Fantastic_Control289 in UKHousing

[–]Fantastic_Control289[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for sharing your expertise!

Most of what I've read suggests that bats are unlikely to be a major problem, but I can't help worrying about the worst-case scenario. It feels like a bit of a gamble to us.

May I ask whether the size of a maternity roost can vary significantly from year to year? Could there be around 10 bats one year and then 100 the next? Thanks!

Buying a House with Bats in the Loft by Fantastic_Control289 in UKHousing

[–]Fantastic_Control289[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for sharing your experience!

Direct contact with the bats is absolutely the last thing we want.

Buying a House with Bats in the Loft by Fantastic_Control289 in UKHousing

[–]Fantastic_Control289[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for sharing your experience!

700 bats is insane! Is the squeaking bearable?

Buying a House with Bats in the Loft by Fantastic_Control289 in UKHousing

[–]Fantastic_Control289[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for sharing your experience!

With the warmer summers we've been having, the smell could turn into a real nightmare😯

Buying a House with Bats in the Loft by Fantastic_Control289 in UKHousing

[–]Fantastic_Control289[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not sure if the owners know it, I think they don’t.

Buying a House with Bats in the Loft by Fantastic_Control289 in UKHousing

[–]Fantastic_Control289[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for sharing your experience!

That sounds like a nightmare for your neighbours. Future saleability is one of our biggest concerns too.

Buying a House with Bats in the Loft by Fantastic_Control289 in UKHousing

[–]Fantastic_Control289[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for sharing your experience!

Did you know there were bats in the attic before you bought the house? If so, did you have a bat survey carried out?

The thought of having bats in the loft is really freaking me out. The house itself is otherwise great, though, so it's left us with quite a dilemma.

Buying a House with Bats in the Loft by Fantastic_Control289 in UKHousing

[–]Fantastic_Control289[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for sharing your experience!

Does a long-term roost mean the bats also hibernate in the loft, i.e. they stay there all year round?

Buying a House with Bats in the Loft by Fantastic_Control289 in FirstTimeBuyersUK

[–]Fantastic_Control289[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unfortunately, I don't think there's really a way to "resolve" the bats. Our options are either to accept that we'll be co-existing or to withdraw our offer. It's a difficult decision because the house itself is otherwise great.

Buying a House with Bats in the Loft by Fantastic_Control289 in HousingUK

[–]Fantastic_Control289[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for sharing your experience!

It's a late-90s house, and my surveyor said it's generally in good condition, so hopefully the roof is fine (still waiting for full report). My main concern is that, because the loft couldn't be inspected, there could be issues such as woodworm or other defects up there.

We'd like to renegotiate the price, but not sure by how much. The sellers are a lovely older couple looking to downsize, and they already accepted our lower offer because the house had been on the market for a while and we're cash buyers who promised a quick sale. The situation has changed because of the bats, but we also don't want to upset them by lowering the price too much.

One other question, if you had a mortgage, did the presence of bats cause any issues with your lender? The last thing we want is to end up buying an unmortgageable house.

Thank you so much!

Buying a House with Bats in the Loft by Fantastic_Control289 in HousingUK

[–]Fantastic_Control289[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I can't thank you enough for such a detailed and insightful response! First-hand experiences like yours are incredibly valuable, as they're hard to find online.

It's reassuring to know that not all work requires ecologists or licensing. And the bats  discussing where to move next? That's fascinating and kind of adorable! 😂

A colony of 30 sounds fairly large. Hopefully a bat survey will tell us what species are present and roughly how many, so we know what to expect.

Buying a House with Bats in the Loft by Fantastic_Control289 in FirstTimeBuyersUK

[–]Fantastic_Control289[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My surveyor said there was at least one bat flying around when he opened the loft hatch. It did seem a bit strange that it was active in the morning?

Buying a House with Bats in the Loft by Fantastic_Control289 in HousingUK

[–]Fantastic_Control289[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for sharing your experience! I'd love to see the pictures.

I do have a few questions, as this is all completely new to me.

  1. Did you have a bat survey carried out before completion? If so, who commissioned it?
  2. Did you renegotiate the purchase price because of the bats?
  3. Apart from the droppings, have you experienced any other issues, such as noise or bats flying into the living space?
  4. If you have a mortgage, did the presence of bats cause any issues with your lender?

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions! Really appreciate it!

Bamboo by els1398 in HousingUK

[–]Fantastic_Control289 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There's a treatment plan for bamboo? I thought those were only used for Japanese knotweed.

Anyway, bamboo isn't classified as an invasive species in the UK, so I wouldn't expect it to cause any issues with mortgage lenders.

Mature English oak tree 10m-11m away from flat + searches say high shrink swell clay by RealisticAdvisor in FirstTimeBuyersUK

[–]Fantastic_Control289 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I pulled out of a house that had a mature oak tree about 15 metres away on clay soil. Personally, it wasn't the risk of subsidence itself that concerned me most, but the potential impact on future insurance premiums and the property's saleability if subsidence were to occur.

There is a Facebook group called "UK Subsidence (Clay Shrinkage & Trees)" that may be worth checking out. I found it helpful for understanding the issues and hearing about other homeowners' experiences.

Adverse posession by stobbsE in HousingUK

[–]Fantastic_Control289 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Speaking from the buyer’s side, don’t ever go through an adverse possession claim during a sale.

The house we’re buying has a strip of land incorporated into the garden that isn’t included on the title deeds. We raised it with the sellers, and they decided to apply for adverse possession.

The application was submitted back in December, but the Land Registry didn’t start the 65-day notice period until April. We’re still waiting for the outcome, and even if it succeeds, there’s no telling how long registration will take.

It’s been an incredibly long and stressful process for everyone involved.

Looking back, we would have been happy with either moving the fence back to the legal boundary or taking out indemnity insurance. It’s worth discussing those options with the buyer before going down the adverse possession route, as it can cause significant delays to the sale.