spray foam loft insulation

gerdo

Hello all, I've had an offer accepted on a property but the survey has discovered that the whole loft has been insulated with spray foam. I'm a cash buyer so no lender involved, but I've been told that if i was getting a mortgage on the property, it would probably be refused or at least the valuation would be greatly reduced.

I don't know yet if there is a building control certificate for it or if there's any documentation about the installation. My surveyor says that for the age of the house and the quality of the construction, there was absolutely no need for that type of insulation.

On reading up about spray foam, it doesn't look very easy to remove, so what approach should I take with the vendors? Do I just walk away or insist on a large reduction in price or insist on them putting it right?

daivid

How much do you want the house? Enough to (potentially) go through replacing the roof? If something else of similar appeal was available without the spray insulation I think I would walk, if it was a unique house after a long search I may tough it out. My limited understanding is the foam needs to be removed to assess what the impact has been on the timber, the worst case scenario is that all the wood is rotten and needs replacing. 

FreeBear

gerdo said: I don't know yet if there is a building control certificate for it or if there's any documentation about the installation. My surveyor says that for the age of the house and the quality of the construction, there was absolutely no need for that type of insulation.

On reading up about spray foam, it doesn't look very easy to remove, so what approach should I take with the vendors? Do I just walk away or insist on a large reduction in price or insist on them putting it right?

Pretty sure there won't be any BC certificate - There might be a guarantee, but will be so full of cop-out clauses, it will be worthless.

If the roof has a layer of felt under the tiles, the foam may not be too difficult to remove. Won't be cheap, and will probably need the roof stripping to do it. If there is no felt under the tiles and the foam is holding the roof together, it is quite likely most of the tiles will need replacing.

I wouldn't consider asking the vendor to "put right" anything - If they agree, it will be the lowest cost solution with no regard to any long term problems. Your choice is to negotiate a reduction, or walk away.

gerdo

It's a nice house but dont think it's worth the risk, unless the price is reduced by a significant amount. 

MeteredOut

If you ever plan to sell it, and don't want to accept you may be restricting buyers to those without mortgages (although some lenders will allow this, with documentation, it will likely mean you'd have to accept a lower price), I'd either be asking the vendor to get the insulation removed, or reduce the price based on what that would cost.

Do you know if its open or closed cell insulation?

MultiFuelBurner

A lot of easily convinced people have been conned into getting this done.

Run away 🥴

gerdo

MeteredOut said:

If you ever plan to sell it, and don't want to accept you may be restricting buyers to those without mortgages (although some lenders will allow this, with documentation, it will likely mean you'd have to accept a lower price), I'd either be asking the vendor to get the insulation removed, or reduce the price based on what that would cost.

Do you know if its open or closed cell insulation?

No the survey didnt elaborate on that. I read that one is slightly easier to remove than the other, but still a big job

babyblade41

Now just for information purposes only , I sold my last house with spray loft insulation.  It was in a desirable location , detached , about 80 years old  and we had most of the general work done within reason... a bit of a flipper but 3 years in the making as it was right at the start of Covid 

Priced accordingly considering location and position .. first buyer, cash no chain, no surveyor  but pulled out a couple of days before exchange.. no reason given.

2nd in line, mortgage needed, 25% deposit and full survey and completed very swiftly .  Sometimes you just have to find the right buyer and also justify how much that buyer wants the house .

If you really want this house and the price is good then removing it isn't too bad in the grand scheme of things if there are other messy jobs needed doing along with roof repairs 

MultiFuelBurner

I suspect the surveyor didn't go in the loft for your second buyer. That happens a lot.

gerdo

babyblade41 said:

Now just for information purposes only , I sold my last house with spray loft insulation.  It was in a desirable location , detached , about 80 years old  and we had most of the general work done within reason... a bit of a flipper but 3 years in the making as it was right at the start of Covid 

Priced accordingly considering location and position .. first buyer, cash no chain, no surveyor  but pulled out a couple of days before exchange.. no reason given.

2nd in line, mortgage needed, 25% deposit and full survey and completed very swiftly .  Sometimes you just have to find the right buyer and also justify how much that buyer wants the house .

If you really want this house and the price is good then removing it isn't too bad in the grand scheme of things if there are other messy jobs needed doing along with roof repairs 

Just a thought, would a seller be legally obliged to declare spray foam, in the case above if a buyer didnt get a survey  and then later discovers the spray foam would they have any comeback against the seller?

user1977

gerdo said:

babyblade41 said:

Now just for information purposes only , I sold my last house with spray loft insulation.  It was in a desirable location , detached , about 80 years old  and we had most of the general work done within reason... a bit of a flipper but 3 years in the making as it was right at the start of Covid 

Priced accordingly considering location and position .. first buyer, cash no chain, no surveyor  but pulled out a couple of days before exchange.. no reason given.

2nd in line, mortgage needed, 25% deposit and full survey and completed very swiftly .  Sometimes you just have to find the right buyer and also justify how much that buyer wants the house .

If you really want this house and the price is good then removing it isn't too bad in the grand scheme of things if there are other messy jobs needed doing along with roof repairs 

Just a thought, would a seller be legally obliged to declare spray foam, in the case above if a buyer didnt get a survey  and then later discovers the spray foam would they have any comeback against the seller?

There is no general obligation on sellers to spontaneously declare such things. If a buyer is interested in knowing, they can ask. Or of course, just have a look in the loft...