Spray-foam insulation makes homes unable to be mortgaged • Hacker News Board

Re: Spray-foam insulation makes homes unable to be mortgaged

#11

Post by astura » Mon, Aug 12, 2024, 12:36 PM UTC

adrianN wrote: post #2

Can someone explain the mechanism how the foam can damage the building? I didn’t quite get it from the article.

>But because surveyors are unable to inspect the roof timbers behind the layers, mortgage lenders tend to issue blanket refusals on properties where any foam is present.

Re: Spray-foam insulation makes homes unable to be mortgaged

#12

Post by pwarner » Mon, Aug 12, 2024, 12:37 PM UTC

adrianN wrote: post #2

Can someone explain the mechanism how the foam can damage the building? I didn’t quite get it from the article.

Moisture management is the largest risk I know of with foam. Of course ideally the wood holding up your house or roof never gets wet, but if it does it's not an existential threat, unless it stays wet. Foam doesn't allow the wood to dry, and that can cause rot. Rot, if it's enough members can cause structural problems.

Re: Spray-foam insulation makes homes unable to be mortgaged

#13

Post by lignicolos » Mon, Aug 12, 2024, 12:37 PM UTC

adrianN wrote: post #2

Can someone explain the mechanism how the foam can damage the building? I didn’t quite get it from the article.

The claim is the foam is trapping moisture between the wooden roof and the foam, leading to the wood rotting.

Re: Spray-foam insulation makes homes unable to be mortgaged

#14

Post by CivBase » Mon, Aug 12, 2024, 12:37 PM UTC

Reminds me of an recent instance where some friends wanted to buy a house, but it had solar panels. The solar panels couldn't be included in the mortgage and my friends couldn't afford to buy them outright along with the downpayment on the mortgage. The house still remains unsold.

Re: Spray-foam insulation makes homes unable to be mortgaged

#15

Post by dellamorta » Mon, Aug 12, 2024, 12:39 PM UTC

adrianN wrote: post #2

Can someone explain the mechanism how the foam can damage the building? I didn’t quite get it from the article.

When applying insulation from the inside, the walls and roof will be cool during the winter. If warm air (which can hold a lot of water) somehow leaks through the insulation, it will cool down. Cool air can hold a lot less water, so the water gets released into the structure. A wooden ceiling can rot away quite quickly if it is constantly moist.

Re: Spray-foam insulation makes homes unable to be mortgaged

#16

Post by stephen_g » Mon, Aug 12, 2024, 12:40 PM UTC

CivBase wrote: post #14

Reminds me of an recent instance where some friends wanted to buy a house, but it had solar panels. The solar panels couldn't be included in the mortgage and my friends couldn't afford to buy them outright along with the downpayment on the mortgage. The house still remains unsold.

Very curious where this is? Sounds ridiculous, what jurisdiction wouldn’t include them as part of the house? Utterly bizarre!

Also why couldn’t they afford them? Is this the US where the equivalent of a $5000 system elsewhere in the world seems to cost $25K to install for some reason? Even then, with depreciation as long as it’s a couple of years old surely the residual value isn’t that much…?

Re: Spray-foam insulation makes homes unable to be mortgaged

#17

Post by thriftwy » Mon, Aug 12, 2024, 12:40 PM UTC

CivBase wrote: post #14

Reminds me of an recent instance where some friends wanted to buy a house, but it had solar panels. The solar panels couldn't be included in the mortgage and my friends couldn't afford to buy them outright along with the downpayment on the mortgage. The house still remains unsold.

I wonder how the price of solar panels work WRT mortgage: Is there any government- or bank-approved formula for how much solar panels on a house cost?

Otherwise why not sell them for $9.99 along with the house?

Re: Spray-foam insulation makes homes unable to be mortgaged

#18

Post by GnarfGnarf » Mon, Aug 12, 2024, 12:41 PM UTC

How is this still happening? We discovered this in Canada in the 1970's. Except in our case, the Urea Formaldehyde foam was giving off formaldehyde gas.

Re: Spray-foam insulation makes homes unable to be mortgaged

#19

Post by pif » Mon, Aug 12, 2024, 12:41 PM UTC

> At the root of the problem are cowboy traders who apply the foam without a full survey or appropriate expertise.

Re: Spray-foam insulation makes homes unable to be mortgaged

#20

Post by buggeryorkshire » Mon, Aug 12, 2024, 12:43 PM UTC

stephen_g wrote: post #16

CivBase wrote: post #14

Reminds me of an recent instance where some friends wanted to buy a house, but it had solar panels. The solar panels couldn't be included in the mortgage and my friends couldn't afford to buy them outright along with the downpayment on the mortgage. The house still remains unsold.

Very curious where this is? Sounds ridiculous, what jurisdiction wouldn’t include them as part of the house? Utterly bizarre! Also why couldn’t they afford them? Is this the US where the equivalent of a $5000 system elsewhere in the world seems to cost $25K to install for some reason? Even then, with depreciation as long as it’s a couple of years old surely the residual value isn’t that much…?

There were many dodgy schemes in the UK years ago ("free solar panels! cheap electricity!") where people didn't realise there was a mortgage on the panels for 30 years+ which was now in the deeds of the house and made mortgage companies back out, suspect it's exactly this.