A COUPLE whose home was left unmortgageable after insulation was installed said their lives “fell apart.”
They paid out £4,926 for spray foam insulation in their loft.
the couple , from Edinburgh, were later told that homes with spray foam insulation are “un-mortgageable.”
The couple, who were planning on moving, realised they were unable to sell their home as a result of the loft insulation.
After finding a specialist company based in Liverpool, the couple forked out another £5,490 for the removal of the spray foam insulation.
Now, the couple are eager to raise awareness of professional-seeming insulation scams, in the hopes that others can avoid the cost and stress they have faced.
why did we get spray foam insulation?
“They sounded very professional and believable, otherwise we wouldn’t have gone ahead with it,” Fiona said.
“The chap said he could come and have a look at our loft, because it may need to be upgraded with insulation.
“I thought our loft was fine because we’d had lots of insulation put in. But he came back down, and he had pictures on his iPad showing us that the loft was damp.
“They arrived at just the right time, it was -5C outside, it was Christmas time, and they spun the story of our loft not being adequate.
The headaches its caused
“He’d taken some readings on a machine and said that it was looking pretty bad.- But he had a solution with this spray foam insulation, and would we like to hear further about it?
“He said it would reduce our costs and given the cost-of-living crisis, it seemed to be the right way to go.
“Spray foam insulation was something I’d never heard of before. I did a quick search for the company’s website and of course the reviews were all five stars.
“He also said that if we decided to go ahead with it there and then, he would give us a reduction in the price.
“We decided that it sounded quite reasonable, and we’d go ahead with it – and they quickly had it installed.
“When we had decided to sell our house, a surveyor came to do a survey for the home report.
The valuer told us it was unmortgageable
“He started in the loft, so I opened up the hatch – and he said, “Oh. You’ve got spray foam insulation.”
The couple were told that spray foam insulation can heavily affect the ability to get a mortgage on the property. Their only real solution was to remove it entirely.
According to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors. Spray foam is often applied incorrectly, preventing ventilation and stopping surveyors from assessing roof conditions.
As a result, many lenders take a zero-tolerance approach to properties with this kind of insulation.
“The surveyor told me we couldn’t put it to market at the moment.
“I looked at my emails and found nothing! The only way I knew the company that had done it was because I had a receipt.
“That was when the alarm bells started going – I thought, “Oh my god, we’ve been duped.”
“The surveyor said it was becoming a common problem for him – and they seemed to target older customers.
“It was very stressful. We’d put in the offer for the property we’re in now..
“We found a company down in Liverpool who sold themselves as the UK’s specialist foam removal.
“They were charging an eye-watering amount – more than it had cost to install it, but we had no choice.
“We went with them, and it took them two and a half days. There was such a large amount that they had to remove from our loft.
“My world fell apart. We’d already bought our next house and we had to sell in order to move.”
The couple were able to have the insulation removed over the space of two days. With the removal and installation costing a total of £10,956.
Figures from Trading Standards Scotland show that as of mid-December 2023, 158 complaints had been received. All from from consumers about insulation scams, a 42% rise since 2021.
How to get a mortgage with Spray Foam Insulation
There are a few specialist lenders, that will actually lend. As long as you have a quote from a reputable company for its removal. Also the spray foam is removed within 6 months of releasing funds..
