Spray foam and lenders
You are buying with cash, so no lender will ask about spray foam. Why does the foam still limit what the survey could see of the timbers?
Because the foam hides the timbers, a cash purchase does not restore the view the survey could not get. No lender asking is a funding fact. It does not peel spray foam off the rafters. RICS says foam can stop a proper view of the roof timbers, so a leak or decay behind it may not be seen. The survey records that limit. Cash does not turn the hidden timber into inspected timber. The finding stays the finding, with or without a mortgage.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
It is easy to file spray foam under lender problems. The inspection problem was never only the lender. Where foam covers the timbers, the surveyor cannot see them, and the report should say so. Offcuts on the loft floor do not prove the eaves are clear, and they do not prove the rafters were examined. RICS also notes that lenders have questions. That is their policy, not a switch that disables the visual limit when you pay cash.
Read the roof section for what was concealed, and ask the seller for the installation papers rather than for reassurance that cash makes it irrelevant. If you still want the timbers seen, that is a different instruction, not a reread of a report that already says they were hidden. Do not write 'not applicable, cash buyer' across the foam paragraph. The timbers remain unseen. The way you pay does not put them back in view.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which timbers were hidden by foam, even though no lender is involved?
- Do offcuts on the floor prove the eaves were clear, or not?
- What papers would you still want, cash purchase or not?
What are the typical next steps?
- Read the foam note as a limit on what could be seen.
- Do not cross it out because you are paying cash.
- Ask for the installation papers instead of assuming the timbers are fine.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
If a builder says they can see one rafter, is the roof inspected?
Not the parts still under the foam. One visible rafter does not restore the view of the timbers the foam hides from the survey.
Does cash mean lenders' questions are the only issue?
No. Lenders have their own questions, and the survey does not set that policy. The hidden timbers are a separate limit cash does not remove.