In most agreements, you will see a clause called “UFFI”. This stands for urea-formaldehyde foam insulation, and is a material that is carcinogenic and hasn’t been used at least since the 1980s. The clause in the agreement will state that, to the best of the seller’s knowledge and belief, there is no UFFI insulation in the house. The reason for this is that banks do not like to lend money to purchase houses with UFFI inside them. While determining absolutely that there is no UFFI would require tearing down the walls, generally speaking, you would be hard-pressed to find a house with UFFI in it today.
Toxic walls
