Buyer present for survey?

[ThanksForYourHelp]

My husband and I moved to Wales from America a couple of months ago. We're renting a cottage right now. Saturday we put an offer on a house, and it got accepted. All good. We're working with the estate agent to schedule a survey (we're cash buyers, so it's entirely for our benefit). The surveyor is fine with us being there while he does the inspection, but the vendor doesn't want us. (Or is it the estate agent who doesn't want us? We can't tell.) We've bought and sold properties in the US and are accustomed to being present at an inspection. Should we push or back off?

It’s not usual for the buyer to be present on a survey.

Most surveyors wouldn’t allow it. It’s a distraction to most and from the vendors point of view surveys are used as a tool to negotiate the asking price if anything serious is spotted.
It can be a conflict of interests if you’re present and keep pestering them about something which they feel obliged to include. Which you could then use to negotiate the price.

Not saying this would happen but surveyors general try to avoid this scenario and just ask you to list any of your concerns before their visit

It may not be usual....but if that's what you want to do then go ahead. Just tell the EA that the survey is planned for X date and you will be in attendance. (A cash buyer is surely a gift in this homebuying climate....can they afford to be difficult?)

I was present for the survey when buying my current house, I wanted to do an extension so wanted to ask the surveyor questions about the feasibility of that - I made it clear what I wanted from the start and the surveyor was fine with that. The seller didn't have any issue with me being there.

When selling my last house my buyer didn't ask to be there for the survey but it wouldn't have bothered me.

I would be concerned if a seller didn't want you there - what are they trying to hide.

I insisted on being present at my survey this time and I’m glad I did. The surveyor showed me what he’d looked at, told me things he probably wouldn’t write in the report (for liability reasons) e.g. he said windows would be fine for X years probably and it gave me a chance to look round more and take photos. I really enjoyed it.

The EA was really funny about it but I said last time I had a survey I barely understood the outcome and I wanted to understand all the works we were taking on.

I didn’t reduce my offer at all after the survey, I just genuinely wanted to know what we were getting ourselves in for.

I've never seen it, thr buyer is not normally present during th survey. If the seller isn't happy can you ask to meet thr surveyor after to go through his or her findings?

It's not standard but if I was a vendor it wouldn't bother me at all.

I'm with @PooWillyBumBum. I've had good surveys and they pick out every fault and sound like the house is falling down (good for negotiation though). Once DH spoke to him he put a lot of context to it which reassured us a lot. I wish DH had been able to be there though and I would in future request it

I met with the surveyor for a walk around after the survey and as he went through his findings I was able to ask questions. I think this was a good way to do it.

It's not normal, and vendor can and may refuse, you can't insist (although could pull out). What the vendor can't refuse is for you to stand outside the property with the surveyor (who could recheck anything as still surveying).

We had one where we had a walk through after the survey, surveyors request vendor happy to attend. And another where the vendor refused. You may also find that a lot of surveyors refuse because of the added time.

Ultimately the added value of being present is to get information that won't be in the report for liability reasons. And if it's not in the report you can't use it to negotiate price, so just for your information which follows with you being a cash buyer anyway. So personally I wouldn't mind if I was selling. But sellers don't necessarily understand this and estate agents won't want the hassle.

It's certainly not normal practice, and I'm a little surprised the surveyor is happy to have you following them.

As the PP has said, a walk through with the surveyor after they have completed their inspection can be beneficial, but being present for the entire survey seems unnecessary.

It’s not usual and if the vendor doesn’t want you there they have every right to say so.

I was present for mine. But only because the already live there. I wouldn't have been bothered about it if I didn't.

I don't think it's the norm here for buyers to be present. I saw on one company they openly said if you wanted to be present there was an additional fee. Maybe let them know your concerns in advance to ensure they can explain them.