Sorry for the long post, also first time posting and genuinely lost on what to do. Appreciate the help!
Me and DH are first time buyers and we have made an offer on a new build property (ready to move in) for the full asking price as long as some special inclusions were met (extra kitchen cabinets, shelves, etc.), as the agent said the seller wouldn't accept offers below asking price.
The offer was accepted, reservation agreement signed with exchange date taking place in 20 days. When I signed the reservation agreement, I told the agent banks normally take at least 4 weeks to decide on the mortgage application, so the exchange date should be later. The agent said they couldn't change the exchange date, but it was fine as long as there was sufficient progress made.
Fast forward to today, exchange date has gone by and has been delayed to end of the month. The bank scheduled the valuation on a date after the original exchange date.
Finally, bank came back saying the property was down-valued and they're asking the valuer why. It has been down valued by ~1.5%.
I think that in this case we should renegotiate and ask for more special inclusions (as I don't think the seller will accept a lower offer) and this isn't unreasonable, but some of our friends seem to think so and that we can lose the property.
What do you think?
We aren't British so the house buying process in England is quite different from what we know. Plus, we don't know how common down-valuations are and what buyers tend to do in this situation.
We want to seek a fair deal, but it would be really bad to lose this property even though we are chain free.
We appreciate any helpful advice.
Also, we can afford the extra we need to put in because the bank is now offering to lend less money, but it doesn't seem right to not renegotiate first.
Do any of you know, if we try to renegotiate and end up failing to do so, can we fall back on the initial agreement and still buy the property? Or can the seller pull out, even with the reservation agreement?
One last point, we're also worried quite a bit this is taking to much time and that the seller will pull out. How common are these delays? How common is for the seller to pull out?