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Dave_P

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Posts posted by Dave_P

  1. 34 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

     

    Totally agree, it can all go swimmingly!

    I have sold a boat within 7 days of advertising it (on the forum) , and I have viewed a boat, paid for it and 'driven it away' within an hour.

     

    When you start to get extended times is when the buyer wants a survey and the surveyors are busy, then the buyer gets the report with a big list of 'faults' and starts renegotiating the prices and the weeks go by.

    Hence why I said "advertised honestly".  My boat was not without fault, but I was totally upfront about that in the advert and when showing people round.  Therefore, there were no nasty surprises from the survey.  Interestingly the surveyor came up from London to Birmingham to do the survey.  The buyers called him straight away on the wednesday afternoon and booked him in for the friday.  I suspect surveyors can often be found at short notice if the buyers are willing to pay travel expenses.  I was in a somewhat lucky position that my mooring has its own slipway and I was able to slip up and down on the Friday morning during the usual friday changeover.

    • Greenie 1
  2. On 27/11/2023 at 16:40, Alan de Enfield said:

    Generally you need to rent a container (for your 'stuff') and move into a rented place / flat.

     

    The problem is that it can take several months to sell a boat depending on availability of surveyors and negotiations about reducing price because 'the paint is the wrong colour' etc. So you will have no idea when your boat will actually sell.

     

    You should have a fair idea when you new-build will be completed  but you will have paid for it before it is finished as most builders need 'stage payments' during the build so you could need the money from your sale many months before your new boat is ready.

     

    Some boat brokers will "we buy any boat" and buy on the day for cash - BUT you will probably only get 75% of its actual market value, only you can decide if that is a cost saving compared to paying out for a bridging load for 'several' months,

    I sold my boat a few months back.  I put the advert on Apollo Duck on the Sunday night.  First viewing was on Tuesday but it wasn't the right boat for them.  Second viewing was on Wednesday and they offered asking price right there and then and paid deposit.  Slipway and survey was on Friday.  Survey results came on the following tuesday - all fine.  They came and picked up the boat on the Saturday and paid the balance.  From placing the advert to the boat gone, 13 days.  Boats should not take months to sell if they're well prepared for sale, advertised honestly, and priced correctly.

     

    My only regret is paying for a whole month's advert on Apollo Duck.

    • Greenie 1
  3. This is what we did in the end.

     

    The buyer came up on saturday morning.  Once he had arrived, we did the paperwork but left off the final bit confirming sale had completed.  His partner in Oxford did a bank transfer for half the amount, via her phone app.  This should have taken a maximum of 2 hours, but it ended up taking 3.  Nail biting times.  Her bank told her she wouldn't be able to transfer the second half until sunday.

     

    I'd promised the buyer I'd travel with him the first couple of days, so we set off early afternoon from Hawne Basin and moored saturday night in Bournville, just before a biblical rainstorm.  I left him with the boat but kept the engine starter key.

     

    I woke up sunday morning to see the second payment had gone through (transfered at midnight), so went back to Bournville, filled in the final bit of paperwork, and helped him from there to Kingswood Junction.

     

    His partner and their dogs arrived last night, and they're now on their own, heading for Oxford.  If you see them (green boat, Beau on the side), say hi. They seem really nice and I'm sure Beau is in good hands.

    • Greenie 2
  4. Thanks for the suggestions.

     

    We discussed a CHAPS transfer but they were reluctant to do that as they're in Oxford and I'm in Birmingham and I'd get the money without them being here.

     

    This is what's happening now:  The boat is being bought by a young couple.  His transfer limit is £10.  Hers is £25k.  He's done a CHAPS transfer to her so that all the money is in her account. Her bank (Nationwide) has told her that the £25k limit is for a single transaction but she can do more than one.

     

    He's coming up tomorrow and while he's here, she will pay into my account in two installments.  Hopefully that will work, otherwise he'll have had a wasted train journey.

  5. I'm selling my boat privately.  The sale was due to go through today.  The buyer was coming up by train and would do a bank transfer in person once the Bill of Sale etc were all done.

     

    He's just told me that his bank puts a maximum on daily bank transfers of £10,000, which is less than a quarter of the sale price.

     

    So what do we do now?  Any ideas?

  6. 14 hours ago, arbutus said:

    What date are you planning to be in Brum?.

     

    I could get an early train into Birmingham, meet at the top of farmers bridge and leave you at Aston bottom lock as there is a train station by the canal.

     

    No charges involved, I'll even bring my own sandwiches and windlass. My dates are flexible.

    My advice to the OP is take up this offer.  Arbutus helped me on this exact section a few years ago when I had a leg injury and a tight deadline to get my boat to a slipway.  Top bloke!

  7. 21 hours ago, Tonka said:

    Have you thought about selling raffle tickets. Winner gets boat

    Is this for me?

     

    I can see the potential but what if I fail to sell enough tickets?

     

    Those house raffle things work because the companies doing it have a big reach and advertising budget.

     

    It could be a money-spinner though I suppose?  £2 a ticket maybe?

     

    I'd like about £45k for my boat so if I sold 23,000 or more tickets, then I'm winning.  Are there 23,000 people who would buy a raffle ticket for a boat?

    21 hours ago, koukouvagia said:

    I was aware that fender-kickers might be a problem when we put our ex-working boat up for sale.  I put a brief advert on ApolloDuck and passed the news by word of mouth.  When the phone enquiries started I asked the person if they'd seen the very detailed website I'd set up describing the boat, its history and all the work that had been done over the years.  

    I suggested that they study the website and come back to me with any questions. 

    That approach whittled the field down to three serious enquirers (plus someone who wanted the mooring, not the boat!).

     

    I quite like this approach.

  8. 5 hours ago, blackrose said:

     

    If you have time to sell it yourself the transferable mooring should command a higher price and might swing it for some first time buyers.

     

    Surely you weren't thinking that leaving it unoccupied for weeks on end on the towpath in/around London is a serious option? Aren't you concerned about it being broken into & vandalised? The only sensible way to sell it near London would be to arrange to put it on brokerage. I still think selling it on your mooring would get you a better price whether that's selling it yourself or through a broker.

    What gave you the idea that the mooring is transferable? 

  9. 16 hours ago, peterboat said:

    I agree with you, if the paint isnt blistered with rust I would use Owlatrol gel coat restorer it brings paint up very well with less effort than polishing

    The paint is FAR worse than just blistered with rust.  Also as said earlier, it's part repainted,  but it's also been touched up over the years with various non-matching paints. 

     

    If it was just blistered with rust, I'd just polish it, definitely.

    14 hours ago, alan_fincher said:

     

     

     

    It sounds like Dave's boat may well be bad enough for it to have no good outcome.

    I think so too.  Like said earlier, it's a sound boat.  Reliable, well equipped, in good nick inside etc.  But the first impression of it is bad.  I have an experienced amateur painter who is pencilled in to paint it for me in April (I've seen their work and it's a lot better than mine).  I've got to get the angle grinder out first though to do the prep.

  10. 1 hour ago, M_JG said:

    Rugby Boats vid shows it after Matty's handywork. You can see the touched in bow flashes, the painted well deck and the hull repaint which I'd forgotten about. I think the scratch through the signwriting was on the other side.??

     

     

    Ok well Beau's paintwork is nothing like that.  It's also partially repainted last year so really does need doing.  It's a good honest boat but the first impression of it isn't great right now.

     

     

  11. 1 hour ago, Naughty Cal said:

     

    Personally I wouldn't bother getting it repainted. Just polish what you already have. The chances of the colour scheme you choosing being exactly what the new owners want is slim to none.

    You haven't seen the state of the current paintwork...

  12. 25 minutes ago, alan_fincher said:

    From memory of quite a few years ago, I think brokers were charging 5% to 6%.  However I think there is VAT to pay on top of their quoted fee.

    I've no idea how things have changed since, though, but when VAT is added it will be a largish slice of the selling price.

     

    But then you have to consider how much better the selling price might be via a broker, rather than if you sell direct.

    If you don't use a broker don't underestimate the time you would spend letting "fender kickers" look at the boat, nor what the  costs to you might be driving to it repeatedly.  A definite argument for not dumping it in London, I think.

    Do they charge VAT on the selling price or the brokerage fee?

    1 hour ago, Mad Harold said:

     

    There will also be others who make an appointment to view your boat and don' t turn up, and if you are some distance from your boat, will waste a day.

     

    I'm not too bothered about that.  I'm either on the boat or 10 minutes away.

  13. 2 minutes ago, Laurie Booth said:

    Paint the inside white, take it down to London, write a blog saying it cost nothing to live on the boat, :)

     

    I like it!  Perhaps I should also befriend an influencer and get them to post something about it?

    6 minutes ago, M_JG said:

     

    we didn't want to use it further in case we started to doubt our decision was the correct one.

     

     

    I hear this!!

    7 minutes ago, MtB said:

    Consider your own priorities. Do you want top money for it? or minimum hassle?

     

    My view is give it to. broker. They will get full market price with little or no time input required from you, less £4-4k commission.

     

    If you have time in spades on your hands and want top money, then the broker offers little value as you can do all the legwork yourself. 

     

    A boat for sale with a mooring might also seem more attractive to some buyers.

     

     

    I think my priority is to maximise the price.  But maybe the reach of a good broker means I can get more for it which would offset the broker's fee?  Is £4k standard?  I think I'm in the wrong job!

  14. 4 minutes ago, M_JG said:

    Selling through a broker worked out very well for us. (Rugby boats) in 2015.

     

    We had the boat moved down there specially. They dealt with all the marketing and the tyre kickers (and with the numpty who made and subsequently withdrew his offer).

     

    Of course we paid (and I honestly can't recall the percentage now) but felt it was worth it.

     

    That said boats were taking longer to sell back then and it's a different climate now. Why not try option 2 first and then move to option 1 if it doesn't shift.

    What about option 3?  Do you think that would attract more buyers, especially first time buyers?

  15. I'm planning to put my boat up for sale in the spring.  I'm not quite ready to sell yet as there's some jobs I want to get done first and I'm having her painted in April to make her look her best.

     

    I've never sold a boat before so I'm wondering the best way to go about it.  My options:

     

    1.  Take the boat to a brokerage and let them sell it.  Pros:  It might sell quickly and I don't have to do much.  Cons:  They take a cut, but I'm not sure how much?  £1000?  £5000?  Anyone know?

     

    2.  Sell it myself from my current mooring (they don't have any rule against this).  Pros:  I get all the sale price.  Cons:  I do all the selling work.

     

    3.  Sell it myself from my current mooring but offer to take it to wherever the buyer is.  Pros:  I might get a higher price.  I get to enjoy one last cruise.  Cons:  Not sure?

     

    4.  Take her down to that London and put her up for sale there.  Pros:  Might get a higher price.  Cons:  Time taken to get there, then I have to keep going down and moving on, unless I sell very quickly.

     

    What are the wise thoughts of the forum on all this?

     

    Of course, if anyone reading this is looking for a tried and tested liveaboard, let me know...

  16. I contacted Daniel about 4 years ago with a request to be removed as a mod.  This has yet to happen for reasons unknown to me.

     

    IMO there are only 3 active mods on the forum, and that's not enough for a balanced approach to moderating to occur.

     

    The other 5 moderators are either sporadically logging on (I'm one of those), or never logging on.

     

    Daniel's forum activity is somewhat sporadic too.

  17. 36 minutes ago, Tim Lewis said:

    Restored or not the canal you want to connect to will have an owner who you will need to talk to, this will not necessarily be the restoration society. There is also a good chance that you will need planning permission.

    I can guarantee that it will need planning permission.  The OP can DM me if he wants more advice on this.  Alternatively theirs a very knowledgable planner at his mooring (Nicki/Odana).

  18. 1 hour ago, ditchcrawler said:

    Almost exactly the same happened when I went out, the other boat was in first, tied in and decided to check his weed hatch, I came in and gates shut paddles opened. I saw what was happening and sat on the horn to attract the lockies attention. The rope was tight but not snapped

    Maybe they'll learn when they sink a boat?

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