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Checklist for novice boat purchasers

howardang

By howardang
in New to Boating?

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matty40s Veteran II

matty40s

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, tree monkey said:

Chatting to another boater whilst we were having our respective shit tanks pumped out, him and his other half were planning to take the boat out a few miles up the cut to moor near a good chippy and have a fish supper, wind and return the next day, back to work on the monday.

 

Try explaining to work how much you enjoyed your weekend, shit tank, few hours in a muddy ditch,  bag of chips and back again.

 

Mad, but your right, whatever you do, however you enjoy them boats rock :)

Sometimes,  me and wifey untie the ropes on  Friday evening and just cruise to the first empty section, this can be the caravan field a 1/4 of a mile away....or maybe a bit further. If it's a nice evening, we may just carry on when it goes dark.

Sometimes we come back Sunday, ..we have been known to come back very early on Monday morning..?

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David Mack Veteran II

David MackDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted
29 minutes ago, Rob-M said:

In the past we have boated down to Sharpness for the weekend, I really like mooring by the old railway bridge. When I tell people at work where I've been for the weekend they think I'm mad.

But not as mad as me. I used tell people I had spent the weekend on the canals around Birmingham (and this before they became gentrified).

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Richard10002 Veteran II

Richard10002

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, The Gravy Boater said:

I think what I take away from all this is that you only need to know enough to know whether it's worth having a survey... then leave it to the professional to pass judgement.

That's about the size of it.

 

Then, having had the survey, deciding which of the bad bits pointed out by the surveyor can be ignored as not particularly serious, can safely be left without attention, or are fairly reflected in the price agreed.

 

My sister sent me a copy of their survey of the lovely house they wanted to buy... she was pretty much devastated by what the surveyor had said.

 

From a hundred miles away, I had a look at the details online, did a bit of research, read between the lines, and sensed that there wasn't much of concern in the survey. To be on the safe side, she arranged for a viewing a few days later and, almost as soon as we walked through the door I whispered to her that they should just buy it at the price agreed, as quickly as possible. They did, and have loved it from the day they moved in.

 

Very easy to walk away from a boat because a surveyor spins things negatively, when it would be just as easy to spin them the other way.

 

 

 

 

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MtB Veteran II

MtBDonate to Canal World

Posted
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50 minutes ago, Richard10002 said:

Very easy to walk away from a boat because a surveyor spins things negatively, when it would be just as easy to spin them the other way.

 

Same with a house. Surveyors see it as their job to spin it negatively. Never seen a survey yet in 40 years that says "nothing wrong here, BUY IT!" in return for their £500.

 

The skill is in interpreting what your surveyor writes. Surveyors are careful not to 'pass judgement', they just write down enough negative stuff to feel they have justified their fee. 

 

 

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cuthound Veteran II

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Posted
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18 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Same with a house. Surveyors see it as their job to spin it negatively. Never seen a survey yet in 40 years that says "nothing wrong here, BUY IT!" in return for their £500.

 

The skill is in interpreting what your surveyor writes. Surveyors are careful not to 'pass judgement', they just write down enough negative stuff to feel they have justified their fee. 

 

 

 

When I bought my current house the survey stated the bleeding obvious and the only negatives were the lack of LED lighting and solar panels to hear the hot water.

 

Waste of money, but gives you peace of mind.

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LadyG Veteran II

LadyGDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted (edited)
18 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Same with a house. Surveyors see it as their job to spin it negatively. Never seen a survey yet in 40 years that says "nothing wrong here, BUY IT!" in return for their £500.

 

The skill is in interpreting what your surveyor writes. Surveyors are careful not to 'pass judgement', they just write down enough negative stuff to feel they have justified their fee. 

 

 

Yep, in Scottieland the vendor has to pay the surveyor, then one has to agree.

Mine had "some evidence of rendering coming off wall" This was a boundary wall, communal, not even attached to flats, it had been replastered.

There was also " flood liability" due to estate boundary/river. My house was three metres higher than this "Wall", finally they required a complte re-measurement of my flat due to new legislation ... not of any of the other three million flats built pre 1990. I queried all these things, sent a plan from Land Registry and previous survey. They were all removed, I signed off, but purchasers were sent the first survey by the Estate Agent, unbeknown to me.

I was then refused house insurance due to flood risk, again, I explained I was at top of a hill! Obviously someone had sold that initial survey on to Saga and others.

Edited by LadyG
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Mad Harold Experienced

Mad HaroldDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted
15 hours ago, LadyG said:

Yep, in Scottieland the vendor has to pay the surveyor, then one has to agree.

Mine had "some evidence of rendering coming off wall" This was a boundary wall, communal, not even attached to flats, it had been replastered.

There was also " flood liability" due to estate boundary/river. My house was three metres higher than this "Wall", finally they required a complte re-measurement of my flat due to new legislation ... not of any of the other three million flats built pre 1990. I queried all these things, sent a plan from Land Registry and previous survey. They were all removed, I signed off, but purchasers were sent the first survey by the Estate Agent, unbeknown to me.

I was then refused house insurance due to flood risk, again, I explained I was at top of a hill! Obviously someone had sold that initial survey on to Saga and others.

That's really tough.

If a property is uninsurable due to perceived flood risk,then does it become unsaleable except at a knock down price?

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LadyG Veteran II

LadyGDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, Mad Harold said:

That's really tough.

If a property is uninsurable due to perceived flood risk,then does it become unsaleable except at a knock down price?

That was only one insurer, but it just shows you how "information" is disseminated. 

I expect the wrong survey report with it's incorrect info, which I never signed off was sold by someone [estate agent or surveyor or anyone who asked for it] and of course also sent, free of charge to any propective buyer.

Might explain the difficulty selling property! 
I would have to go to court on two counts

1] false info disseminated by estate agent. claim £5K for reduction in sale price.

2] Failure by solicitor to secure the sale of house legal contract £5K for stress.

It has taken me eight months to get over stress.

Edited by LadyG
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Dre Engager

Dre

Posted
Posted

Getting back to topic... Now that I've had a few days on my boat I'm very glad I have an Eberspacher central heating as the stove is a bit or a pain for a novice. And, credit due to my gf for changing my mind about dinettes.... Dinettes are awesome! 

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Dr Bob Veteran II

Dr Bob

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Dre said:

Getting back to topic... Now that I've had a few days on my boat I'm very glad I have an Eberspacher central heating as the stove is a bit or a pain for a novice. And, credit due to my gf for changing my mind about dinettes.... Dinettes are awesome! 

My advice would be to 'learn' the stove as quick as you can. Learn how to keep it in overnight so it is on 24/7. Our hasnt been that easy the last 4 weekends with the high winds meaning it needed to be turned down to zero air in! Aim to rely on the stove for main heating and the Ebersparky thingy just heating up the other end of the boat when needed. In the cold weather, keep the stove hot and control the cabin temperature by opening windows. You will then have a toasty winter.

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David Mack Veteran II

David MackDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted
21 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Agreed, as poor as they are, house surveys are much more diligently carried out and in depth investigation is the norm, boat surveys on the other hand ………………………..

They say that the difference between a house survey and a mortgage lender valuation is that for the survey you get out of the car...

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MtB Veteran II

MtBDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, David Mack said:

They say that the difference between a house survey and a mortgage lender valuation is that for the survey you get out of the car...

 

Yes, hence the concept of the "drive-by-survey", invented in the mid 1990s. 

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