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Relocating for potential narrowboat purchase.


OTL

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Hi All,

 

I've posted a couple of times regarding my intention to buy my first liveaboard narrowboat.

 

Long story short I found a boat that I thougth was for me, drove 300 miles to view it, and the boat was not as advertised so I left it. I currently reside in Brighton so there are very few brokerage's even within 100 miles of where I'm situated.

 

My new plan to to rent an Airbnb/travelodge/hotel etc around the Daventry area once lockdown is lifted so I am closer to the action and can view boats coming on the market immdiately.

 

I have also given my details to the majority of brokerages around the Midlands and North with what I'm looking for but I've only recieved a few calls regarding what they have coming in. It all seems rather slow and as I'm a cash buyer with a decent budget who is looking for a liveaboard immediately, I thought I would be a somewhat desirable client.

 

Have any of you dont something similar to this? My plan would be to stay up around the brokerage area for around 2 weeks...if not longer.

 

ANY advice would be greatly appreciated as always.

 

Thanks

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You may have already done this - I don't remember any posts with your name on - but one avenue might be to post on here what you are looking for in terms of size, style and age. Sometimes a member on here might be thinking of selling their boat and a direct contact might save you both a thousand or two in brokers fees. 

 

eta - For example I know mrsmelly is thinking about selling

Edited by Mike Tee
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21 minutes ago, OTL said:

I have also given my details to the majority of brokerages around the Midlands and North with what I'm looking for but I've only recieved a few calls regarding what they have coming in.

 

Boats are selling like hot cakes at the moment, so brokers don't need to make the effort of ringing round potential purchasers on their list. And if they know you are 100+ miles away they will judge that you are less likely to come and view than the chap who is 10 miles away.

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29 minutes ago, OTL said:

Hi All,

 

I've posted a couple of times regarding my intention to buy my first liveaboard narrowboat.

 

Long story short I found a boat that I thougth was for me, drove 300 miles to view it, and the boat was not as advertised so I left it. I currently reside in Brighton so there are very few brokerage's even within 100 miles of where I'm situated.

 

My new plan to to rent an Airbnb/travelodge/hotel etc around the Daventry area once lockdown is lifted so I am closer to the action and can view boats coming on the market immdiately.

 

I have also given my details to the majority of brokerages around the Midlands and North with what I'm looking for but I've only recieved a few calls regarding what they have coming in. It all seems rather slow and as I'm a cash buyer with a decent budget who is looking for a liveaboard immediately, I thought I would be a somewhat desirable client.

 

Have any of you dont something similar to this? My plan would be to stay up around the brokerage area for around 2 weeks...if not longer.

 

ANY advice would be greatly appreciated as always.

 

Thanks

You don't need to spend all your money, there may be other boats which will suit, as long as they are not old, I found mine via @Tumshie, it missed my search criteria because it  was cheap!

It's not perfect, but it's mine, but not forever.

I would always buy a 'good boat' ie by a good builder, that is in my genes.

I can't afford a good boat fitted out by a top class fitter to my spec.

 

Edited by LadyG
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35 minutes ago, OTL said:

Hi All,

 

I've posted a couple of times regarding my intention to buy my first liveaboard narrowboat.

 

Long story short I found a boat that I thougth was for me, drove 300 miles to view it, and the boat was not as advertised so I left it. I currently reside in Brighton so there are very few brokerage's even within 100 miles of where I'm situated.

 

My new plan to to rent an Airbnb/travelodge/hotel etc around the Daventry area once lockdown is lifted so I am closer to the action and can view boats coming on the market immdiately.

 

I have also given my details to the majority of brokerages around the Midlands and North with what I'm looking for but I've only recieved a few calls regarding what they have coming in. It all seems rather slow and as I'm a cash buyer with a decent budget who is looking for a liveaboard immediately, I thought I would be a somewhat desirable client.

 

Have any of you dont something similar to this? My plan would be to stay up around the brokerage area for around 2 weeks...if not longer.

 

ANY advice would be greatly appreciated as always.

 

Thanks

"Closer to the action " what in Daventry ? What I am not clear about is what you hope to achieve by coming up here ? Surely you should be onto a website such as Apollo Duck gauging the suitability of the boats that fall within your budget and acting accordingly . I dont mean to sound negative but I suspect its your lack of research that is letting you down rather than your location .

16 minutes ago, David Mack said:

 

Boats are selling like hot cakes at the moment, so brokers don't need to make the effort of ringing round potential purchasers on their list. And if they know you are 100+ miles away they will judge that you are less likely to come and view than the chap who is 10 miles away.

Is it length based or price based David , I have a 70 foot I will be selling in a month or two and someone told me they can be difficult to shift .

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1 minute ago, Parahandy said:

"Closer to the action " what in Daventry ? What I am not clear about is what you hope to achieve by coming up here ? Surely you should be onto a website such as Apollo Duck gauging the suitability of the boats that fall within your budget and acting accordingly . I dont mean to sound negative but I suspect its your lack of research that is letting you down rather than your location .

A valid view - but, lest we forget, boats can look very different "in the flesh" from the way they appear in a broker's photographs, so physically seeing them is no bad thing.

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3 minutes ago, Parahandy said:

"Closer to the action " what in Daventry ? What I am not clear about is what you hope to achieve by coming up here ? Surely you should be onto a website such as Apollo Duck gauging the suitability of the boats that fall within your budget and acting accordingly . I dont mean to sound negative but I suspect its your lack of research that is letting you down rather than your location .

The suitable boats I have found on Apollo Duck have been situated all over the country yes. But a good handful of them have been around the Midlands. Ones closest to me in terms of geography seem to come with a London price tag and I have been less impressed by what is on offer down south for my budget.

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12 minutes ago, OTL said:

The suitable boats I have found on Apollo Duck have been situated all over the country yes. But a good handful of them have been around the Midlands. Ones closest to me in terms of geography seem to come with a London price tag and I have been less impressed by what is on offer down south for my budget.

I am going to drop you a PM with my number in a minute and if I can help in any way I shall .

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21 minutes ago, Athy said:

A valid view - but, lest we forget, boats can look very different "in the flesh" from the way they appear in a broker's photographs, so physically seeing them is no bad thing.

I totally agree and especially if you are a comparative newcomer . I just worry that so many People pile into this game without the proper research and I mean no criticism of the Poster by saying that as they often genuinely dont know what to look for .

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You might have some luck with the dedicated Facebook narrowboat sales groups.  I posted up a 'wanted' message with what I was looking for and my budget and got a fair number of responses from people about to advertise their boat, so I was first in line ahead anyone else.  Nothing came up that I was interested in but it might work for you.  If you're not afraid of potentially causing owner outrage when lowballing and if you're any good at haggling then start looking at boats 10-15% above your budget and make an offer.  The worst you can be told is no.

 

Try to buy privately if you can.  You'll at least meet the owner who'll be able to walk you around the boat and show you how things work.  I've done the same, and if you find a seller like mine, they'll realise they can't command the same price as a broker without the facilities, and agreed a price they'd have likely received net of broker's fee.

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