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My Offer was accepted.

grahoom

By grahoom
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grahoom Rising Star

grahoom

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Posted (edited)

Hello.

 

well the survey has come back (spoke to the chap monday night) - and he found some anomalies from the information provided to the broker from the seller.

 

1st ) the hull thickness - it's 6/5/3 (the information given to me was 10/8/6 which was wrong, but i had hoped it would be 10/6/5) - which is a bit of a let down, although the surveyor has informed me that the hull is in pretty good condition for the age of the boat, with thinnest part being 5.5mm and some pitting of 1mm - he informed me that it obviously had been zinced - also the blacking was good.

 

2nd ) the engine wasn't working correctly - apparently when initially started it was chucking out a lot of black smoke, but they managed to move it to to the slip-way to get the boat out of the water for the survey. - but when the surveyor came to check the engine, it started to run away with itself, and wouldn't stop - he had to cover the air intake with his coat to choke the engine to get it to stop. (i am awaiting the full written report so can't quite remember off hand what he thought the problem was) - basically he said it could be a minor problem, or a more serious problem, and a proper service of the engine would need doing to find out exactly what the problem was.

 

3rd ) the water pump was a bit suspect.

4th ) the water pipes were plastic hosing that were pretty manky

 

5th ) the gas was ok, basic - but apparently the switch on the gas hot water system was broken

 

6th ) the electrics were very basic, no inverter (but i knew that) - but the batteries were charged and seemed in good order.

 

So in conclusion, the survey has given me a price he thinks the boat is worth in the state it is in now - and also another price for what he reckons it is worth if the engine was sorted out. - but the long and the short of i - he reckons the price of the boat (if all working ok etc) is 4K less than the offer that was accepted (subject to the survey) - and as the boat is at the moment he reckons 6K less.

 

So I am pondering what to do next.... will keep post any news when it happens.

Edited by grahoom
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Scotty Proficient

Scotty

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Posted

hmm, it certainly proves that having a survey is a good idea.

 

Do you agree with his prices?

If so then i guess it's down to the owner and if they agree to drop to meet the surveyors valuation

 

Good luck mate, and i look forward to hearing an update

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PaddingtonBear Rising Star

PaddingtonBear

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Unless the boat is EXACTLY what you are looking for I would walk away unless you can get at least 8k off the price as it seems that the broker/vendor have been careless at best if not downright dishonest. I would have thought that 8/6/4 is the minimum nowadays. There are currently around 1000 boats for sale in a declining market and unless you are desperate there must be a better boat out there. I would also be very suspicious of the 'good' blacking (covering a multitude of sins?) :( Seagulls!! Good luck or rather perhaps luck is the the wrong word - every sucess

Edited by PaddingtonBear
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blackrose Veteran II

blackrose

Posted
Posted (edited)
Hello.

 

well the survey has come back (spoke to the chap monday night) - and he found some anomalies from the information provided to the broker from the seller.

 

1st ) the hull thickness - it's 6/5/3 (the information given to me was 10/8/6 which was wrong, but i had hoped it would be 10/6/5) - which is a bit of a let down, although the surveyor has informed me that the hull is in pretty good condition for the age of the boat, with thinnest part being 5.5mm and some pitting of 1mm - he informed me that it obviously had been zinced - also the blacking was good.

What does "been zinced" mean exactly? Been painted with zinc based paint perhaps. Or if he means been painted with that new Zincguard stuff that supposed to offer anodic protection, I'm not sure I understand how it works. Boats in freshwater use magnesium anodes, not zinc, so why would you use a zinc coating?

 

2nd ) the engine wasn't working correctly - apparently when initially started it was chucking out a lot of black smoke, but they managed to move it to to the slip-way to get the boat out of the water for the survey. - but when the surveyor came to check the engine, it started to run away with itself, and wouldn't stop - he had to cover the air intake with his coat to choke the engine to get it to stop. (i am awaiting the full written report so can't quite remember off hand what he thought the problem was) - basically he said it could be a minor problem, or a more serious problem, and a proper service of the engine would need doing to find out exactly what the problem was.

So basically he doesn't know and it could even mean a new engine.

 

3rd ) the water pump was a bit suspect.

4th ) the water pipes were plastic hosing that were pretty manky

These are easily and fairly cheaply sorted

 

5th ) the gas was ok, basic - but apparently the switch on the gas hot water system was broken

6th ) the electrics were very basic, no inverter (but i knew that) - but the batteries were charged and seemed in good order.

 

So in conclusion, the survey has given me a price he thinks the boat is worth in the state it is in now - and also another price for what he reckons it is worth if the engine was sorted out. - but the long and the short of i - he reckons the price of the boat (if all working ok etc) is 4K less than the offer that was accepted (subject to the survey) - and as the boat is at the moment he reckons 6K less.

 

So I am pondering what to do next.... will keep post any news when it happens.

Since the offer was subject to survey, if it were me & I really liked this boat I'd take the survey & written valuation to show the vendor and offer him at least £6K less. Either that or tell him you want all these points rectified and you'll pay him the agreed price. WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT BUY A BOAT BECAUSE YOU HAVE ALREADY SPENT A LOT OF MONEY ON THE SURVEY WHICH MAY SEEM WASTED IF YOU WALK AWAY! That's the chance you take - always be prepared to walk and do not fall in love with a boat you are just looking at. The head must rule at this point. If your surveyor is a decent bloke he should offer you a discounted rate for a new survey on another boat.

Edited by blackrose
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HYBRID Engager

HYBRID

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Posted

Grahoom,

 

I have been reading your posts relating to your search for a boat for some time, I too have been casually looking at boats I have an open mind and have been considering a price range from as cheap as possible up to £35000.00 I have been shocked at the condition of some of the craft.

 

Whilst I can agree there are lots of boats sitting around for sale, a lot of them are either total crap or unconventional to the point of useless.

You were going to be my inspiration to cheap boating but alas!

 

So far the engine on the boat you have had surveyed is concerned, unless the seller fixes it you have to presume the worst and it will require an expensive repair. In any case, I bet it’s run away before and wasn’t stopped quite so quickly the first time it happened.

 

My own mind has been swung to putting the idea of owning a Narrowboat on the back burner until I have the money to pay mooring fees, a license fee and have something left over to fit out the boat, I have again booked a hire boat for next year eating into my boat fund/deposit.

 

So, I appeal to you to prove me wrong and look forward to reading your further exploits.

 

Cheers

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Yoda Experienced

Yoda

Posted
Posted
2nd ) the engine wasn't working correctly - apparently when initially started it was chucking out a lot of black smoke, but they managed to move it to to the slip-way to get the boat out of the water for the survey. - but when the surveyor came to check the engine, it started to run away with itself, and wouldn't stop - he had to cover the air intake with his coat to choke the engine to get it to stop. (i am awaiting the full written report so can't quite remember off hand what he thought the problem was) - basically he said it could be a minor problem, or a more serious problem, and a proper service of the engine would need doing to find out exactly what the problem was.

 

 

So I am pondering what to do next.... will keep post any news when it happens.

 

This is called dieseling. It is consuming its own oil.

 

I am assuming that the high pressure pump governor is working and not been wound out of maximum flow limits.

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Jim Collaborator

Jim

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Posted

[

So I am pondering what to do next.... will keep post any news when it happens.

 

This must be very disappointing for you, but I would urge caution. You should (must!) be able to get a substantial amount knocked off the price but you will then have to spend that money - and time - putting things right. I am finding from experience that getting boatyards to do work they've agreed to do at a time they've agreed to do it is not easy (or not possible!) so even if you do go ahead it may be ages before you have a usable boat.

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Stonker Engager

Stonker

Posted
Posted
Hello.

 

well the survey has come back (spoke to the chap monday night) - and he found some anomalies from the information provided to the broker from the seller.

 

1st ) the hull thickness - it's 6/5/3 (the information given to me was 10/8/6 which was wrong, but i had hoped it would be 10/6/5) - which is a bit of a let down, although the surveyor has informed me that the hull is in pretty good condition for the age of the boat, with thinnest part being 5.5mm and some pitting of 1mm - he informed me that it obviously had been zinced - also the blacking was good.

2nd ) the engine wasn't working correctly - apparently when initially started it was chucking out a lot of black smoke, but they managed to move it to to the slip-way to get the boat out of the water for the survey. - but when the surveyor came to check the engine, it started to run away with itself, and wouldn't stop - he had to cover the air intake with his coat to choke the engine to get it to stop. (i am awaiting the full written report so can't quite remember off hand what he thought the problem was) - basically he said it could be a minor problem, or a more serious problem, and a proper service of the engine would need doing to find out exactly what the problem was.

3rd ) the water pump was a bit suspect.

4th ) the water pipes were plastic hosing that were pretty manky

5th ) the gas was ok, basic - but apparently the switch on the gas hot water system was broken

6th ) the electrics were very basic, no inverter (but i knew that) - but the batteries were charged and seemed in good order.

 

So in conclusion, the survey has given me a price he thinks the boat is worth in the state it is in now - and also another price for what he reckons it is worth if the engine was sorted out. - but the long and the short of i - he reckons the price of the boat (if all working ok etc) is 4K less than the offer that was accepted (subject to the survey) - and as the boat is at the moment he reckons 6K less.

 

So I am pondering what to do next.... will keep post any news when it happens.

Grahoom,

 

There's nothing "wrong" with 6/5/3 if the hull is in good condition and from the sound of it the condition is OK. My previous boat was 6/5/3 and the thickness report was similar and ten years later it's still going strong without any problems, it's moored next to me and has been since I sold her. I don't know what this zincing is, never heard of it.

 

Running away can also be caused by water in the fuel, happened to me once and scared the bejesus out of me, turning off the fuel supply stopped it. Although in that case the smoke was white. A check of the water separator revealed a lot of water, probably from a dodgy batch of fuel I got which was contaminated. If the boat has been sitting around unused for a while water could have got in there. But it could be more serious, either badly contaminated fuel which will mean clearing out the tank or an engine fault. Only a decent mechanic will be able to tell you if it gets serviced correctly.

 

Pump and pipes relatively cheap and easy to fix. Switch on the gas heater the same if parts are available.

 

Alternatives:-

 

1) Walk away and find another boat.

2) Make a much lower offer (like £8k less) and fix everything yourself. New engine (or recon job rather, I don't see much point in putting a new lump in an older boat) and the other bits and pieces should come in at less than £6k unless prices have rocketed since the last time I looked.

3) Make the £4k or maybe £6k less offer subject to the vendor fixing everything to your and the surveyors satisfaction. Guaranteeing they've not botched the work is the difficult bit.

 

You might find the vendor walking away from you with alternatives 2 and 3 if he thinks there is someone out there willing to pay somewhere nearer the asking price without him having to spend any money. In the end you have the information from the survey and presumable you've met the vendor and have an opinion of him so it's up to you to decide.

 

Stewart

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grahoom Rising Star

grahoom

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what did you do? Any more news?!

 

awaiting the full printed survey, should be with me today .

 

at present i've made a low offer, just to see what the vendor says, they've not declined it - basically, the lower offer will allow me to do the work within the budget i have. the saga continues.

 

the vendor has requested seeing the survey... what do people think? - i can understand from their point of view, as the surveyor has come back with issues that has basically valued the boat a lot less than my initially offer, the brokers said that if i permitted them to see the survey that they would not let it leave the office.

 

one worry is the vendor having a look, knowing what they need to fix - then decline my offer, thus giving them a free survey.... but then on the other hand, i have a feeling that they won't accept my lower offer unless they see the survey, so the money has already been paid for the survey... anyhow, the saga continues.

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carlt Veteran II

carlt

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Posted
awaiting the full printed survey, should be with me today .

 

at present i've made a low offer, just to see what the vendor says, they've not declined it - basically, the lower offer will allow me to do the work within the budget i have. the saga continues.

 

the vendor has requested seeing the survey... what do people think? - i can understand from their point of view, as the surveyor has come back with issues that has basically valued the boat a lot less than my initially offer, the brokers said that if i permitted them to see the survey that they would not let it leave the office.

 

one worry is the vendor having a look, knowing what they need to fix - then decline my offer, thus giving them a free survey.... but then on the other hand, i have a feeling that they won't accept my lower offer unless they see the survey, so the money has already been paid for the survey... anyhow, the saga continues.

The surveyor I used to use (before buying boats I could survey myself) always recommended not showing his survey to the vendor, although I did once pull out of a sale and sold the survey to the vendor.

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RichardH Rising Star

RichardH

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Posted
I have been reading your posts relating to your search for a boat for some time, I too have been casually looking at boats I have an open mind and have been considering a price range from as cheap as possible up to £35000.00 I have been shocked at the condition of some of the craft.

 

Whilst I can agree there are lots of boats sitting around for sale, a lot of them are either total crap or unconventional to the point of useless.

You were going to be my inspiration to cheap boating but alas!

 

Cheers

 

Here here, boats are all about individual requirements. We have kept our eyes on the market for months and as our requirements were a boat with 2 fixed bedrooms and living area with cruiser stern it was difficult to find decent stuff out there.

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stuart Experienced

stuart

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Posted
I'd not show the survey to the vendors because they may then attempt to get their own quotes on fixing it. Let them stew. (Here here? Isn't it 'hear hear'?). Pedant mode OFF.

 

I'd ask the surveyor to contact the seller/broker to discuss whats wrong - nothing in writing.

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Keeping Up Veteran II

Keeping UpDonate to Canal World

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Some friends of mine pulled out of a purchase because of the surveyor's report. The broker (marina) then told the vendor that they would no longer advertise his boat for sale unless he purchased the survey (or had another one done) and then shared the information with them to justify his asking price. My friends sold the survey at its full cost price, and the marina told the vendor to knock £10k off the price or take his boat away. He took it away and sold it privately, getting the faults fixxed and using the survey to help selkl the boat.

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grahoom Rising Star

grahoom

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My lower offer (the value of which the surveyor advised) was rejected. - so that's the end of the saga.

 

I asked if the vendor wished to buy the survey off me, apparently they have very little money - i'll find out tomorrow if they want to buy it.

 

the broker is (apparently) not going to be continuing to sell the boat for the vendor.

 

the search continues...

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