A little advice and encouragement please.

[Amphibian Man]

Hello everyone,

I have just had a really frustrating experience. We saw a narrowboat online that we wanted to go and see. I rang the broker who immediately started to ask all sorts of questions about what kind of boat we wanted and what sort of price we were willing to pay. He then told me the boat in question would need work on it to make it into the kind of boat we were looking for and that it would end up out of our price range. The call ended with him telling me he has boats all over the country and he would be in touch if anything came in that matches our requirements. We weren’t asked if we still wanted to see the boat or told of its whereabouts.

I am quite new to this canal and narrowboating world. Does anyone have the names of respected brokers? Also, rather than expect to be told about experiences of unreliable or poor quality workmanship and particular builders to avoid,  I would like to ask about reputable and valued boat builders. Does anyone have any suggestions and recommendations? I understand Piper is well thought of and Beta engines are good.

Thanks,

John.

[Alan de Enfield]

 

This is a huge subject and it could take 1000 answers to fully answer your questions.

 

For example - A 'Rolls Royce' boat that cost £200,000 when new, if it has not been looked after, the engine regularly serviced, the hull maintained and repaired when necessary could be worth less than scrap value, whilst, a Springet boat that cost £10,000 when new, when mainteained properly could now be worth over £20,000.

 

If you detail what you are looking for  (liveaboard or leisure use, length, wide beam or narrowboat, budget etc etc etc) forumites will be able to point you to suitable boats.

 

Currently boats are in such demand that they are selling without the buyer even seeing them. At best, you need to have the money in your hand and to travel to view within a couple of hours, wait until 'tommorow' and it'll be sold.

If its not sold within a couple of days there is something seriously wrong with it.

 

Many boats are not even getting to brokers websites. The broker has a list of potential buyers and will call them before the boat is listed - the 1st to view gets the chance to buy, the 2nd to try and view doesn't.

Edited May 23, 2021 by Alan de Enfield

[Amphibian Man]

8 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

This is a huge subject and it could take 1000 answers to fully answer your questions.

 

For example - A 'Rolls Royce' boat that cost £200,000 when new, if it has not been looked after, the engine regularly serviced, the hull maintained and repaired when necessary could be worth less than scrap value, whilst, a Springet boat that cost £10,000 when new, when mainteained properly could now be worth over £20,000.

 

If you detail what you are looking for  (liveaboard or leisure use, length, wide beam or narrowboat, budget etc etc etc) forumites will be able to point you to suitable boats.

 

Currently boats are in such demand that they are selling without the buyer even seeing them. At best, you need to have the money in your hand and to travel to view within a couple of hours, wait until 'tommorow' and it'll be sold.

If its not sold within a couple of days there is something seriously wrong with it.

 

Many boats are not even getting to brokers websites. The broker has a list of potential buyers and will call them before the boat is listed - the 1st to view gets the chance to buy, the 2nd to try and view doesn't.

Thank you Alan. Much appreciated.

[PD1964]

If you scroll down to the bottom of the first page in “New to Boating” you will see the Post below, then keep scrolling and you will find more answers to your questions, your not the first to ask.

 

Edited May 23, 2021 by PD1964

[mrsmelly]

As Alan says, the boat market is insane as never before. I sold my boat without even advertising it to someone online who had followed this forum and bought before I even listed it. Its not simple like the housing market as there are a lot more things with boats that first time buyers have no clue about nor know what questions to ask. Do a huge amount of research then take a punt.

[Tonka]

1 hour ago, mrsmelly said:

As Alan says, the boat market is insane as never before. I sold my boat without even advertising it to someone online who had followed this forum and bought before I even listed it. Its not simple like the housing market as there are a lot more things with boats that first time buyers have no clue about nor know what questions to ask. Do a huge amount of research then take a punt.

But he is after a narrowboat,  not a punt

[mrsmelly]

1 minute ago, Tonka said:

But he is after a narrowboat,  not a punt

A punt will be less problematic 

[enigmatic]

It'd be interesting to see the boat but my guess is Great Haywood Boat Sales...

The good news is the vast majority of brokers you just need to ring up and say you want to come and see their boats, they have lots in the same location, you look around them (they only say no if it's not on sale) and then make a subject to survey offer if you see one you like. Some of them have better sales processes and boats than others, but the best boat for you is the bit that matters 

 

Does depend on what your price range and expectations are, of course. At the bottom end of the scale a lot of boats do need expensive remedial work, and in the middle and upper reaches  none of them are absolutely perfect if you do have specific needs

[Awayonmyboat]

11 hours ago, enigmatic said:

... they have lots in the same location, you look around them..

That was true two years ago but in the current market I don't think it currently applies to any broker.  As others have said they are generally selling boats almost as soon as they list them. Hopefully it will calm down soon. 

[cheesegas]

I bought my boat about 6 months ago when the market was mad but not nearly as mad as it is now...

 

Brokers would list a boat for slightly below the going rate, wait until they get loads of calls about it, tell the buyers it's been sold subject to survey etc and then call non stop with other boats way outside the price range and spec you're after. I even travelled a couple of hours to go and see one, only to be told that it had been sold while I was on the way up there and he showed me a bunch of totally unsuitable other ones. I questioned how it has been sold so fast that the buyer had already picked it up, and how the broker had already put another boat in the same place in the photo in front of their distinctive blue portacabin...

 

Facebook Marketplace is good to buy privately, usual caveats apply for paying deposits, exchange of paperwork, viewings etc though,

[Amphibian Man]

9 minutes ago, cheesegas said:

I bought my boat about 6 months ago when the market was mad but not nearly as mad as it is now...

 

Brokers would list a boat for slightly below the going rate, wait until they get loads of calls about it, tell the buyers it's been sold subject to survey etc and then call non stop with other boats way outside the price range and spec you're after. I even travelled a couple of hours to go and see one, only to be told that it had been sold while I was on the way up there and he showed me a bunch of totally unsuitable other ones. I questioned how it has been sold so fast that the buyer had already picked it up, and how the broker had already put another boat in the same place in the photo in front of their distinctive blue portacabin...

 

Facebook Marketplace is good to buy privately, usual caveats apply for paying deposits, exchange of paperwork, viewings etc though,

 

[Amphibian Man]

Hi Cheesegas,

Do the words "broker" and "honest" actually go together? ?.