Making an offer

[chudleighval]

Hi

The first boat I liked around a month ago we have finally put an offer in. We looked at lots of boats over the past few months and saw a boat we liked but not quite perfect !!! after looking at lots of boats which looked great on the web site, after travelling for hours up and down the motorway , we have gone back to the boat yard we bought our current boat from. 30 mins away !!!

Well the boat was on offer for 48,000 its a 2000, 58 ft in fantastic condition , its a two berth and we would have liked a dinette[but we can add that] its going to need blacking this year, and after been stood in the marina for awhile probably will need new batteries[ so my dh says] the bow has a cover and a sort of squared off frame work [ thats what dh didnt like]

So we have offered 40,000, they are thinking about the offer and going to get back to us.

So my question is this can you ever offer too low ? In my thinkng we can always add a bit but we cannot take anything off once offered !!! This is all very exciting and I cannot wait to see what tomorrow brings !!

Hugs

Val subject to survey

Edited April 1, 2010 by chudleighval

[bottle]

"So my question is this can you ever offer too low ? "

 

No.

 

ps. I hope offer is subject to survey.

[ditchcrawler]

Hi

The first boat I liked around a month ago we have finally put an offer in. We looked at lots of boats over the past few months and saw a boat we liked but not quite perfect !!! after looking at lots of boats which looked great on the web site, after travelling for hours up and down the motorway , we have gone back to the boat yard we bought our current boat from. 30 mins away !!!

Well the boat was on offer for 48,000 its a 2000, 58 ft in fantastic condition , its a two berth and we would have liked a dinette[but we can add that] its going to need blacking this year, and after been stood in the marina for awhile probably will need new batteries[ so my dh says] the bow has a cover and a sort of squared off frame work [ thats what dh didnt like]

So we have offered 40,000, they are thinking about the offer and going to get back to us.

So my question is this can you ever offer too low ? In my thinkng we can always add a bit but we cannot take anything off once offered !!! This is all very exciting and I cannot wait to see what tomorrow brings !!

Hugs

Val

If its not enough the seller will soon let you know, then its up to you to offer a little bit more if you want to, but make the offer subject to survey, then if the surveyor finds problems you can re offer less if you still want it.

Brian

[luctor et emergo]

Within reason, you can offer as low as you want. After all, most boats are groosly over priced when advertised. It is than up to the seller to let you know if they wnt a higher offer or not. I would offer at least 20% less than the original asking price, depending on how realistic the asking price is.

 

As an aside, the price of second hand boats seems to drop at the moment. You say the boat has stood in the marina for quite a while. You have to ask, why? Is there an underlying problem? The boat is obviously not popular, and you could have made a cheeky offer, to see if the owner is in need to finally sell. There is a boat for sale localy, which has been reduced twice already, which I have kept an eye on for about a year now. It is not quite what I'm looking for, and I am at the moment in the process of buying another boat, but I am still keeping an eye on the other one, and if this sale falls through, I may make a silly offer, of less than 50% of the asking price. I think that is either up for grabs by now, or the owner foolishly refuses the consider offers.

[Ange]

Our boat was up for around £38k, can't remember exactly how much - the OH has a much better memory but he's snoring now so I'd best not disturb him! Our budget was £27k max but we really fancied the boat, so Dave made a silly offer of £24k, thinking we'd be rebuffed straight away. The broker was really sniffy about the offer, saying something along the lines of "have you actually SEEN the boat" but Dave insisted he put the offer to the vendor. We were bowled over when the vendor came back and said he couldn't accept less than £28k! We got her for £27k in the end, with the broker stepping in and offering to bridge the final £500 gap by sacrificing commission.

 

It's definitely worth making what may seem like a silly offer - the worst they can do is say no and you might strike lucky like we did - we still can't believe our luck.

[Québec]

The boat we purchased last November had been on sale and out of the water for c. a year. When first put up for sale it was a totally unrealistic price (hence the length of time out of the water). By the time we became interested it had dropped a third. Given its condition, and having done our homework comparing prices of other boats in similar condition, we put in an offer of half the original asking price - subject to survey. Following the survey we made an offer of less than half the original asking price, which was accepted.

 

We did our homework, and backed up our reduced offers with the evidence (e.g. survey findings).

[Athy]

An offer which the seller or broker perceives as taking the rise may engender bad feeling. If you offer £40,000 for this boat which is priced at £48,000, you may fairly be viewed as a genuine customer who likes a bargain. But if you offered, sy, £5,000, you would be seen as a time-waster. The trick is to pitch your offer right. What's the betting that you'll end up doing a deal at £42 - 44k?

[Athy]

How many different versions of this thread are washing around the forum?

[LEO]

Hi,

 

Offers are always interesting and so often it all depends on the circumstances of the offer - is it a straight cash offer?, offer subject to say, variable percentage of a marine or other mortgage?, offer subject to survey?, offer subject to the sale of other property (house or boat or car for instance)?.

 

Also it can depend on the desirability and lenght of time the property (in this case boat) has been for sale and importantly the time of year you are buying and selling.

 

Probate sales can also concentrate the vendors minds with regard to offers and produce good results for the purchaser.

 

Any offer should also reflect the economic situation of the country in which it is made and the availabilty of credit (if needed) at the time the offer is made.

 

Really, it depends on how quickly cleared funds end up in the vendors a/c.

 

It's best not to 'fly your kite' too high when selling things, esepcially if a survey and or valuation is involved.

 

All good fun -

 

Leo

[NB Alnwick]

How many different versions of this thread are washing around the forum?

 

Topics merged and edited!

[Laurie Booth]

Never a bad thing to offer low, you can always increase your offer should the first one be rejected.

Cash is always king, if you have to sell something to buy, then you will be in a much weaker position.

[alan_fincher]

I think the biggest bit of knowledge we were lacking when we bought Chalice, (nearly 5 years ago - I can hardly believe it!), was just how much under the asking price many actually sell at.

 

All the brokers did a grand patter in trying to claim that the valuations were not far off, and that you would not get far with significantly lower offers, unless there were special circumstances.

 

That's clearly complete tosh, as time and time again people on the forum report having bought really nice boats at a fraction of the price they were being marketed at.

 

It seems your biggest hurdle sometimes can be getting the broker to put an offer you make to the sellers in a manner that doesn't rubbish it.

 

I think often the brokers are more to blame for unrealistic pricing than the sellers. It has often been proved that if the seller want their money enough, you can secure a deal at a much lower figure than many would guess possible.

 

I can't promise you, but. like Athy, I think if you play your cards right, you may secure the boat in the "low forties".

[chudleighval]

Hi

The first boat I liked around a month ago we have finally put an offer in. We looked at lots of boats over the past few months and saw a boat we liked but not quite perfect !!! after looking at lots of boats which looked great on the web site, after travelling for hours up and down the motorway , we have gone back to the boat yard we bought our current boat from. 30 mins away !!!

Well the boat was on offer for 48,000 its a 2000, 58 ft in fantastic condition , its a two berth and we would have liked a dinette[but we can add that] its going to need blacking this year, and after been stood in the marina for awhile probably will need new batteries[ so my dh says] the bow has a cover and a sort of squared off frame work [ thats what dh didnt like]

So we have offered 40,000, they are thinking about the offer and going to get back to us.

So my question is this can you ever offer too low ? In my thinkng we can always add a bit but we cannot take anything off once offered !!! This is all very exciting and I cannot wait to see what tomorrow brings !!

Hugs

Val subject to survey

 

 

 

 

Well today brokerage [after prompting from us] got back to the owner who said she would only take the asking price !!!

When asked by the broker if she would consider taking 47,000 [ boat up for 48,000] she said she might yes might !!! consider it !! We have now offered 41,000 and said to keep us in mind if she drops the price.[to the brokerage] But she just wont budge. The boat has been for sale for 1 month. The brokerage said she hadnt had any other offers. Nothing else we can do. So we are still looking .but still hoping she might come down. Im not expecting miracles but I really thought everyone priced stuff a bit higher than what they expect to get !!

Val

[Guest]

Well today brokerage [after prompting from us] got back to the owner who said she would only take the asking price !!!

When asked by the broker if she would consider taking 47,000 [ boat up for 48,000] she said she might yes might !!! consider it !! We have now offered 41,000 and said to keep us in mind if she drops the price.[to the brokerage] But she just wont budge. The boat has been for sale for 1 month. The brokerage said she hadnt had any other offers. Nothing else we can do. So we are still looking .but still hoping she might come down. Im not expecting miracles but I really thought everyone priced stuff a bit higher than what they expect to get !!

Val

 

I've noticed unrealisticly priced boats still for sale now that we saw in brokerage we visited when we went to Crick show in May last year - nearly a year on and still for sale - my money's on her weakening, a month is a short time really.

 

Good luck.

[bottle]

I really thought everyone priced stuff a bit higher than what they expect to get !!

 

Perhaps you have found the one person that has not.... but I doubt it.

 

There are lots of boats out there and it may be a blessing in disguise

 

Good luck keep looking.

[Athy]

The key fact in your post, Val, is that the boat has been on sale for only one month. So it's still virtually new on the market and the owners are still hoping to get the asking price "OVVNO". Let them stew for another month - at the end of that time, they will either have developed a more realistic view of market conditions, or they'll have found their Mug Of The Month and sold the baot; in the latter case, there are still a few hundred boats for sale for you to choose from.

(I have just remembered that when I was at school the school's motto was "I byde my time", which may have influenced my later outlook, though we all used to change the inscription on the exercise books to "I did my time").

[ditchcrawler]

The key fact in your post, Val, is that the boat has been on sale for only one month. So it's still virtually new on the market and the owners are still hoping to get the asking price "OVVNO". Let them stew for another month - at the end of that time, they will either have developed a more realistic view of market conditions, or they'll have found their Mug Of The Month and sold the baot; in the latter case, there are still a few hundred boats for sale for you to choose from.

(I have just remembered that when I was at school the school's motto was "I byde my time", which may have influenced my later outlook, though we all used to change the inscription on the exercise books to "I did my time").

Of course,its always possible that it is priced sensibly and will sell quickly at the asking price.

[David Schweizer]

Is any offer too low? -- YES it can be, well certainly as far as I am concerned.

 

When we bought our boat, the asking price was £500 above that suggested by the surveyor. However we had been looking around for a while, and were aware of the going price for boats built by the better builders, and taking into account that the price included a full cruising inventory, offered the asking price which was accepted. Later that year our boat's sister boat was sold by a broker for 30% more than we paid, so we did very well.

 

When we come to sell our boat, I would hope to do the same, and ask for an honest price within the average going valuation at the time. Whilst I might be prepared to accept a sensible offer within the valuatiion range, If some idiot comes along and makes a silly offer, just because someone had suggested that was what they should do, I would simply walk away and refuse to have any further conversation with them, even if they subsequently made an offer equal to the asking price. I would do the same with any house I sold.

 

Whenever I have sold anything, I have always asked a fair price and expected to get it. Similarily, I would never seek to "knock down" a sensible price if buying something second hand. Call it cutting your nose off to spite your face if yopu like, but I really cannot tolerate this "let's see if we can screw the vendor" approach currently being encouraged by various TV programmes, which has encouraged people to ask high prices in case someone decides to make a silly offer. I really cannot understand why people cannot be honest in their dealings rather than think it is all a bit of a (time wasting) game.

Edited April 4, 2010 by David Schweizer

[Athy]

Of course,its always possible that it is priced sensibly and will sell quickly at the asking price.

Of course ( cue pigs flying overhead ). But I've been watching boat prices on what is probably the UK's biggest seller, Apollo Dick, and although I have not kept a tally of how many boats have their price reduced while they are advertised, it's a fair proportion of them and even possibly a majority. Some I have noticed being reduced twice.

David, your stance is an honourable one. I bet you're no good at doing the supermarket shopping though, you would miss all those special offers and reduced-to-clear bargains which can save the shopper ££££!

It's human nature to aspire to things whch one can't quite afford, hence the number of people looking to get a bit knocked off the price of their next house, car, boat or whatever.

[Québec]

"Sensible" and "Fair" are relative, subjective and slippery terms.

 

In the end the seller need not sell, and the buyer need not buy.

 

Acting honourably has little to do with what is deemed (by whom?) to be sensible and fair.

 

When we bought our house over twenty years ago it was at that time when property prices were spiralling ever upwards on what seemed like a daily basis, and houses were being purchased within hours of being put on the market. Our offer - at the asking price - was made and accepted in March. But the sellers wanted to stay till school ended in July. We agreed and shook hands on it. By the time July came the value of the house had increased substantially, and the estate agent was going ballistic as the sellers refused to increase their price or to consider any other - in some cases much higher - offers even though the sale had not been finalised.

 

The price we paid was certainly not 'sensible' - given the market conditions, and who's to say whether it was fair or not. What is indisputable is that the sellers (and we ourselves, I would like to think) acted honourably throughout.

[David Schweizer]

Of course ( cue pigs flying overhead ). But I've been watching boat prices on what is probably the UK's biggest seller, Apollo Dick, and although I have not kept a tally of how many boats have their price reduced while they are advertised, it's a fair proportion of them and even possibly a majority. Some I have noticed being reduced twice.

David, your stance is an honourable one. I bet you're no good at doing the supermarket shopping though, you would miss all those special offers and reduced-to-clear bargains which can save the shopper ££££!

It's human nature to aspire to things whch one can't quite afford, hence the number of people looking to get a bit knocked off the price of their next house, car, boat or whatever.

Quite the opposite. I am actually very good at spotting a bargain. If a seller has decided to reduce the price of an item, I am quite happy to purchase at that price, but that is not the same as knocking someone's declared price down.

[chudleighval]

I hope nobody thinks Im trying to get something for nothing. Im talking about a basic 2000 Liverpool Boat.Its been used as a hire boat in the past. Its not all singing and dancing !!! But it would fit our needs. The brokerage told me they believe the seller bought the boat at too high a cost two years ago , surely I dont have to pay for this error , if there was one . We are happy to increase our offer but doesnt this work both ways ? I always thought it did. All I want is a tidy boat at a fair price that we can be happy on. All we seem to find are wrecks that are either damp, water dripping through the roof, paintwork in a terrible state and dont people at least clean/tidy before you arrive to look !!! I can try to look past alot of this but its difficult when youve been in a car for 3 hours each way.

So please dont think badly of me , just a fair price for a tidy boat is all Im asking for

Val

[Québec]

[snip]... just a fair price for a tidy boat is all Im asking for

Back to what's 'fair' again.

What do you consider to be 'fair'? And does it coincide with the price YOU want to pay?

[jonk]

I hope nobody thinks Im trying to get something for nothing. Im talking about a basic 2000 Liverpool Boat.Its been used as a hire boat in the past. Its not all singing and dancing !!! But it would fit our needs. The brokerage told me they believe the seller bought the boat at too high a cost two years ago , surely I dont have to pay for this error , if there was one . We are happy to increase our offer but doesnt this work both ways ? I always thought it did. All I want is a tidy boat at a fair price that we can be happy on. All we seem to find are wrecks that are either damp, water dripping through the roof, paintwork in a terrible state and dont people at least clean/tidy before you arrive to look !!! I can try to look past alot of this but its difficult when youve been in a car for 3 hours each way.

So please dont think badly of me , just a fair price for a tidy boat is all Im asking for

Val

 

I think that you are acting sensibly. I would say that a fair price is one where both you and the seller are content with the deal. Try to look beyond the untidiness - a minor thing that can be put right but one that reduces the saleability of a boat imo.

[alan_fincher]

I hope nobody thinks Im trying to get something for nothing. Im talking about a basic 2000 Liverpool Boat.Its been used as a hire boat in the past.

Hard to say for certain without seeing the detail of the boat, but £48K asking for a 10 year old Liverpool Boats boat sounds an awful lot to me.

 

There are many ones half that age on sale for less than that.

 

Your view of a value sounds more realistic to me.

 

It seems unusual, (in my admittedly fairly limited experience), to find LB boats with a history as a hire boat.