Another step closer

[Windfola]

Well, I've accepted an offer on my house! In theory, if all goes well, I could be on a boat by mid October. Of course, if I can't find the right one in time I can always rent for a bit first.

 

Does anyone have recommendations for good independent surveyors in the south of England? I'm going to see a couple of boats near Bristol and another near Gloucester in the next couple of weeks. On the other hand, most of the brokers near me are in the Daventry/Northants area.

 

Do people who sell a house and buy a liveaboard use their solicitor to complete the transaction in one go, or is it better to do it as a separate deal?

 

I also feel rather tempted by an Aquiline boat - there are a few on Apolloduck and several demonstrators at Blisworth and Mercia. Anyone got any experiences to share regarding these? Their interior joinery is lovely quality, but I am less certain about the hull quality/technical bits and bobs.

 

Any advice will be most welcome...

[Robin2]

It's obviously not appropriate for the forum to pry into your personal circumstances. However I would strongly advise that your first boat should be cheap enough only to use a modest part of your available cash - in other words, unless your house is worth several times the price of a new boat I would suggest buying a modestly priced s/h boat that has all the features you think you want, but perhaps needing a little TLC. That way, if you feel like keeping the boat a long time you can afford to deal with any problems that arise. Or if you conclude that it does not suit you, you can afford to sell it and get something more suitable.

 

All of this, of course, presuming that you have a survey done. I would be inclined to wait until I had selected a boat before finding a surveyor who operates in that area. I would also advise being there while the survey is being done so you can ask the surveyor questions.

 

I didn't use a solicitor when buying my boat. I don't know if other do. Buying a boat is more like buying a car than buying a house. I certainly would not recommend trying to match the timing of the sale of the house with the purchase of a boat - you will only feel rushed into a poor decision.

[Windfola]

I can see the logic of a cheaper boat to start with, but I really don't want the hassle of 'making do'and then having to sell and start again. I want a quality fit out because I can't stand shoddy materials/workmanship and I don't like old fashioned styling (at least when I start off - we all get used to what we have eventually). I want the best I can afford while having plenty of savings left to live on for the foreseeable future.

 

How does one go about ensuring that the seller is the true owner of the boat?