Seriously considering putting an offer in on a boat. next steps for newbies...

[wiltshirewonderer]

ok, we found the boat for us (Exited!) but we are new to this game.

 

Guessing next step is the offer and negotiation process until we either reach an agreement or walk away.

 

- If we reach agreement, how does the survey get organised and who pays for what / move the boat to the dry dock etc? Understand that I need to phone around and get something secured (Off the back of recommendations from here! ) but how does it all get coordinated and who normally does what?

- What is the norm behaviour to secure (Deposit?)

 

- Can we sort it so that the hull gets re-blacked at the same time? Or is that risky due to ownership status?

 

- We are using a broker. Do they ensure that the seller owns the boat (as opposed to some finance firm etc.) or is it still a case caveat emptor? Understand that they will be like estate agents (ie on the sellers payroll)

 

- Have asked broker to confirm whether all is working (mechanics, electrics, etc). Should we demand a demonstration or is the word enough to progress to survey?

 

Any guidance is appreciated as this will probably be the biggest purchase of our life. Feeling a bit

 

 

[tony p]

Hi,

To answer a few of your questions

Make your negotiations dependent on a satisfactory survey

The boat will only be docked for a day to survey it so you won't have time for blacking

The broker should handle the financial transaction and have evidence of ownership etc

It's up to you to satisfy yourself that every thing on the boat is working as it should, your surveyor can also do this if you instruct him to do a full survey rather than just a hill survey

And lastly bargain hard there's a lot of boats for sale at the moment

Hope that helps

Tony

Forgot to add, you normally secure the boat with a deposit dependant on the survey too, ie if its a proper sinker you can get your deposit back

We recently sold our boat after knocking the cost of some rebottoming off the already negotiated price.

[Guest]

You organise the survey, it's yours.

 

A good broker will know somewhere local where the boat can be slipped. It's then just a case of a bit of coordination between your surveyor and where it is going to be taken out.

 

By all means get it blacked while it is out but this complicates things as the boat will need to be out for longer and if you don't proceed the seller has had a free blacking.

 

Personally I would check out ALL the boat systems myself and not rely on the broker to do it.

Edited June 22, 2013 by The Dog House

[Higgs]

I wouldn't part with any money until you have satisfied yourself, and after a good survey. You can obviously make an offer, subject to a survey. It is better to get some of the haggling done prior to commiting to a survey.

[nine9feet]

,

ok, we found the boat for us (Exited!) but we are new to this game.

 

Guessing next step is the offer and negotiation process until we either reach an agreement or walk away.

 

- If we reach agreement, how does the survey get organised and who pays for what / move the boat to the dry dock etc? Understand that I need to phone around and get something secured (Off the back of recommendations from here! ) but how does it all get coordinated and who normally does what?

- What is the norm behaviour to secure (Deposit?)

 

- Can we sort it so that the hull gets re-blacked at the same time? Or is that risky due to ownership status?

 

- We are using a broker. Do they ensure that the seller owns the boat (as opposed to some finance firm etc.) or is it still a case caveat emptor? Understand that they will be like estate agents (ie on the sellers payroll)

 

- Have asked broker to confirm whether all is working (mechanics, electrics, etc). Should we demand a demonstration or is the word enough to progress to survey?

 

Any guidance is appreciated as this will probably be the biggest purchase of our life. Feeling a bit

 

I can only quote from my own experience as I have just bought my first boat.

 

 

Don't trust the broker for anything - verify everything yourself or independently (surveyor, etc). Ask to see the documentation for the boat (e.g. previous bill of sale).

 

You will need to drive everything - arrange survey, haul out/dry dock, etc. I had some difficulty getting everyone coordinated such is the laid back culture. As the cost of craning out was £410 pounds I wanted the hull to be blacked as soon as the paperwork was completed. In the end I has survey on a Sat morning and Bill of Sale was signed on the Monday so the boat stayed out of the water for the blacking.

 

I also had BSS done at the same time as the full survey. If any problems had been raised by this I would have had the evidence to negotiate on the price.

 

Good luck!

 

Cheers,

John

nine9feet

[Roxy]

Before I bought my boat, I was a complete ejit, I however did look at the paperwork but it was a gobble de goop to me. However since then my boat gave me 3 happy years of cruising and with the help of this site I kept it running and have learnt lots. The 'Broker' I bought it off never gave me any of the existing owners details, even though I wanted to speak directly to them, any questions I wanted to ask I had to write on paper and they would be 'forwarded' to him, and when I made an offer on the boat the broker blatantly said ' oh he wont accept that' so gullible me offered more and surprise surprise my offer was accepted.

Knowing what I know now I would never never ever go by what a broker has said...it may cost me money but I was lucky and sold my boat without much loss.

I've took interest in a narrowboat but it needs some interior work, inc craning, blacking etc but I doubt the owner will accept the money for boat regarding this, plus engine servicing blah blah blah....there's always other boats to look at and for me that's a blessing.

Good luck in your search, but to most of your questions I think it's down to the buyer to fork out if the boats a good un

[nine9feet]

More thoughts!

 

The boat was not anywhere it could be craned out/dry docked. The broker expected to charge £200 to move the boat (but was unable to say when it could happen other than "in the next two weeks"!). Fortunately the owner decided he wanted one last trip, so that decision saved me£200

 

My first offer (as others have said "subject to survey") was 20% below the asking price and this offer was declined, as expected. My second offer was accepted.

 

The date for craning out and consequently the survey was changed by the marina a few days before due. They could not undertake the blacking when it would be required so the boat was on hard standing for two weeks. Back in the water a week ago.

 

If, as a result of the survey, you need to negotiate on the price do not share the survey report with the broker!!

Be clear as to what is included in the sale before you make the offer.

 

Cheers,

John

nine9feet

[Paul C]

Try to agree in more detail than simply "subject to survey" what would need to be found, to allow you to pull out of the deal. For example, it would be unfair if a single blown lightbulb or loose cupboard handle would be enough to pull out. Similarly, if the survey reveals £10000 of welding required, you might want to pull out and the seller say "its fair wear for its age". So try to define the 'line' before the survey.

 

If the survey reveals something significant which demands a renegotiation on price (that's basically the whole point of the survey, as well as finding out detail about the condition of the boat, it gives an opportunity to you to barter down on hard evidence) its unfair to expect the seller to simply accept your word for it, you'll need to reveal what it actually is. But at the same time, don't photocopy the whole report and give it to him...

[wiltshirewonderer]

Thanks everyone, great sounding advice as usual. Based on this we will go back and ask to see everything working before we progress. The plan would also be a full survey (Not just hull. Don't want to take the risk on our first boat)