boat buying tips

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hantsman

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I am currently looking to buy a used 24ft Fast Fisher type motor boat from a private individual for circa £23K but not sure of the safest process to follow. Obviously a survey should be carried out but what kind of agreement do I need to put in place and what deposit should I leave prior to the survey? What kind of wording should be in the agreement, dont want to lose deposit if survey report is bad. Is there a standard form with standard wording? What checks should be made to ensure boat is not stolen or on HP etc
Any help greatly appreciated
 
Is it a private sale or through a broker/dealer?

If a broker he will have all the relevant documents, if private the RYA produce a "form" you can print off, have a look on their website - I just did but couldn't find it!

A 10% deposit I think is quite normal but I would be a little unsure of handing over a few grand to a total stranger and hope to get it back should I not proceed?

Paying for a lift and survey is surely proof of your integrety and seriouness (?) as a buyer?

If it looks to good to be true it probably is and if you don't like something walk away! There are loads of boats for sale and it is so easy to fall in love with the must have first one

Good luck!
 
Is he likely to sell it to someone else in the next two weeks, in the middle of October? If you think not, then tell him you wont pay a deposit, but you'll pay for the lift out and survey, and complete within two weeks if everything is OK. He's free to sell to someone else in the meantime, but in reality he's unlikely to try very hard if he belives you are serious, and unlikely to sell it even if he did. Assuming it passes the survey, then you give him bankers draft for full amount to complete the transaction, and you instantly gain full title to the boat (he can speak to the bank if he's concerned about the draft.)

I bought a boat from Princess Sales on this basis, because I didn't like the rejection terms in their contract.
 
Nick_H said:
Is he likely to sell it to someone else in the next two weeks, in the middle of October? If you think not, then tell him you wont pay a deposit, but you'll pay for the lift out and survey, and complete within two weeks if everything is OK. He's free to sell to someone else in the meantime, but in reality he's unlikely to try very hard if he belives you are serious, and unlikely to sell it even if he did. Assuming it passes the survey, then you give him bankers draft for full amount to complete the transaction, and you instantly gain full title to the boat (he can speak to the bank if he's concerned about the draft.)

I bought a boat from Princess Sales on this basis, because I didn't like the rejection terms in their contract.
Click to expand...

That's exactly what I'd do. In fact when I sold my old boat a few years ago it didn't even occur to me to take a deposit before survey. The fact that the prospective purchaser is prepared to pay for a lift out and a survey is sufficient to show that he/she is serious.
 
just be aware that buying privately doesnt give you much legal recourse, so its a good idea to confident before you hand over any readies. Although there are standard contracts, in effect its just a deal between the two of you, so whatever works...
Some people feel the world is full of swindlers and crooks, and , to my mind, seem to go to unnecessary lengths and complications. Just make some sanity checks.. is the guy open, landline number, know about boats etc..got paperwork. If it all makes sense, then I'd treat him fairly. Some people freak over a bankers draft-- yes, technically it is possible to cancel a draft, but it usually has to go quite high in your bank (not branch level), and you'd have to give them some pretty convincing argument as to why to cancel it.
Mortgages almost always require a part 1 registration these days. It is unlikely that a bank loan would be secured on the boat, but you cant really check that. The sale agreement usually has the stipulation that the boat is free of lien, which would give you some chance of recovery if he has a debt on it. In fact, thats probably the most important few words in the whole process!
So, yea, there are clever con men about, but is there any reason to think this guy is one of them? !
As regards a survey... yes its best practice,and if it helps you sleep, go ahead. Go over the boat yourself.. after all, with luck you are about to own it, so you are perfectly able to check all the bits you are about to be using on your own anyway!
But just be sure you understand quite what is being checked in the survey, as frankly,some of them you could do yourself with a blindfold.
 
Nick_H said:
Assuming it passes the survey, then you give him bankers draft for full amount to complete the transaction, and you instantly gain full title to the boat (he can speak to the bank if he's concerned about the draft.)
Click to expand...

The BBA (British Bankers' Association) website states:

"But if people are selling something, they should never hand their "goods" over until their bank has confirmed the draft has gone through, and that they have cleared funds in their account. This is because the banker's draft could be forged or stolen. Banks generally charge a fee for issuing drafts."

As a vendor, we recently declined a banker's draft as a method of payment for this reason (we eventually accepted cash which we witnessed being withdrawn from the bank!).
 
buying boat

one lesson i have just learnt.
try to arrange for him to deliver to you if any distance involved.
complete sale on arrival of boat.
mine has cost me several thousand pounds cos of engine probs during her trip to home berth.
 
Nice and useful thread,

So in other words, can we please write again in bullets the total procedure from A to Z in order to be more specific?

eg.

A. Find the boat
B. See the boat
C. Agree in a specific price
D. Survey the boat
E.
F.
.
.
.
.
.



Another scenario: What about if the boat is in a different country? For example I am buying a boat in France and I am situated in Greece.

Thanks

Nick
 
I agree with icepatrol, I always offer to deliver a boat when I sell it gives the new owner confidence that teh boat is up to the job, when I was looking at second hand boats some owners actually said to me that they are worried abut the first (mine) journey.

That did not give me any confidence, there are a lot of unused boats out there.

Tom
 
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