Boat Sale

[DAVIDO]

All was going perfectly with the sale of our boat. Invoice raised subject to survey (for asking price) 5k deposit received. Viewed the boat out of the water this morning all looked in order. Had a call this evening from the broker to tell me that the surveyor has reported that he had found a couple of blisters so the start of osmosis. Personally i would run a mile, but what might happen next? This would be the first boat the prospective buyers have had.
Assuming they still wanted to go ahead how much might it cost to fix and how would you negotiate these costs?
Cheers

 

[Micky]

IMHO a couple of blisters should make little difference.

Beats me why do so many people condemn a perfectly good boat over a few blister.

 

[Freebee]

wot size are these couple of blisters?

 

[DAVIDO]

I looked all over the hull and didnt see anything so cant be very big. Trouble is at the risk of stating the obvious the surveyor is not working for me so i cant discuss with him.

 

[David_Jersey]

Hopefully she is still out of the water so you can have a look yourself, and take a scraper, just to make sure he has not identified flaking or buubling Antifouling as Osmosis! - or perhaps he only said in his report she <u>might</u> be starting to have Osmosis. If they are real, take some photos (include something to indicate the size of any problems) and post them up here.

If she is starting to get visible Osmosis then for this buyer you will have to start knocking off money. For me it would be the complete cost of repair. and then I (personally) would probably not bother doing the repair! - but IMO Osmosis on a boat does affect the boat's value markedly, even though it doesn't really affect the boat as much as people think.


I would also ask for the buyer to provide a copy of the report and the moisture readings the Surveyor got (no obilgation for him to do so) and then take the Survey and some photos to your local boatyard for advice and probably I would go to my own surveyor for him to give his opinion on the blisters, do another moisture check and get his advice on what action to take - and then do a partial repair on each of the blisters (and a full antifoul!) for the next buyer / surveyor............

Of course your surveyor could give her a clean bill of health, in which case you have something to waive at the current (or next) buyer!

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Not necessarily the start of osmosis and, even if it is, it looks like its been caught early so no major problem. Best to get somebody like Osmotech in to give an independent opinion but likely its only a few gel coat blisters and a couple of hundred quid to repair

 

[DAVIDO]

As soon as i received the news i told the broker i was on my way to take a look. only to be told the boat was back on its berth, the survey was done with the boat in the hoist i assume to save costs on chocking up.

 

[GC1]

I am SURE he would have taken digital photo's ensure you get to see them /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[DAVIDO]

I hope your right if so all may not be lost. You know what were like i already had a short list compilled of potential next boats.

 

[DAVIDO]

I will ask for them if they exist, but im not the customer so i can only ask the question.

 

[carlton]

[ QUOTE ]
Trouble is at the risk of stating the obvious the surveyor is not working for me so i cant discuss with him.

[/ QUOTE ]

.......True - but your broker is. Surely he was sufficiently concerned to ask the surveyor to point them out to him? Could he verify this ?

It's been suggested on here that "a couple of blisters" can be sorted DIY rather quickly/cheaply. Could that be the solution ? Get an osmosis repairer to confirm a small area needs treating. You get it treated - or offer to reduce the price by the cost of his quote - and there's a good chance the sale would continue, IMHO. Well, if I wanted the boat badly enough I'd be looking to negotiate a sale. Good luck with it, either way.

 

[GC1]

How can anyone expect you to trust the word of a surveyor, you need photographic evidence or sight of the alleged problem before getting concerned or negotiating on anything. Anyone who surveys a boat and does not have a digital camera to record what they see would be a very poor surveyor IMHO. Even they would need to refer to it to get a further opinion or to do further research.

 

[David_Jersey]

Obviously the cost of a lift out needs to be factored in, but if I was the buyer and the Survey was as stated then even if I had no intention of going ahead then I would show you the survey. So IMO no harm in asking, in fact if they do not want to go ahread and are reluctant to give you a copy I would consider offering them £50 / £100 for it, IF it includes the photos, saves you a lift out and gives you something to think over / discuss.

And if they were using the Survey as a bargaining tool then they <u>need</u> to show it to you, otherwise they could just be making it up and a copy would not be unreasonable for you to then discuss with your own advisors before coming back with a price drop.

In any case I would guess that the Survey might take a day or 2 to get typed up, so it may be that what is actually written on the page differs from what was understood by the buyer verbally??

 

[Nick_H]

If you've got a sale at asking price I wouldn't risk losing it. Get a look at it or second opinion if you can but surveyors don't make things up to help their clients negotiate the price down. I would offer to have the boat taken to a reputable repairer and cover the cost yourself, as long as the buyer will proceed after the repair is done. If its the buyers first boat they will be more interested in knowing the problem is fixed, than in getting a few quid off the price.

Its the start of November and boat sales will get even slower over the next few months, so don't let the sale go if you can possibly avoid it.

 

[carlton]

Good point.

 

[DAVIDO]

Many thanks for all of your opinions all make good sense.
Cheers.

 

[longjohnsilver]

You need to know where the blisters are and what the moisture levels are, blisters as already said don't necessarily mean osmosis.
Ask the prospective purchaser how he feels about it. Could be that he doesn't see it as a major problem.

 

[D3B]

I am struggling with this osmosis lark.

I had survey done on my second boat, kept on the River Ouse at Ely. I Freeman 24. phone call from the marina who were acting as broker..."the surveyor is here and she has loads of osmosis. you need to get down here quick"
Luckily the office was only 10 miles away so i duly hops in the car and gets to the marina pronto.
"hello mr surveyor whats all this osmosis about"
so he shows me a lot of blisters on the hull. pokes some of them and they give off an almond type wiff. 60% he estimates.
"pretty serious" says I.
"nope. all you need to do is take her out every winter and let the hull dry and she wont get any worse. I SURVEYED THIS BOAT ABOUT THREE YEARS AGO AND SHE IS NO DIFFERENT NOW TO THEN! I still have the pictures i took. and duly sent me copies with the report he made at that time.
i kept her for two winters took her out and even my untrained eye could see it was no worse. i did have the pics but lost them when puter crashed a few months ago.
Ok is the sea any different?
how many boats have sunk due you to osmosis?