Buying a boat in Holland

[Tranona]

Sorry to ask a question on an old thread, but I'm about to make an offer on a boat in Holland, & the offer will be 22000 euro's. I've been worried about who I pay the money to - it's advertised by a boatbuilder, but the posts about recommend getting a broker/agent involved to handle the money, ownership issues; seems sensible but 500 euro's is a fair chunk of the price. Would even the deposit be paid to the broker/agent?

You need to look at the contract to see what sort of payment method the vendor requires and assess what sort of security you have if you pay anything in advance of the transfer of title. If he is a boatbuilder selling by way of trade then there may be VAT involved and any payments you make to him may make you an unsecured creditor if they are made to his normal operating account. On the other hand you may have some protection under consumer law which would not apply if you are buying from a private individual, even through a broker.

So, make the offer, subject to survey and see what the contract says.

 

[ianc1200]

Thanks for the response. Having made an offer subject to contract should I then expect a contract to sign?

From previous posts in this thread should I be looking to appoint a broker in Holland to act/advise me apart from the surveyor which I'll get from previous recommendations on other similar threads?

 

[sailorman]

Thanks for the response. Having made an offer subject to contract should I then expect a contract to sign?

From previous posts in this thread should I be looking to appoint a broker in Holland to act/advise me apart from the surveyor which I'll get from previous recommendations on other similar threads?

Be very careful, especially buying a "stock" boat from a commercial dealer.
the Dutch contract once you have placed an offer only "allows" you to back out under very strict rules / clauses.
Be very clear what you are entering into.

 

[aluijten]

Sorry to ask a question on an old thread, but I'm about to make an offer on a boat in Holland, & the offer will be 22000 euro's. I've been worried about who I pay the money to - it's advertised by a boatbuilder, but the posts about recommend getting a broker/agent involved to handle the money, ownership issues; seems sensible but 500 euro's is a fair chunk of the price. Would even the deposit be paid to the broker/agent?

You've said the boat was offered by a boat builder and not a broker.
The point the previous poster made on VAT is a good one and needs to be sorted.
Similar to the UK brokers use an Escrow account to store the deposit. For this boat builder the situation may be different. The first thing you need to do is find out who owns the boat. It may be that the boat builder is selling on behalf of a customer of his business. In that case he is just a middle man and of no interest for this actual deal, although he may provide the text of the actual contract. In case the seller is a private person I would try to meet him/her in person to figure out a deal. After all the absolute amount is not huge in boating standards. So you could arrange for some clever way with Euro-Bank transfers that can go quite quickly these days.

If the boatbuilder is selling as a company the VAT thing may be an issue but could also be VAT-exempt if he bought the boat from a private person. Make sure the VAT status on the boat is clear though.

Bear in mind the boating business in Holland is quite bad these days so most sellers are quite happy if they manage to sell their boat. So they are likely to co-operate with you to get the deal done in a way acceptable for both parties.

Cheers,

Arno

 

[Tranona]

Thanks for the response. Having made an offer subject to contract should I then expect a contract to sign?

From previous posts in this thread should I be looking to appoint a broker in Holland to act/advise me apart from the surveyor which I'll get from previous recommendations on other similar threads?

Yes, there will be a contract which will (or should) say who is selling the boat and the process of survey, payment and transfer of title. As others have said if the "seller" is acting as broker the contract will be very similar to a UK one except that the right to reject following survey will be prescribed. If you are intending to get a survey then check with your insurance company that they will accept the survey for insurance purposes.

 

[Koeketiene]

Sorry to ask a question on an old thread, but I'm about to make an offer on a boat in Holland, & the offer will be 22000 euro's. I've been worried about who I pay the money to - it's advertised by a boatbuilder, but the posts about recommend getting a broker/agent involved to handle the money, ownership issues; seems sensible but 500 euro's is a fair chunk of the price. Would even the deposit be paid to the broker/agent?

We bought in Holland in 2006.

Couple of things you should know/ask:

- Is the yard willing to offer you a HISWA contract? And is he recognised by HISWA to do so?
- HISWA is the Dutch equivalent to the BMF.
- If he is, than going through a broker will not make any difference whatsoever. Except to your wallet.
- In Holland, get your own surveyor because the surveyor works for whoever pays him. Your surveyor will argue your corner with the broker/seller when it comes to adjusting the price should he find significant defects.
- We asked our UK insurer (GJW) which surveyors they worked with/recommended in Holland. They sent us a list and we picked one from the list. No problems afterwards.

- A word of caution though: Dutch contracts are 'stricter' that the UK ones. Once your offer has been accepted, you have bought the boat - unless your surveyor finds faults with the boat which would cost more than 10% of the purchase prce to rectify.

For more detailed info, feel free to PM me.

 

[ianc1200]

Thanks for the comments. The VAT paperwork is being provided, I'm getting a HISWA surveyor who will produce the report in English (my insurers requirement), and the contract should be sent by Friday; hopefully therefore all OK.

Now to arrange installation of a 2YM15......

IanC

 

[Chris_Robb]

We bought in Holland in 2006.

Couple of things you should know/ask:

- Is the yard willing to offer you a HISWA contract? And is he recognised by HISWA to do so?
- HISWA is the Dutch equivalent to the BMF.
- If he is, than going through a broker will not make any difference whatsoever. Except to your wallet.
- In Holland, get your own surveyor because the surveyor works for whoever pays him. Your surveyor will argue your corner with the broker/seller when it comes to adjusting the price should he find significant defects.
- We asked our UK insurer (GJW) which surveyors they worked with/recommended in Holland. They sent us a list and we picked one from the list. No problems afterwards.

- A word of caution though: Dutch contracts are 'stricter' that the UK ones. Once your offer has been accepted, you have bought the boat - unless your surveyor finds faults with the boat which would cost more than 10% of the purchase prce to rectify.

For more detailed info, feel free to PM me.

One point to note in a Dutch contract, is that it can include a list of faults. You will not get any reduction in costs after the survey on any items so mentioned. So for that matter, anything not mentioned (even if you have taken it into account in your offer) will have a cost reduction applied. It is your surveyor who plays an important role in this. The dutch contract is very good, in that it defines what happens in the "subject to survey" state of the deal, something at which the standard RYA contract is woefully bad.

 

[Tranona]

The dutch contract is very good, in that it defines what happens in the "subject to survey" state of the deal, something at which the standard RYA contract is woefully bad.

While this can be seen a plus point it can be restrictive. There is nothing to stop you agreeing limits in the model RYA contract - or indeed varying other terms, wheras the Dutch contract does not give that flexibility. Either way seems to work satisfactorily if both parties are clear about what they agree.