buying from europe quick question

[jon and michie]

Hi - just a quick question
if I was to buy a boat from a broker in Europe - is it basically the same as buying in the U.K? i.e subject to surveys etc etc
I have seen a boat in france and before making any journeys it would be nice to be armed with basic information.

thanks for any help/opinions

Jon and michie

 

[minkysailing]

Hi Jon & Michie,

Largely the sale and purchase process is the same as in UK but local and national differences do exist and between brokers in the same country. Only recently I was in South France surveying for a UK purchaser who found the purchase process much slower and more tedious. In particular the deposit that is paid against a signed contract in some countries is paid in part to the vendor and not held by the brokers. This can cause delays as can be tricky if the sale falls through. Don't be put off by buying abroad, but read the contract carefully.

Drop me a pm if you need further advice.

 

[Avalon]

Hi - just a quick question
if I was to buy a boat from a broker in Europe - is it basically the same as buying in the U.K? i.e subject to surveys etc etc
I have seen a boat in france and before making any journeys it would be nice to be armed with basic information.

thanks for any help/opinions

Jon and michie

I bought a boat from a broker in Spain last year. Essentially the procedure was the same as in the UK and in fact IIRC a standard RYA contract was used. The initial offer was subject to satisfactory survey and sea trial.

The only differences were paying in Euros rather than Pounds (I used HiFX), plus the need to remove the boat from the Spanish registry, and register on the SSR. The broker handled the (complicated) Spanish bid and I did the (easy) English bit.

I chose to fly out a UK surveyor rather than using a local one. I conducted the sea trial myself before finalising the deal.

The broker was very helpful throughout. Language was a bit of an issue but we managed to get by, mostly in French.

Although I had some misgivings at the outset it all went very smoothly.

The boat I bought was better than any I had seen in the UK, and cheaper.

 

[DAW]

In my experience in the SoF many French brokers use the Mediterranean Yacht Brokers Association standard agreement as a starting point for any sale agreement. This can always be amended by negotiation, but it's often just accepted in its unaltered form. Under this agreement, the sale remains conditional on the "sea trial" and "condition survey". However, don't assume that you can just walk away if you don't like the boat or if you find minor problems. You may be asked to show that the boat is not seaworthy, and more significantly not capable of being made seaworthy, if you have a determined (or desparate) seller.

Depending upon the age of the boat, it's worth insisting on sight of original and complete VAT documentation before signing any agreement, or at least making it a condition of sale. Normally if a boat is registered in the name of a private individual in France it has proven its VAT paid status at some point. Many French buyers accept registration as evidence of VAT paid status and are sloppy about keeping records. However, some of the more creative French and Italian leasing schemes are not accepted by HMRC

 

[jon and michie]

thank you so much for your help
Jon