Buying in Holland

[Aries]

We cannot find what we are looking for in the UK, but there are several in the Netherlands. We are going over on Sunday to have a look.
Does anyone who has bought a boat from there have any advice?
What contract did you use?
How did you arrange the survey? Us a UK surveyor or a local one (there is a YBDSA one in northen France)?
Paperwork: Was it all OK?
Any other advice to offer?

Thanks

 

[jonjo]

You need to understand the Dutch HISWA sales process. Basically a firm price is agreed as part of the offer then if the survey identifies discrepancies/faults with the printed boat particulars, the price remains the same and the owner has to put them right. For this reason Dutch boat inventories tend not to list every old spare rotten sail the owner has in the attic.

If a yacht is not for sale under the HISW scheme it could mean it is viewed as a project boat because there would be too many faults to handle under a HISWA contract.

I used a UK based surveyor and the extra day of travel time did not inflate the cost of the survey as much as I expected.

 

[Aeolus]

I bought my boat in Holland 2 years ago. The boat was with a broker and I used a surveyor that he recommended to me. Both were registered with HISWA which seems to be the main boating organisation there. The contract was a standard HISWA contract, and the survey also followed a prescribed HISWA pro-forma. The contract was in dutch, altho the broker translated it for me, the survey report was in English - important as you'll need it for UK insurance. I had a query about the contract and was able to speak to someone in the HISWA legal department - easy to contact and very helpful. Standard terms seemed to be 10% deposit (held by broker), both parties have right to withdraw if survey identifies faults costing more than 10%, otherwise vendor has to remedy faults or agree a reduction in price.

There wasn't any documentation proving VAT paid, but the vendor was able to obtain a 'deemed paid' certificate from the Dutch excise.

My boat wasn't registered in Holland previously (apparently like in the UK, it isn't mandatory). So, while she was still in Holland, I SSR registered the boat, renamed her, changed the stickers on the hull, put up a red ensign and sailed her back to the UK.

My impression was that the dutch tend to look after their boats better than some UK owners, at least at the cheap end of the market (huge generalisation I know), and boats seem to sell for less, so an excellent place to buy. I don't think the broker is still in business but the surveyor is - he was very helpful, explained all his findings, produced some additonal information for my insurance company when requested (at no extra charge). PM me if you'd like his contact details - he's based in Enkhuizen.

 

[asj1]

Bought mine in Holland via a broker three years ago.
I didn't have a survey, but having viewed this model a few times felt I knew what I was looking for and it was much cheaper than in the UK.
Boat was actually registered in Belgium to a Belgian!
Basically I just got an invoice from the broker, paid via my bank and turned up a couple of weeks later to sail her back.
Little to prove VAT paid, but the first owner was German and the boat was first in use prior to a key date (1985??) an din any case in my view Customs in any port are really looking for the very new £250k boat not the old £30k boat -- but I could be proved wrong!

Go for it if you are saving enough money.

 

[ITH]

We have just bought a 1987 Nauticat 35 from a Dutch broker, based in Breskens.

Surveyor recommended by broker also Dutch; VRT registered valuer and an NVEP member (Dutch Ass'n of Yacht Surveyors - equivalent to the YBDSA).

Contract similar in many ways to the RYA's, including 'get out' clause re any substantive defects found by survey, price negotiation for survey defects.

Boat owner was German, and all documentation produced in English, including survey (but contract subject to Dutch law).

Surveyor was very thorough, good english, and based near Rotterdam. Thanks to his diligence, I have more than recovered the survey fee (€700) by way of price reduction.

PM me if you want contact details or copy of contract.

 

[nickf]

July issue of Sailing Today has an a lengthy article on buying a used boat in Holland.

 

[Koeketiene]

Bought Guapa in Holland last year - pretty painless (HISWA contract).

Bill of Sale (in English) and proof of VAT exempt provided.
Surveyor was Dutch (recommended by my UK insurance - GJW) - survey report in English.

Should I ever buy another boat, I'll be looking in Holland from the start.
More realistic prices & boats are generally they are in a far better condition.

 

[Aries]

Well, we have been and we have bought. We are now the proud owners of a Dufour 32 Classic, Orion.
The process was very easy. The broker showed us the boat and left us to it for 2.5 hours! I knew what we were looking at as I had looked at a number of D32 Classics in the UK previously. I had a few queries which were quickly answered through the broker with the owner, so we made an offer which was accepted straight away.
The broker arranged a survey with a HISWA registered surveyor including a lift, for the following day. €710 for survey and €170 for the lift and hold. There were just a couple of minor problems which it was agreed that the broker would get corrected.
As others have said, the contract is subject to Dutch Law, but as HISWA is monitored by the Dutch Government and their contract conditions are excellent compared to a UK Contract, I am more than satisfied.

I would certainly suggest looking there for a boat. I found the www.botenbank.nl site very useful to see what else was available there.

As others have commented, their boats seem to be in good condition and the prices are much lower than the equivalent in the UK. Have a look at the above web site to see. Use €1.45 to £ as rough exchange rate.

We are going over in a week or so to take our gear out and will probably stay there for a month or so, before bringing the boat back to UK. We already have plenty of volunteers as crew!

As ever, thanks to those who replied.