Has my boat sold??

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davecw000

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Had a chap view my boat last saturday - Agreed on the price and he paid deposit... Said he'd contact me early this week re bank transfer details..... Heard nothing since - Have left voicemail and text asking him to give me a courtesy call or text to let me know where we are with the sale ...... Now not sure if the boats sold or not - I'm keen to offer on another boat I've seen - but cant as I would only do this once I was fully in the position to do so..... I just cant believe this ..... Problem is - the deposit was not a lot in terms of the full value of the boat - I guess if he's seen something else he could easily walk away - lessen learnt here - get a decent deposit - so walking away would be more difficult....... :mad:
 
Interesting. Not 100% sure where you stand legally, but I would be tempted to put a time limit on the transaction. If he defaults on the time, then he looses the depost. Doesn't really help you, but could move things on a bit quicker.
 
davecw000 said:
Had a chap view my boat last saturday - Agreed on the price and he paid deposit... Said he'd contact me early this week re bank transfer details..... Heard nothing since - Have left voicemail and text asking him to give me a courtesy call or text to let me know where we are with the sale ...... Now not sure if the boats sold or not - I'm keen to offer on another boat I've seen - but cant as I would only do this once I was fully in the position to do so..... I just cant believe this ..... Problem is - the deposit was not a lot in terms of the full value of the boat - I guess if he's seen something else he could easily walk away - lessen learnt here - get a decent deposit - so walking away would be more difficult....... :mad:
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Technically you have sold your boat and you can demand full payment , he doesnt have the option to abandon the sale and leave you with the deposit.

However in the real world it isnt so simple if he hasnt signed anything and you dant have his details.

If you didnt put a time limit on when the full payment is due then you have a bit of an issue in that you cant sell it to anyone else.

Did either of you sign anything or make any agreements on a hand shake ?
 
I would give the buyer some time first.

There might be any number of legitimate reasons for the delay, and if in the meantime you sell the boat "again" to someone else, it's all going to get very sticky very rapidly.
 
Thanks for the replies guys – yep could be many reasons for non contact – but it is a little strange – Tend to expect from others as I would do to them – so if I say I’ll do something I do it – or least let them know of any changes – we didn’t sign anything – guy seemed really keen shook hands he said he would contact me early this week for details so we could do the bank transfer – will give him to the end of the weekend then call or text giving him til Wednesday to contact me otherwise the sale will go south... I think this is all reasonable – after all the season is getting on and I would like time with a new boat before it eventually closes....I will refund his money if wishes to cancel the deal or contacts me after Wednesday as my boat is to vulnerable
 
DAKA said:
Technically you have sold your boat
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Steady on. "Sold" is a colloquial term that is fine normally but not in a case like this. OP most certainly hasn't transferred it and still owns it. He might have entered into a contract to transfer ownership of it, and the deposit strongly suggests he has, but from OP's post we have absolutely no idea about the terms of the contract. No-one can really help therefore, in terms of saying where he stands legally, other than providing guesses. It would be a start if OP told us what was agreed verbally
 
As long ago as 1982 I was selling a car for a lot of money, and the buyer paid a £200 deposit. With the balance to follow. A week later I rang him to ask if he still wanted the car and he said he did not and I could keep the deposit. It turned out later that with the paperwork which I gave him (showing balance to follow) he was able to go to a Bank and get a personal loan for the amount of the car which he then cashed and did a runner.
My thoughts on deposits are that unless its 10% of the value of what you are selling anything less "is a gesture of intent" over the years of selling cars I must have had over 50 people pay a "Trivial" deposit, never to return.
 
it seems you have a verbal sale contract which can be enforced but as JFM says details of what you agreed are needed before you can rely on a legal position.
Assuming thatyou being a decent chap just agreed the price and that you would take a deposit while he sorted his finances out and left it at that your problem is you didnt specify a time scale within which to sort it out.
Giving him back his deposit may not be enough if he could show some further loss if you breach the contract and sell it to someone else.
So its not too late to specify ,in writing if you can ,that "your discussions when you took the deposit suggested that he would pay the balance reasonably promptly and you did not agree to him taking weeks to pay the balance. As such you now require him to complete the purchase and implement his contract within a period of 14 days failing which you will hold him in material breach of the contract and will seek to resell the boat and hold him liable for any loss you suffer as a result of his breach."

that is the benefit of recognising a contract exists as you have rights too. It means you have a good argument for keeping the deposit to cover any loss you suffer. also you have to be reasonable so a further 14 days is probably about right
 
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