Reclaiming Deposit Due to Unsatisfactory Survey

camper

camper

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I intend to reclaim a 10 % deposit I paid to a broker when I made made an offer of £19000 for a 25' motor cruiser which I intended to buy. There was no written contract made but it was verbally agreed that the offer would be subject to a satisfactory survey.

How much of my deposit should I be able to recover?
 
As you now realise this should have been a written agreement. However if the survey was not good you should be able to claim 100% back, or negotiate for the defects to be put right or a suitable reduction in price to cover putting them right.

But you will need to speak to whoever has your money, hopefully they will be reasonable. Otherwise it could be unpleasant and involve legals.

Was it a private sale or through a brokerage?
 
A verbal contract is legally binding (just a lot more difficult to prove) however I think you are expecting a problem where there (hopefully) isn't one.
Ask for it all back (don't compromise at this stage!) and let us all know on this forum, what happens and the name of the broker. Also letting him know what you are going to do can really help. A great bit of free publicity for him if he treats you well.
best of luck
 
In that case you should ask for (and expect) to get it all back. I'd phone/visit him, give the reasons and back it up in writing. Hopefully shouldn't be a problem.

Is this re the Chriscraft?
 
All of it except reasonable costs.

You may have to pay for the liftout & associated time etc but the rest you should recieve back.

We had the unfortunate experience of a bad survey & withdrew from a sale, you have to way up what you will lose against what the surveyor has saved you from & how much it will be to put right.
You can however try & recoup some cost by spliting the cost of your survey for a copy of the report.

In our case the vendor did drop the asking price over 50% if we took it on but in truth we hadn't got the time to take on what at first looked a cosmeticaly tired boat that turned out to need serious repairs.

We lost our survey fee's for both condition survey & engine surveys, plus the liftout & time the broker spent arrangeing the transport out to the boat & accompanied viewings etc but it was a hard deccision to walk away, in hindsight we are glad we did.

We made sure what to look for on the next boat, have a search on the internet for DIY surveying tips, the next boat you will have a few more pointers to look out for, if it passes yourown survey then proceed to the next stage, if not move on.

From your post it sounds as though you have already made up your mind, stick with your gut instinct, a better one will soon turn up, use your current survey as a template as you inspect another boat.

Wish you well in your search
 
[ QUOTE ]
Yes, it is regarding the Chris Craft. The majority of the survey faults are hull cracking, topsides crazing and cracking.

[/ QUOTE ]

Not good. Enterprise gives excellent advice, get your deposit back and keep on looking. Lots of choice and some great boats in good condition out there.

Let us know what you want, there will be someone on here who can point you in the right direction.
 
You should get it all back (if their are real faults, rather than a bit of nitpicking - in this case sounds like their are).

Obviously you pay for all costs involved in lift out and back.

If the Broker has a website, may have some terms & conditions online for you to look at.

Written contract is better than verbal - but both still a contract.

FWIW, I don't see why 10% is required as a deposit. £500 deposit or simply paying the lift out and in and a surveyor says to me "serious" buyer. and with a reasonable time limit (2/4 weeks) to concentrate minds. But, as always, opinions do vary.....
 
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Yes, it is regarding the Chris Craft. The majority of the survey faults are hull cracking, topsides crazing and cracking.

[/ QUOTE ]

Not good. Enterprise gives excellent advice, get your deposit back and keep on looking. Lots of choice and some great boats in good condition out there.

Let us know what you want, there will be someone on here who can point you in the right direction.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm looking for a tidy, 4 berth, max 25' LOA motor cruiser.
 
Agree with the consensus.... you should get this all back, except for the costs of your surveyor (you appointed him) and any lifts etc. (you have instructed) This happened to me on a Rodman, didnt even get to the lift, I pulled the plug when the surveyor told me what he had found! The Broker was true to his word and immediately refunded the full amount - no argument.
 
Do we assume that there was something very wrong revealed by the survey?

If so then you are intitled to all your deposit back. If you paid for the lift and survey then this is at your expense. Very strange the broker did not write up a sales and purchase agreement which protects both parties and indeed tells you what your rights are.

Please tell me you got a receipt for the deposit ?
 
[ QUOTE ]
Do we assume that there was something very wrong revealed by the survey?

[/ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]
Yes, it is regarding the Chris Craft. The majority of the survey faults are hull cracking, topsides crazing and cracking.

[/ QUOTE ]
 
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