Selling our boat or not!

[DAVIDO]

Had our boat advertised for 60k for a while nothing doing so reduced to 55k with advertising advice from a forumite.
Accepted an offer of 46k on the basis that whatever the survey revealed we would not reduce further, so they either went ahead or walked away.
Survey took place on Wednesday with no hull or structural issues reported, but as usual a long list of bits that would have to be done to make it a new boat!
Buyer came back this morning with a fresh offer of 40k /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
Should i tell him where to get off!!!

 

[jhr]

Personally, yes - but it depends how keen you are to get rid. Offer to knock off £500 as a gesture but make it clear that's as far as you are going to budge and if he expects any more, it's Good-night Vienna.

 

[solitaire11]

i suppose it all depends on how much you want to get rid of it?

40k does seem cheap for a 328, the purchaser knows the boats going to be a little dated due to age.

imho i'd tell em to clear off. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Tugw]

Just to put my oar in,if you accepted an offer of 46k with the undertsanding not to further reduce then id tell them where to get off,how low do they want to go? before you know it you will owe them money to take it away.No i would tell them the rough direction in which to travel.

Only MY opinion of course

 

[Alistairr]

Agree with all the rest, tell him where to go, and he may come back and agree to £46k again.

Good luck.

Al.

 

[Whitelighter]

What is the list? Is it stuff you can easily rectify?
Post it here or PM me and we can advise. It seems somepeople think that it is the norm to re-neg after a survey even if there is nothing wrong.

 

[DAVIDO]

My immediate reaction was to tell him what i thought but in fairness to the broker (did i just say that) he said lets try and get a copy of the survey first.
So in answer to your question Jez i dont know yet. I tried to get to the boat when it was being surveyed but sods law prevailed and i was in meetings all day!
Cheers
David

 

[Whitelighter]

Ok, well, I doubt that it needs 6k of work. The survey on whitelighter was very good, yet the buyer who was very green still rang me and said 'it is quite a long list, I think we need a seriuos discussion'.

His surveyor reported all sorts of things like the anchor winch didn't work - he forgot to turn it on!

 

[AdeOlly]

You've already reduced by 15%+ and said that's the bottom line. If not major structural or engine related issues IMHO he's taking the p*ss trying for another £6k off. If cosmetic stuff and other small bits he must've seen some/most of it before making his £46k offer anyway, unless he viewed your boat blindfold. If you really badly want to sell, maybe agree a small reduction as previously suggested.

 

[DAVIDO]

Its the principle that nobs me i accepted the offer on that basis and then they try and move the goal posts.
Thread drift i know but it reminds me of a story that a pal of mine tells.
He was selling cars in a small garage and some bloke who it turned out was just a tyre kicker wasting his time got on his nerves so much he told him to f off.
The bloke insisted on seeing his boss and recounted the tale where upon his boss replied Quote: Why havnt you then!!!
Those were the days /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[Nautorius]

So, He negotiated it from £55k to £46k. In my mind that was done on the condition as seen. If no structual defects then you should not reduce price more (def not £6k). Highlight that £46k is still a good price for a boat in that condition and that you will not renegotiate the price. However IU would also drop in that you will knock £500 off to help with the niggles.

If you advertised your 328 at £49500 I am sure you would get a queue of people!

Cheers

Paul /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[jimmy_the_builder]

Doesn't this all rather depend on the contract that the buyer has signed? Doesn't the standard contract define what can and cannot be renegotiated after survey - usually in terms of whether or not the identified defects are 'material'?

Cheers
Jimmy

 

[clivew05]

quite right - 55K to 46K is already a big drop, and would take care of any niggles in the first place - I doubt that the survey showed anything that was drastic probably just nicey things like this doesnt work or that bit of upholstery could be fixed etc .... when I bought my first boat it was also subject to survey - the seller agreed to fix everything that was "not" seaworthy but anything else would be as seen ....

Therefore I think that that is a fare assumption - if the survey shows something nasty that prevents the boat from being sea worthy then it should be fixed and dicsussed that this was already considered in the original 15% drop .... up to you obviuosly but I would not be preparred to drop another 6K for cosmetics .... walk away ....

 

[gjgm]

good point Jimmy. An offer on a boat is a contract. You could try turning the tables. Unless he has a very very good cause, he is contracted now to buy the boat at the agreed price. Question is, do you want to waste alot of time on this plonker.
You may as well hear his reasonings;maybe something terrible is wrong, in which case you might as well discover it at his expense.
What to do next depends on what you find out. My understanding is that he is legally only entitled to drop the price/withdraw from the now already agreed trade if the professional survey reveals issues that it is not reasonable to expect him to be aware of. So saying, it needs a new cover isnt good enough;that was obvious on initial viewing.
I d guess this guy is going to be alot of bloody work.. what hassle is he going to come up with next?

 

[ian38_39]

6K is a lot of work, could rebuild the outdrives for that, has he not given you any idea as to the work required?

 

[DAVIDO]

Just heard the broker now has a copy of the survey ill look at it in the morning.

 

[longjohnsilver]

I once bought a boat at a bargain price but it was what the vendor was asking. He later told me that someone made an offer about 10% below the asking price and he rejected it. Just a few minutes later the same chap came back and offered the asking price. The vendor asked why he had made an offer and the response was that he did it as a matter of principle.

The vendor then responded that as a matter of principle he wouldn't sell it to him at any price!!! My luck was in as I used the boat for a season or so and then sold it for almost 50% more than I paid for it.

Personally I'd tell the plonker to piss off. A deal's a deal. So what's then to stop him reducing his offer again just before paying you. Don't get caught up in his grubby little game.

 

[DAVIDO]

Thank you my sentiments exactly and thanks for all the other opinions.
Cheers
David

 

[Whitelighter]

Cheapest 328 on the market is £47,500 - but that hasn't benefitted from a re-trim etc etc.

All the others are over £50k. I have revised my advise, tell him to pay the £46k or fu<span style="color:black">ck </span>off.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Absolutely right and 'material' is the key word. Maybe I'm wrong but I always understood 'material' to mean substantial as in substantially affecting the value of the boat. Material might mean a serious engine or drive fault or widespread osmosis but something like a failed autopilot would not be considered material
IMHO, unless material faults have been found, the buyer cannot just walk away as he has signed a contract (or should have done if the broker is doing his job) and the vendor has a right to hold the buyer's deposit if he does walk away. On the other hand, unless the vendor has specifically told the buyer that there are certain faults with the boat prior to the offer, the vendor does have an obligation to put right any faults the surveyor does identify although, IMHO, this would'nt include items which could be classified as regular maintenance jobs
So Davido should request a copy of the survey or a list of the faults and agree to put them right at his expense or agree an appropriate reduction in the asking price which will likely be a lot less than £6k. If however, there has been an explicit agreement between buyer and vendor that the offer has been accepted on the understanding that no further reduction in price would be made whatever the survey came up with, then Davido has the right to tell the buyer to take a hike. But that's going to be difficult to prove if the offer was made subject to survey