Surveyor recommendations for Kent uk

[Phil168]

Hi all,

I am in the process of purchasing a boat in Sandwich, Kent. As the title states does anyone have any recommendations for surveyors in this area?

Thanks in advance. Phil

 

[Seastoke]

hi phil don't know of one but put a search for the same at the top and most of them travel

 

[Andy Bav]

hi phil don't know of one but put a search for the same at the top and most of them travel

+1. We live in Kent and had our boat surveyed in Lincoln by Paul Homer who lives in Berkshire...

 

[Ian MacAulay]

Nick Vass done mine and he was brilliant. well worth asking to see if he will travel

 

[maby]

My problem with surveyors is finding anyone that is actually willing to commit themselves. We were considering a reasonably new BenJenBav a few years ago and put down a deposit before commissioning a full survey. The report came back, drawing attention to a couple of issues that the surveyor had noticed. One of these had the potential to turn into a very expensive repair, so we decided to pull out of the purchase. The vendor objected, not wanting to return the deposit, so we went back to the surveyor to get a clear statement out of him - was the boat sound or not? He was only willing to make a statement along the lines of "There are indications of ..... but I think it will probably be alright." I pointed out to him that this was worthless to me - he had raised the possibility of a serious defect and got me worried, but was unwilling to either endorse or actively advise against the purchase. If he had done the former and it subsequently turned out that it needed major work, I would have had a case against his professional liability insurance; if he had done the latter, I would have had the ammunition to pull out of the sale and get my deposit back.

The whole thing got messy with threats of the Small Claims Court - eventually the vendor decided it was not worth his time and gave us the money back anyway.

 

[markc]

My problem with surveyors is finding anyone that is actually willing to commit themselves. We were considering a reasonably new BenJenBav a few years ago and put down a deposit before commissioning a full survey. The report came back, drawing attention to a couple of issues that the surveyor had noticed. One of these had the potential to turn into a very expensive repair, so we decided to pull out of the purchase. The vendor objected, not wanting to return the deposit, so we went back to the surveyor to get a clear statement out of him - was the boat sound or not? He was only willing to make a statement along the lines of "There are indications of ..... but I think it will probably be alright." I pointed out to him that this was worthless to me - he had raised the possibility of a serious defect and got me worried, but was unwilling to either endorse or actively advise against the purchase. If he had done the former and it subsequently turned out that it needed major work, I would have had a case against his professional liability insurance; if he had done the latter, I would have had the ammunition to pull out of the sale and get my deposit back.

The whole thing got messy with threats of the Small Claims Court - eventually the vendor decided it was not worth his time and gave us the money back anyway.

I find that surveyors' reports can be very vague and non-committal, for the reasons you state - they don't want a claim against their insurance. I think that's bonkers, but seems to be the norm! I think the best way round this is to shadow the surveyor on the day and get him to discuss concerns there and then - you'll then get an honest verbal appraisal on which to base your decision.

 

[rubberduck]

Try Ben Hugget, a very good surveyor (didnt miss a thing with our recent purchase) & a very good Volvo trained engineer, started with Boats.co.uk. Essex based but will travel (to Spain in our case)

pm me for his number.