Making an Offer Question???

[Tony B]

I just about always have made offers with 10% down. Without money down, there is no reason for the broker and seller to wait on you.
Two boats ago I was living in south Tx. I saw a boat on yachtworld.com that sounded good. I called the broker and explained to him that I was 1200 miles away.
I asked to describe the boat as best as he could and he did. I then asked him if the owner would accept an offer of X dollars. If she did, I would get my deposit to the broker immediately via a credit card. I told him that I would not accept any counter offers because that amount was all that I had. The offer was pending visual inspection by me, the ability to get insurance, survey etc. This was a Friday morning. I told the broker that if the seller agreed I would be there bright and early Monday morning.
The broker called me back a few hours later and the seller agreed to my offer. I told the broker that I could give him my credit card no. for the deposit. He told me "Don't worry about it". He would not show the boat or accept offers until Monday morning.
Anyway, we got there and accepted the boat with the aforementioned conditions.
Gave the deposit and we were on our way back to Tx. from Florida and scheduled a survey, etc. We ended up with that boat a month later.
The moral of the story is that the broker knew I was serious. He then felt confident giving the offer to the seller.
Normally, when you put money down, the seller knows you are serious and knows that he ought to give your low bid some serious thought. he also knows when you are gone you wont be back. I don't generally bargain over the phone when I'm selling something. Otherwise you don't know if people are playing with you. Money talks and BS walks. If you are going to make a serious offer, then have the broker present it telling the seller "I got the money in my office".

[scoobert]

Originally Posted by Tony B

Gave the deposit and we were on our way back to Tx. from Florida and scheduled a survey, etc. We ended up with that boat a month later.

not a good move on your part.
when you give a deposit, no matter the size on a sales agreement, they cannot sell it on you.
do you think if the next caller offered 10% more he would not have taken it?

when i bought this boat, i made sure to paypal the owner $400, even thou he said he needed no deposit. its just good business, even if it is $1

[Ocean Girl]

Once offer is accepted and deposit given, the boat is secure, they cannot sell to anyone else until you break contract. At least, that's how we do it in Texas.

[GalaxyGirl]

Thanks. Good info. Unlike home purchase, seems most anything goes. I'll keep that in mind.

I spoke to the broker and told him that I was serious, but very uncomfortable wiring a bunch of cash on a boat that I haven't seen yet. He understood. We worked it out. He will present my lowball offer, and if by some crazy miracle, the seller accepts, then I can put the deposit with the title company when I arrive and decide that I like it.

Thanks for the help!!!

[Ocean Girl]

Good luck GalaxyGirl, hope this is the one

[sailpower]

Originally Posted by Cap Erict3

You cannot make an informed offer until after a survey.

A lot of folks are fulfilling a dream when they buy a boat. The purchase is not a dream. It is a business deal.

Why on earth would you pay to survey a boat before you had an iron clad contract protecting you from the seller selling to someone else while you are spending your money?

[Tony B]

Originally Posted by Ocean Girl

Good luck GalaxyGirl, hope this is the one

Yes, GOOD LUCK. If all don't work out, then it was not meant to be.
If all goes fairly well. I don't think I would circumvent the broker by putting money with the title company. That seems to complicate matters. generally, the broker puts everything in escrow until the closing. The only thing he takes from escrow are some of the closing fees.
Too bad you don't tryst the broker. Let's assume the survey goes not so great and you want out. It will probably be a lot quicker to get your money back from the brokers escrow account than a larger title company.
The title company might have spent some of your money on researching the boat before you even know if the survey is good. keep in mind that the survey is part of the acceptance process. The title company would be putting the cart before the horse.

Anyway, just stuff to think about.

Best of luck in no matter what the outcome.

[Tony B]

Originally Posted by Dennis.G

.....Almost no case where you would legally loose deposit. Purchase is subject to inspection, survey, sea trial, financing etc. Lots of outs for a buyer. In my talking to broker they said they almost never see deposit be lost to seller if deal falls through (not to say never happens).
Usually broker will just stick deposit check in drawer until at least inspection, and then put into escrow after both parties agree on price etc. and looks like deal is going to happen.

I believe you are right on target. Sometimes though, they do actually put it in an account but if the broker has any doubts about the survey he will just put your check in a drawer. One boat I looked at before my last purchase was rejected by the surveyor's recommendation. The broker actually did put it in an account. Two days later, they gave me a check from their account.

[Ocean Girl]

Originally Posted by Tony B

Yes, GOOD LUCK. If all don't work out, then it was not meant to be.
If all goes fairly well. I don't think I would circumvent the broker by putting money with the title company. That seems to complicate matters. generally, the broker puts everything in escrow until the closing. The only thing he takes from escrow are some of the closing fees.
Too bad you don't tryst the broker. Let's assume the survey goes not so great and you want out. It will probably be a lot quicker to get your money back from the brokers escrow account than a larger title company.
The title company might have spent some of your money on researching the boat before you even know if the survey is good. keep in mind that the survey is part of the acceptance process. The title company would be putting the cart before the horse.

Anyway, just stuff to think about.

Best of luck in no matter what the outcome.

+1 there is a simple process already in place, dont know why this broker is heading off the normal beaten path.

[meme]

Originally Posted by Ocean Girl

+1 there is a simple process already in place, dont know why this broker is heading off the normal beaten path.

In defense of the broker here, it is an unusually lowball offer on a relatively
new boat, so I am thinking he, somewhat sticking his neck out to present it at all, just wanted to make the buyer/offer stronger looking.

Nothin wrong with that, specially if it works

At any rate, many brokers won't even reply to, let alone present a lowball
on a relatively new boat.

I don't think he is pulling anything, but we always err on the side of caution, as it is, the guy is being very affable in working with us.

Anyway, nothing ventured, nothing gained!

Thanks for all the support!

[Tony B]

Just as a side note, rarely does a survey pass with flying colors. Usually the broker is there throughout the total survey which usually includes a sea trial which is the trip to the yard for the haul-out and back again. Most brokers are well informed about boats in general. When the surveyor gets done finding problems I relay this to the broker and the 3 of us (me, the broker and the surveyor) get together and discuss the go-no go situation. Since the broker is there to verify anything the surveyor says, he is better armed to go back to the seller and renegotiate the sale price.
This happens almost all of the time. The surveyor will be instrumental, via the broker, in getting the price reduced to cover most, if not all of the problem items. From a buyers point of view, you will probably get many times the cost of the survey back in the form of a reduced sale price.
I had one time when the surveyor called the survey off when only 12 minutes into the survey. He said that he didn't know what my budget was and didn't care. By going item by item, he explained that the cost to get the boat up to par would be way more than it would ever be worth.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by sailpower

Why on earth would you pay to survey a boat before you had an iron clad contract protecting you from the seller selling to someone else while you are spending your money?

Yeah, Frankly I've never heard of it before... but as I said earlier.. anything goes!
There's also another advantage to an accepted offer prior to survey, you negotiate hard and get the best price, then the survey comes up with items that need fixed and often you get another big discount from the negotiated price. With most contracts you can easily walk away until you buy off on "inspection".

[Tony B]

Originally Posted by meme

..... At any rate, many brokers won't even reply to, let alone present a lowball
on a relatively new boat. ....!

I am not a broker so I am not speaking from solid knowledge, just from what I think I know.

A broker is obligated by law to present all offers no matter how ridiculous.
It's the law....I think.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by meme

In defense of the broker here, it is an unusually lowball offer on a relatively
new boat, so I am thinking he, somewhat sticking his neck out to present it at all, just wanted to make the buyer/offer stronger looking.

Nothin wrong with that, specially if it works

At any rate, many brokers won't even reply to, let alone present a lowball
on a relatively new boat.

I don't think he is pulling anything, but we always err on the side of caution, as it is, the guy is being very affable in working with us.

Anyway, nothing ventured, nothing gained!

Thanks for all the support!

Excellent point, each deal is different. Everything changes if it's a boat that is "hot" on the market or not that old etc. Or something other than another old cruising boat for sale. Basically , if a broker doesnt get some "assurance of intent" then you can make an offer and then when accepted just say, "oh I changed my mind". He loses face with the seller. He doesnt have to present anything to the seller if not in writing.
People back out all the time. If I sell something on Craig's list, someone may offer a lowball number when they come to look... i always say to them "Cash in hand it right now?" or something like that. But even on a $350k boat I've never put more than $5k down to firm the offer.

[GalaxyGirl]

Originally Posted by Tony B

I am not a broker so I am not speaking from solid knowledge, just from what I think I know.

A broker is obligated by law to present all offers no matter how ridiculous.
It's the law....I think.

You are right, the broker must present all offers. But, the offer needs to be on paper to present.

My intention was to just do a verbal, maybe I'll get lucky, kind of offer. The broker suggested that we put it on paper. I agreed.