In Escrow on Lavezzi 40and about to cancel. HELP!!

[Cotemar]

Originally Posted by spinnerbug

@Cotemar - LOL, I'm trying super hard to be objective. How many times do you think we should expect to go through this process? We raised the buy price from $150k to $200k hoping to find better quality. This boat seems reasonable taken care of but then here comes the sail drives falling apart and a broker who wants to hog the whole deal and won't work to make it work. It really reflects poorly on this whole industry... IMO.

But then, I think maybe I'm being unreasonable?

We are not ones for being land lubbers, but with that boat I would rip up that offer kneel down and KISS the ground I walk on.

Never rush a boat purchase. The right one will find you.

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[spinnerbug]

@donradcliffe - wow, thanks for the breakdown. You're at about $3k if I repair the delayed maintenance issues myself and you're spot on with the yard cost. You think I should expect to have to repair everything the owner decided to neglect and not take in to account what the actual repair costs are? I value my time. I'm really trying to set my expectations for the next one. After we spend $160k we literally would have to spend another $3k to paint the bottom. I understand this is a maintenance issue but is it really reasonable to expect that it should be ours when we don't even own the boat yet? My goal is to try and ascertain as to what point we draw the line. Then, when we sell, do we say " hey, you're buying the boat. Just fix it. It's a boat and it's going to be broken and you better get used to fixing it". I think that's the thing that is irking me about this process. It also is a little disconcerting that the owner seems to not care that his sail drives are full of sea water. The broker says " it's not big deal " and the surveyor says " walk away, it's broken ". Don't we have to trust a surveyor in this instance?

[spinnerbug]

@Cotemar - I guess we're kissing the ground and lubing land for much more time. Thanks for the encouragement

[spinnerbug]

@Scott Berg - thanks. It's pretty deceiving. The survey says the boat has been reasonably maintained with the exception of the list of items not maintained. The boat looks nice enough but apparently it's "the book's cover ". Super appreciate you taking the time to weigh in.

[Scott Berg]

Originally Posted by spinnerbug

@Scott Berg - thanks. It's pretty deceiving. The survey says the boat has been reasonably maintained with the exception of the list of items not maintained. The boat looks nice enough but apparently it's "the book's cover ". Super appreciate you taking the time to weigh in.

An earlier post worked out the items with reasonable cost estimates. My point is that too many issues were let go. I'm guessing more are that the survey didn't identify (they can't find everything). There are just too many boats on the market to deal with a broker who isn't reasonable on a boat that, at least to me, shows a lack of attention to both detail and a few possibly major issues.

[mogulskibum]

Originally Posted by donradcliffe

The red comments are how I would evaluate the survey issues. I could tell you in 5 minutes whether the bulkhead and the doors are major or minor problems. If you want someone else to fix these issues you could triple the costs involved, and you will not learn how your boat works.

This post was pretty spot on. I didn't see much that necessarily warrants running away - but some stuff could:

The doors not closing and the cracked bulkhead could be evidence of major problems - or they could be minor and easily repaired. In your position, I would be trying to find a good naval architect, or boat builder, or someone with a lot of experience fixing/evaluating structural problems. I know who I would ask here, but that doesn't help you there.

If you can't get someone you really feel comfortable with to evaluate the potential structural issues those problems might be evidence of - I would walk away. Maybe ask for an extension on the escrow time period to get this evaluated? If they won't grant it, then walk.

The water in the sail drive (especially) and several of the other issues are evidence of very poor maintenance. You'll be dealing with follow-on issues from this for a while. None of the other stuff is necessarily deal breaker, but I'd probably double my re-fit budget, and then see if the overall cost (including re-fit) are in line with the market. If they're not in line, and the seller won't budge on price - walk.

Unless you have seriously fallen in love with the boat - then it's ok for emotions to override the deferred maintenance stuff. It's not ok for emotions to override an unknown potential structural issue - you've got to get that sorted out before you even think about proceeding.

[CarlF]

I'm with the consensus that you should walk away but for a slightly different reason. Bad PO.

The water in the saildrives is evidence that his boat hasn't been loved (at least for the last few years). No loving owner would not reguarly check this oil as it is a frequent problem area and important to fix quickly.

Large boats are very complex machines that go down hill rapidly if not loved and cared for. if you buy this boat you are likely to find much more wrong. Surveys never find everything. In my experience, only about 50% of the issues come up in surveys. It's not the surveyor's fault. There's only so much you can do in a 3-4 hour survey.

Find a boat with a loving PO. It's worth many thousands of dollars on the purchase price.

[Newportyachty]

Seems like you are getting a decent deal when you look at the comp's. The repairs seem minor, but I would have the bulkhead looked at. A Fountaine Pajot is a well built boat. You can always cough up more money to have one in better condition.
I bought a Swan 57 for $190k, but I knew it would need $ thrown at it...which turned out to be $135k...could have bought a good one for $380k, but I like doing things my way...

[wkstar]

OMG, Run, Run There is Always better, A week after you clear your head. Even if you lose a few dollars today. You will find a better boat at the right price with less headaches

[Pete7]

So the owner has motored around for 13 years and carried out minimal if any maintenance. Not a boat I would want to own unless it came really cheap and I was prepared to invest time and money to sort it, but that may take the shine of moving straight on board.

There is a tipping point at 10-12 years after which yachts really need some real maintenance. Owners able to afford a new yacht of this size may often choose to do so rather than spend money on the existing yacht.

How many other buyers are currently looking to buy a yacht of this size in this price bracket at the moment and who after a survey would buy this boat? Walk away and look elsewhere. If this boat is for you something will happen down the road for a greatly reduced price.

Pete

[Sailmonkey]

Two saildrives full of water?

How long have they been this way?

What is the cost of a new pair of saildrives installed?

Cracked bulkhead? Why?

Doors won't close....related to the fracked bulkhead?

[CS Cruiser]

Originally Posted by Cotemar

Run, Run, Run. Do not walk, Run. Do not look back. Just keep running.........

Exactly my feelings

[spinnerbug]

@Scott Berg, exactly our thoughts. They won't budge so we walked. Apparently the seller and broker think they're going to find someone who wants sail drives that are full of water.

[spinnerbug]

@Sailmonkey - All questions that will probably never be answered by the seller.

[spinnerbug]

@Newportyachty - That's what we thought. If the seller would have come back and agreed to flush the sail drives and the broker would have worked with us, we'd be packing our stuff to move aboard.