Clauses Needed in an Offer ?

[S/V Illusion]

Originally Posted by xxuxx

Find out and get a commitment from the seller as to what condition the vessel is in. After he commits to you the condition, its time to talk about the survey and what happens after the survey. For example if the seller represents the vessel in excellent or very good condition, this is the time to get him to commit to paying for repairs needed as a result of the survey. Since he has just stated to you the vessel is in such great condition, he won't have a problem committing to this as he probably believes it is. As we all know, a good marine surveyor will discover many things to be repaired or improved upon. If he, the seller, agrees verbally, put it in writing. Using this method will save you, the buyer, a lot of money and will get a lot of repairs done to the boat that later on you the buyer would have to pay for.

All of the above should be included in any P&S including statement of condition (which is subjective and usually meaningless), stipulation to review and withdraw offer pending the survey result, etc...

If a surveyor identifies things "to be improved upon", that first is beyond the scope of a survey (as anything can stand improvement), second, this is a betterment issue no seller should be responsible for doing ( if you want a better boat, go for it) and third and most importantly, this implies there is some kind of adversarial relationship which is not usually a helpful way to conduct any negotiation.

[Laidback]

A written agreement signed,witnessed and dated is a legal document. Even a verbal contract between 2 or more persons or entities and witnessed by a 3rd party is recognised as a legal contract. It is not necessary to involve a lawyer.

As the subject of this topic is 'What is required in an offer to purchase someone's boat.' It could be a simple written offer to buy the boat for "X" amount, SUBJECT to a satisfactory "condition and valuation" survey performed by Joe Meticulous Professional Surveyor of 123 Multihull Boulevard, Ft Lauderdale, Florida on the 15th June 2010. The offer signed and dated. Copy of the offer is signed by the vender and returned to the potential buyer.
The offer could be more simple :- Tyre Kicker walks up the Marina pontoon, sees Joe polishing his Beneteau ' Hey, I've been looking for one of those ! Will you take $2,000 ? Joe surprised, What ? come aboard, have a beer? Fosters ? OK if you must! Long story short, Joe settles on $1,900 and hands over boat's papers duly signed etccc ..

Whatever, the more complicated the agreement, The happier lawyers will be (not to forget the brokers)
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