Survey: Who Should Pay ?

[Bash]

I'm not sure why we should expect anyone irrational enough to have purchased a boat to suddenly become rational in the process of selling that boat.

Back to the original question: the buyer pays for the survey, unless of course no survey takes place, in which case the buyer pays for the survey over and over and over and....

[boatless 4 now]

I would love to know who came up with the "buyer pays for a survey" rule. If I really wanted to sell a boat ( listen up brokers) than I would have a survey done and show it to all prospective buyers. I think it is completly unresonable to ask someone to haul " your" boat, have it power washed, checked for defects, and than put "your" boat back in the water, cleaned,with a detailed report of what "you" need to fix and , oh yeah, PAY for the privilege of doing that for "you". That is nuts. It is the same as going to a car dealership, paying for the gas, carfax, salesmans time, and wear and tear on the car for the test drive, just so you can make an offer and pay for the car. Brokers and owners need to wake up and be proactive if they want to sell a boat, sack up and tell the boat owners that to have a survey in hand will set your boat apart from the rest and shows that you are serious about selling

[FrankZ]

I wouldn't use a seller's survey as a basis of buying a boat. There is too much potential for a conflict of interest.

If the seller has one and wishes to share is fine, but I want my own guy doing work for me. It would also be interesting to see the differences.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by FrankZ

I wouldn't use a seller's survey as a basis of buying a boat. There is too much potential for a conflict of interest.

If the seller has one and wishes to share is fine, but I want my own guy doing work for me. It would also be interesting to see the differences.

Absolutely. I used to be a broker and it was well known in the industry that there were certain brokers that always recommended a certain surveyor who would "overlook" a lot of minor but potentially costly details.

Get your own surveyor and think very carefully about any recommended by the seller unless you really, really trust them.

[jkleins]

Originally Posted by boatless 4 now

I would love to know who came up with the "buyer pays for a survey" rule. If I really wanted to sell a boat ( listen up brokers) than I would have a survey done and show it to all prospective buyers. I think it is completly unresonable to ask someone to haul " your" boat, have it power washed, checked for defects, and than put "your" boat back in the water, cleaned,with a detailed report of what "you" need to fix and , oh yeah, PAY for the privilege of doing that for "you". That is nuts. It is the same as going to a car dealership, paying for the gas, carfax, salesmans time, and wear and tear on the car for the test drive, just so you can make an offer and pay for the car. Brokers and owners need to wake up and be proactive if they want to sell a boat, sack up and tell the boat owners that to have a survey in hand will set your boat apart from the rest and shows that you are serious about selling

But that is not what happens. You first agree to buy the boat. People often forget that this step occurs first. Only after you have a signed agreement to purchase the boat that has defined criteria for backing out does the buyer (to insure he/she really got what they agreed to buy) do a survey. A survey is not really even part of the purchase. The purchase can happen without a survey even being done. It is solely insurance for the buyer to assure they got what they think they are getting since most boats cannot be seen completely until they are out of the water and inspected.
It is more like going to buy a car from a used car dealer and then driving the car to another mechanic for a second opinion and then still being able to back out of the deal if you don't like what the mechanic tells you. Put that way it sounds like a pretty good deal.

Jim

[Hannah on 'Rita T']

And, even an agreed to price is negotiable on the basis of what the survey shows. The buyer agreed to buy a boat as it appeared; if it needs critical work, the seller can do the work or reduce the price appropriately.

[Capt Phil]

I'm with Mimsy and Skipjack... have a signed agreement for sale, with contingencies like sea trial and survey BOTH acceptable to the buyer, forget his hotel and bar bill and any other wierd demands he has. If he doesn't agree in writing, save yourself the airfare, survey costs and agro. The guy sounds like he is just fishing the market on the off chance someone with more $ than brains happens along without much interest in doing a deal. Start out offering about 60% of his asking price.... Saucy is far more compassionate than I! good luck Capt Phil

[capnorv]

Bought my boat without survey or sea trial. Survey is not needed for insurance, at least liability and USAA's underwriter doesn't require a survey if the vessels worth is in their database. fyi, ours wasn't.

[lorenzo b]

This is why we have agents that smooth out all these irrational quirks when buying and selling houses and boats. Insist on using one. They will make sure everything is done properly and everyone is happy.

[tager]

FSBO is fine and it doesn't skim the cream. What you need is legal writing, and signatures, not a bunch of buffoons to keep an eye on while trying to do important business.

[David_Old_Jersey]

No one "should".

Every last bit of a deal is down to each party to decide.


In OP's circumstances the answer is easy. and mentioned a few times already ...........don't bother getting involved.

[Don1500]

Originally Posted by doug86

Wait a minute.... you wanted our opinion on whether you can take this guy to court for the expense of inspecting his boat, and now you admit that you are actually coming to "tour" the east coast to inspect a number of different boats?

Yes I wanted the opinion, but not that anything had happened yet. And it won't if it goes as planned. But part of the trip will be directly related to going to this spot, not now on my list and over 1000 miles away from anywhere I was planning to go. As of today the nearest I was planning on going to the east coast is Houston/Kemah. The bulk of the expenses I would incurr are directly related to that boat. I would not have tried to get anything for the complete trip, I was trying to keep the question simple.

What the question really was "If I spend a money to go look at a boat, have a survey and sea trials done, spend a few days traveling to and from the area, should the seller have the right to refuse to sell because I am "Not Worthy" of the boat?". That question has been answered; "Get a signed agreement that the seller will sell before spending money on the boat." Next part, "Should the buyer pay for the sellers hotel while the boat is out of the water for the survey?" Quick answer, "NO". I did not and have not tried to get anything I was not due.

From now on I am going to have a lawyer write my questions here.

[Jolly Roger]

Don. You had some perfectly sound replies to your initial post, even a quasi legal opinion. I read the thread, even though it was pretty oblivious to me how anyone with half a knowledge about buying boats should conduct themselves with this rather silly seller—that is, until you promptly changed the parameters. You should be thanking the respondents, not getting niggled with people who spent time and thought to your problem.

[Don1500]

Originally Posted by Jolly Roger

Don. You had some perfectly sound replies to your initial post, even a quasi legal opinion. I read the thread, even though it was pretty oblivious to me how anyone with half a knowledge about buying boats should conduct themselves with this rather silly seller—that is, until you promptly changed the parameters. You should be thanking the respondents, not getting niggled with people who spent time and thought to your problem.

Yes, I got some good answers, I thank everyone for them. I had never heard of someone paying for the hotel of the seller during any sale, for any reason. I also had believed that if a person put a boat up for sale and someone spent time and money based on the sellers express desire to sell, the the seller must sell. Where I came from, how much time, that is not too much the point. I am sorry if you think I was tring to "put something over" on you, it was not my intent. The basic parameters were always the same. And the answers were on the mark, get a signed statement before spending the money. Does this change if I go from Washington D.C to Baltimore instead of from San Diago to Boston? No, the question, and answer is still the same.

In any event, I will not be making a special trip to see this boat. If I am in the area, and I am still looking, and it is still for sale, I might take a look.

[Don1500]

Originally Posted by boatless 4 now

I would love to know who came up with the "buyer pays for a survey" rule. If I really wanted to sell a boat ( listen up brokers) than I would have a survey done and show it to all prospective buyers. I think it is completly unresonable to ask someone to haul " your" boat, have it power washed, checked for defects, and than put "your" boat back in the water, cleaned,with a detailed report of what "you" need to fix and , oh yeah, PAY for the privilege of doing that for "you". That is nuts. It is the same as going to a car dealership, paying for the gas, carfax, salesmans time, and wear and tear on the car for the test drive, just so you can make an offer and pay for the car. Brokers and owners need to wake up and be proactive if they want to sell a boat, sack up and tell the boat owners that to have a survey in hand will set your boat apart from the rest and shows that you are serious about selling

When you buy a house, wouldn't you have an engineer inspect it? And the buyer pays for that. I have no problem protecting myself by paying for a survey conducted by a professional that has no connection to the seller.