Purchase Yacht Unseen

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

Why didn't you ask him to take some pictures right then and there? Yeah, sometimes it's hard to see fine detail but it gives you some idea. Also, the broker may not know how the pictures will turn out so he will be less likely to exaggerate the condition.

It was pre the good pics a cell phone does now. In the bright sun you really cant tell the gel condition anyway unless ye really knows what he's doing.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by Paul L

We "bought" site unseen an expensive boat. I don't see it as risky at all. I was not willing to spend the travel costs to inspect a boat that I had no idea if I could get the purchase price where I was interested. We got as many questions answered as we could. Many were essentially blown off by the less than helpful listing broker. We made our offers contingent on survey, buyers inspection and sea trial. Eventually we agreed on a price. At that point it was worth travelling for the buyers inspection. After that we setup the survey to happen while we were still present.
We could have backed out at this point if for any reason the buyer, us, did not accept the state of the boat. We also could have bailed on the survey or seatrial. No real extra risk and no travel costs on a boat that isn',t negotiable to an acceptable price.

Yeah, I don't call that buying it sight unseen. You inspected it before buying it. But yes, I've done that.

[maxingout]

I would not even purchase a dinghy sight unseen.

[Jolly Roger]

TopH has still not told us what money he’s talking about, and as others have stated, that’s highly relevant. Personally I wouldn’t do it for any money, or even buy a dinghy, (and I’m looking for one by the way), as Maxingout states.
I’ve sold houses sight unseen, but they require a legally binding owners disclosure, and a buyers agent inspects them first.
Even when you have a survey the surveyor is not responsible for faults he misses, and even with a simple boat these can become expensive. I did my own survey before my surveyor even saw the boat, and he missed two issues I found.
I would say the folks who have bought sight unseen, even if they took maximum precautions, were just lucky. How many more have been jipped and felt too stupid to report it. I wouldn’t have any sympathy at all.
Surely there are similar boats, even the same make, available to TopH in his area.
Hasn’t he heard the term, Caveat emptor.

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

Yeah, I don't call that buying it sight unseen. You inspected it before buying it.

Agreed. That's more like "sight delayed." If the offer is contingent on a personal inspection by the buyer, before the deal is completed, then it is not really "sight unseen." This is the ONLY way I would consider buying a boat that I could not personally view before the first offer was made. (But then, living in Florida, that's not really a problem for me!)

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by denverd0n

Agreed. That's more like "sight delayed." If the offer is contingent on a personal inspection by the buyer, before the deal is completed, then it is not really "sight unseen." This is the ONLY way I would consider buying a boat that I could not personally view before the first offer was made. (But then, living in Florida, that's not really a problem for me!)

So what contingencies would you have in a purchase contract that meets the "sight unseen" criteria? All purchase contracts have contingencies like a survey or qualifies for a loan or sea trial....any of these can be used to bail out of a signed deal even if you have personally inspected.

The boat I purchased "sight delayed" was located in Nova Scotia in the winter.

[vjm]

I think the focus is "sight unseen by the buyer". My contract had a contingency for a professional survey and a sea trial, but not for inspection by me. So when my boat arrived, that was the first time I had laid eyes on it.

[Hoosiersailor]

Seemed to work out ok for this couple... Sight Unseen | Monday Never

[accomplice]

I did purchase a previous boat sight unseen. If I were in similar circumstances I might do similar. The buyer and I agreed on a price, and the purchase was conditioned on a survey and sea trial. My first time seeing the boat was when I met the surveyor at the boat.

The survey did turn up a bunch of small stuff. As I recall, the seller paid for some needed repairs and I assumed responsibility for others.

If I had not liked what I saw on the boat, I could've backed out of the purchase -- I would have been out my travel expense and the cost of the surveyor, but got back 100% of my deposit. The advantage of having negotiated the price first was that I wanted to be there for the survey, but couldn't swing two trips -- one before an offer and one after -- also this way I didn't waste my time on a boat that seller and I couldn't agree on price. The seller seemed happy to work with me this way.

[haiqu]

I've done it twice via eBay auctions. Both times the vendor lied ruthlessly.

Good point is that neither was expensive and I'm still sailing them.

I might do it again if it was a long distance and the price was right.

[geoleo]

"Live Dangerously, enjoy life!" F.N.

[Capt Phil]

Buying a boat is not unlike selecting a wife... You pays your money and takes your chances! There are so many little things that can cause big problems in a boat(or wife) that I can't advise buying one without survey, sea trial in the type of waters you will be sailing, a complete walk/crawl through prior to survey and some professional advice on what it will cost to fix what you find wrong(and you will, trust me!).
It is best to do your personal inspection without the owner, broker or other interested party unless they are on your team. Good luck with your search... Phil