Reasonable to ask for a prior survey?

[Cheechako]

Sure, just explain how far away you are and ask. Even an older one may tell you something.

[Offshore1960]

Perfectly reasonable to ask for a prior survey. If a thorough condition and valuation survey was done for the current owners insurance company it could tell you quite a bit about the boat.

Good to read through it well before hand and then note what the surveyors recommendations were at the time of the survey. Then check to see if they had been complied with or rectified afterwards.

A client of mine did this about a year ago for a boat they were interested in. The previous survey had noted some items, including keel boats that needed attention. None of the recommendations from the previous survey had been complied with. When I surveyed the boat I discovered what amounted to a progression over time of what the previous surveyor had identified as items to be addressed. Everything was repairable but at a cost in material and labor. My client ended up purchasing the boat at a reduced price and had the work done after taking delivery.

Long story short get as much information as you can, make informed choices and then when you have picked a boat that you are serious about hire a surveyor do do a complete pre-purchase condition and valuation survey. And lastly don't be afraid to walk away from something, there are always more boats out there.

Best of luck in your boat search.

[Jack Lahr]

Always ask! Nothing to lose !

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

There's some pretty whacko non-rules in buying and selling.

But I can tell you this: when I come to sell my boat i will have a survey they can read. They can come for a test sail any-bloody-time they want no need for an offer first.

I love my boat! I want a prospective buyer to know that, that I have nothing to hide, and, the boat works!

So what if I have to do 10 test sails? One will be the last one I do on this boat and it will be an important event.

My "Art of the Deal" is to give everything before I take their money. ☺

Mark

Yeah, that's a good practice, Mark, but do you REALLY turn it right side up for every test sail? That's a lot of work, mate!

Seriously, that's how I sold my Yankee 30 many years ago. No broker, just a few test sails.. and it resulted in getting my asking price, too!

Jim

[Jim Cate]

Hey Mark, apologies for a brain fart on my part in th above post. Somehow I made the horrible gaffe of thinking that you had a catamaran. Mea culpa... so sorry, and I retract fully the first sentence!

But the rest stands!

Jim

[Hoodsail]

As mentioned earlier, would definitely ask if a previous survey is available. I was shopping long distance when 1 boat, about 350 miles away, looked good online. I spoke w/ the broker who provided me with a survey that was about 3-4 yrs old. After reviewing I followed up with the broker, asking for any receipts for work done to address the issues noted in the survey. Some were, some weren't. didnt buy the boat, but gave me a chance to understand what was available on the mkt. thnks, dave

[Mike OReilly]

I always asked for a copies of past surveys once a boat started becoming a serious boat of interest to me. Even an old survey is useful b/c it can show a history of maintenance or ageing when compared to my observations and/or commissioned survey.

As a potential buyer I want as much info about the boats I am interested in as possible. If I ever got a sniff that a seller or broker was holding back on anything, I quickly moved on. There are too many boats out there. I have (had) no time for game playing.

When we sold our last boat I happily provided a copy of our most current survey. I wanted potential buyers to know everything about my boat.