Reasonable to ask for a prior survey?

[tn3sport]

Looking to purchase a boat. I'm looking all up and down the eastern seaboard as well as Gulf Coast.

Given the large geography in where I'm looking, I don't want to travel to view a boat until I'm confident its the right one, online.

Is it reasonable to ask a seller if a recent survey has been done on the boat and if so, would they be willing to share that survey w/ me.

This is fairly normal in real estate, but not sure in purchasing a boat.

My fear is that I find a boat 1,000 miles form where I live that looks perfect in its description and photos. Only to go to the expense and travel to find it had serious delamination issues or some other significant defect a survey would of caught.

So, is this a reasonable request for a buy to make of a seller or broker via email???

[dwedeking2]

There's no problem asking if there is one and if they'll share it. Usually though the survey is paid for by a prospective buyer so the seller doesn't necessarily have one (unless he had purchased the boat semi-recently and has the old survey or had an insurance survey done recently).

A boat I looked at the owner had a survey done from 10 years ago. Not very good for accessing current state but there was minor value in being able to look at older issues and see if they were addressed (it was an estate sale so the owner wasn't around to answer questions on fixes he had done).

[wsmac]

My boat had a survey done 3 years ago by the owner I purchased the boat from.

I did ask questions, asked if I could spend some time looking around the boat, taking pictures to review back at home...

I was respectful and during my searching, I only asked more invasive questions and for old surveys if the boat was likely to be way up on my list of boats I was really considering.

I think it helped to let the owners know I was looking at, and had looked at, many boats but was narrowing down my list. With my boat.. I made several visits with the owner's permission, and with him there.
He seemed to read the seriousness of my interest.

Be sure to ask about recent hull cleaning... zinc replacement... pumpouts...

I found there were things like this that helped me sorta figure out if the owner took care of the boat, and paid frequent visits to the boat.
The better boats were the ones where owner... whether they sailed any more or not... stayed in contact with the boat, had some sort of translatable history with the boat, and wasn't a 'dump and run' sort of seller!

[sailah]

Def reasonable. As noted a buyers survey is paid for by the previous prospective buyer so they may not have one. But they might have one from when they bought the boat or insurance survey.

It's a very reasonable request and if asked for politely should be received well by the broker and owner.

[tn3sport]

Thanks all. I knew a survey was paid for by the prospective buyer, but wasn't sure if a copy was given to the seller.
I've also found that some high end marinas require a survey on vessels older than 20 years, etc. (I know marina rules vary greatly.)

Just trying to identify the "obvious challenges" before deciding to spend time and money traveling to see them, in person. Doesn't mean I will not buy a boat with a "repair challenge", I just would just like to know going in as some things can wait and others can't... i.e. A broke AC can wait. A boat needed prop hull fittings and bushings can't (not sure of proper terminology). Thanks again.

[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

[denverd0n]

Several have mentioned that an insurance survey might be available. In case you don't know, an insurance survey is definitely NOT the same as a pre-purchase survey.

[Spindrift NH]

You could contact a surveyor in the area and ask them to do a short survey. I did this for my current boat. I payed a surveyor $100 to spend an hour on the boat and determine if it was worth my time driving 17 hours to look at it myself. Ultimately it was worth my time and worth the $100 to come to that conclusion

[a64pilot]

A survey you didn't pay for, is worth what you paid for it

[CSY Man]

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

Yeah, but is it really a Blue Water boat?

[dwedeking2]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

A survey you didn't pay for, is worth what you paid for it

I'd use an older survey as a "do I want to travel down to view the boat" (along with other factors) but agree wouldn't use it as a "do I want to buy".

[barnakiel]

Imho the buyer is free to ask ANY question. The seller will answer or not.

I would ask all questions that I want to know the answers to.

b.

[OS2Dude]

As said, you can ask. Our survey specifically prohibits giving it to any party other than those involved in our transaction. I don't know if that is enforceable or not...

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by OS2Dude

As said, you can ask. Our survey specifically prohibits giving it to any party other than those involved in our transaction. I don't know if that is enforceable or not...

Of course it's not legal to prohibit passing on the report. That would be a restraint of trade.

End up in jail for that stuff.

[a64pilot]

I was under the impression that I paid for the report, it is mine to do with as I please.
I would not accept any stipulation on how I could distribute the report