I'm new to
buying boats, but the whole brokerage business seems a
funny field. Are there any recognized national standards of conduct, legally or ethically? I know realtors have codified ethics and
legal obligations that protect the buyer.
For example, less than a year ago, I turned down a home-built,
steel 46-footer. Among other reasons for turning the
boat down was that the
surveyor said that the
hull needed numerous pits in the
steel filled and a few small areas of plates replaced as a result of galvanic
corrosion. Also, the
engine was questionable and the
interior needed, in my opinion, a full gut.
The
boat was
cheap and soon was off the market,
sold I assumed. Then, a few months later, I saw the boat
for sale again, this time by a foreign
broker. But fresh pictures showed the
hull with the same ground out areas where the ultrasound was done but the
price had gone up over 4 times the original asking
price. The hull clearly was not properly repainted and so I'm sure no plates were replaced. When I asked the new
broker what, if any
repairs to the
engine or hull had been done on the boat, he only said that the boat had been
sold.
Though there are other ways that this scenario may have gone down, it seems that either someone is flipping the boat or the original owner has decided that the boat was worth far more than the original asking price despite the hull deterioration. I also am aware that some people make their livings by buffing up old boats, often concealing defects, and then selling them for a big profit.
What are the
legal protections to the boat buyer other than a
survey and caveat emptor? Do yacht bokers need a
license by law? And what kind of legal requirements are necessay to get a
license?
Chas