Danny How about a different perspective on survey costs? Say I was like many people who had my boat listed but had no expectation of it selling for a year or more. My plan would be to enjoy the boat as though it were not listed and if it were to sell then so be it. OK - so that sets the stage.
Now perhaps you have some semi serious buyers who want to come look at the boat, go for a sail and take up a bunch of your time or simply tie up your boat but may or may not purchase it. Perhaps you had plans for the weekend which are now altered? If you had this happen several times in a season who should pay for those costs? Absolutely the buyer should pay for the haulout, survey and any associated fees. This ensures the buyer is serious and not a tire kicker. Even with that there have been cases when potential buyers sign a contract on a boat, get it surveyed and then decide against the boat for no reason other than that they changed their mind. Of course they used something extremely minor in the survey to support this. Last year we considered a Frers 30. It was in Maine and had issues that were pretty obvious. We took a bit too long to decide so that we put in our offer the day after it had been put on contract to a different buyer. There was a second one in New Brunswick. Less pretty but in very good overall condition. My broker contacted the selling broker and it was also now under contract. The selling broker said the potential buyer was coming that weekend and he would contact us if anything changed. Two days later we found out that a Frers 33 "Persistence" was for sale (it was listed but not yet on web) and we had a contract within one hour. We paid for the haulout. It was $487 USD with no pressure wash. The boat had just launched earlier that month so bottom was clean. Here a pressure wash is $80 CDN and I would have paid that if required so that we could actually see the bottom. The survey was ab additional $700 USD. This was $1200 well spent and all it did was confirm what I already knew - that the boat was in excellent condition. I did not even bother travelling to view the boat - Harry Halgring did that for me as he is in the area. He confirmed it showed well in person. Long story. Anyway, the week after we had accepted offer on our Frers 33 the broker in NB called me back and said the potential buyers of the 30 in NB backed out. They cited faded gelcoat" or something similar. Something that is obvious to us all and has nothing to do with a survey. I was informed by my broker that this happens all the time. Perhaps is cold feet. Anyway - that would be a tremendous inconvenience to the OWNER of the boat! Mike Long Winded in Halifax Persistence 1987 Ferrs 33 Hull 16 Halifax (Currently in Bras d'Ors Lakes) From: CnC-List [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Danny Haughey via CnC-List Sent: Wednesday, August 26, 2015 9:21 AM To: [email protected] Cc: Danny Haughey; [email protected] Subject: Re: Stus-List Survey Question HI Kurt, I think it becoming obvious to me that my ability to ask a concise question is, well...questionable! LOL Anyway, It had more to do with the responsibily of who should pay for the cleaning of sais fouled bottom, not so much whether ot not is should be done. Of course you cannot inspect a fouled bottom. My point is more about why would a seller not want the boat in as good a working order as possible. This would, in fact, make the survey go faster and smoother and give everyone involved a better more positive experience. After all, there is a level of subjectivity involved and that is a matter of perspective, observation and ease of doing the task at hand. So, my point being, and again this is my limited experience with my own boat shopping for 2 different boats, why do sellers not spend just a little extra, effort, maybe even a little money so that their boats survey as best they can? I've found now that it is common for the potential buyer to not only go out of pocket, on speculation, for not only the survey and haul-out, but also, the power-washing of the bottom. Initially I was thinking that, the haul-out would be a couple hundred and then the wash would be another $150 or so... It not so much the dollar value but the principle I question. It kind of goes along with the theory that "the seller pays the broker fees..." While that may be true, that value is figured into the price, and the buyer is the one with the money that ultimately pays those fees. No buyer, no fees paid... It's ridiculous to separate any fee in a sale from the source of the funds that pay the fee! LOL Oh Geeze this may now open another can of worms... Thanks again though for the insights and responses to what is now view by me as "a stupid question..." Not so much for my ignorance in needing to ask it but, in my inability to articulate it. Danny
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