When to do a Marine Survey

J

jasontbrant

New Member
Jul 8, 2010
55
Chesapeake Bay and tributaries
Boat Info
280 Sundancer 2004
Engines
Twin 4.3
I have someone interested in purchasing my boat and I recieved an e-mail from him this morning wanting to schedule a marine survey/sea trail either this week or next. Is it customary to reach an agreement on price prior to allowing the survey/sea trail? I just don't want the guy to waste the money if can't gain agreement on the price. I would understand if the agreement were made contingent on the survey/sea trail. Thoughts and/or suggestions?
 
Have they even made you an offer?

When I bought my boat I made sure I had an agreed upon price (contingent on survey results) before scheduling the survey.

Unless the buyer is friends with the surveyor and getting it for free, I dont understand why they would do the survey first...unless they have already decided to pay you your full asking price of course. :smt101
 
the customary way would be for the potential purchaser to put down some good faith money
before the survey...but it seems odd that price hasn't been negotiated before.
they may be going to make an offer based on what problems are found in the survey.
 
By the buyer doing the survey first gives him the upper hand in negotiotions, you should come to terms first with a deposit prior to the survey. Good luck!
 
Larry said:
By the buyer doing the survey first gives him the upper hand in negotiotions, you should come to terms first with a deposit prior to the survey. Good luck!
Click to expand...

But on the bright side, you will know everything thats wrong with your boat even if they dont buy it.
 
Great points guys! What is considered a customary deposit? Is it typically refundable? I have tried selling the boat myself very passively without much effort the last two years and for the first time this has me thinking about how much I would miss it...
 
In my talks with brokers, the process was that an offer was accepted contingent on a survey, then a contract was signed with a 10% deposit (refundable) and finally the survey/sea trial. I'm not sure why any serious buyer would have a problem with that.

Personally, if I were selling I would require an offer/contract before the survey, if for no other reason than not letting some yahoo waste my time (and fuel!) to try to lowball me or nitpick the boat to death before an initial price is set.
 
Larry said:
By the buyer doing the survey first gives him the upper hand in negotiotions, you should come to terms first with a deposit prior to the survey. Good luck!
Click to expand...

But on the other hand the OP is not obligated in anyway to actually sell the boat to the prospective buyer, so in the end the prospective buyer is making a pretty expensive gamble to gain the "upper hand" in negotiations.
 
This is funny but I sold my 300 DA with out an offer before the survey. Since we never mentioned the price, after the survey we started at full price. I gave him off 5k based on the survey. It was a great experience.... Remember he is paying for the survey, and it is in his best interest to have an agreed upon price... Without that, start a full price... If you you don't want to come down, don't... He as more to loose.... By the way I did not even take a deposit... It was low stress...
 
I was interested in a boat that was 400 miles away. I had a survey done before sea trial or agreed price. Cost me 250.00 for the survey. The boat needed a lot of work and I offered 1/3 of what they wanted based on the survey. They turned it down then called me 6 months later and said they would take my offer, I turned them down.

Ken
 
Larry said:
By the buyer doing the survey first gives him the upper hand in negotiotions, you should come to terms first with a deposit prior to the survey. Good luck!
Click to expand...


I don't follow this reasoning at all.............

Let him do the survey and he becomes invested in the boat. Since price wasn't agreed upon prior to the survey the seller definitely has the upper hand in any negotiations that the buyer attempts after the survey. All the seller has to do is take the position " You knew the price before the survey and I am firm". Anything you decide to give away based on the survey results are just that, a give away.

The other way you don't lose the upper hand is because you get the benefit if the survey results without paying for the survey.

The only way I think the seller loses in this situation is if the survey finds a serious structural or mechanical problem. In that case, the boat isn't saleable to anyone until the problems are fixed, so if this buyer walks based on the survey, you re faced with the repair bills and no buyer.
 
If you don't mind spending a whole day watching strangers poke around your boat potentially braking things, burn 1/4 tank of your fuel, only to low ball you in the end, go for it.
 
When I bought Beachcomber the only thing the brokerage and I had negotiated before the surveys was they would take my boat on trade pending a survey of my boat which they would pay for. I went ahead with the surveys (one on the engine/mechanical items, the second on the hull and equipment) and we actually did two sea trials of about 1.5 hours each. At that point they knew I was a serious buyer because both sea trials involved a trip across the country by air.

Following the surveys we negotiated numbers with the trade in value of my boat agreed upon buy dependent on the results of the survey. The survey on my boat turned up a few things so the price we'd negotiated (the difference between their selling price and what they allowed for my trade) was adjusted upward to cover the repairs on my boat.
 
Buying a boat should be like buying a house. Agree on a price with deposit pending house (sea trial) inspection. I see no difference. Why let some stranger take your boat out if not sure he is really serious. My two cents!
 
fwebster said:
I don't follow this reasoning at all.............

Let him do the survey and he becomes invested in the boat. Since price wasn't agreed upon prior to the survey the seller definitely has the upper hand in any negotiations that the buyer attempts after the survey. All the seller has to do is take the position " You knew the price before the survey and I am firm". Anything you decide to give away based on the survey results are just that, a give away.

The other way you don't lose the upper hand is because you get the benefit if the survey results without paying for the survey.

The only way I think the seller loses in this situation is if the survey finds a serious structural or mechanical problem. In that case, the boat isn't saleable to anyone until the problems are fixed, so if this buyer walks based on the survey, you re faced with the repair bills and no buyer.
Click to expand...

I whole hardheartedly agree with Frank... My experience in the same exact situation confirmed this... It turned out to be my best selling experience, and I remained friends with the buyer. Trust and honesty makes for smooth transactions...
 
I took the reach terms in advance on the survey and sea trail route with things progressing nicely. Actually, it is likely all terms and negotiating will conclude this evening. The only reason this didn't occur last Thursday is because I have really struggled with the decision to sell the boat at all. Anyway, I am now back to the survey and sea trail. Is it customary for the current owner to be present? I feel like I should be there for two reasons. First, I would be able to demonstrate and explain things to the prospective buyer and surveyor. Two, since I am still the one carrying insurance on the boat I feel it necessary to be onboard. Thoughts, comments, suggestions... What is customary?
 
This is a personal decision. A quality surveyor is going to report what he sees when he examines the boat, whether you are there or are in Egypt. The sea trial is a different matter altogether. You would be safe if you require a licensed captain with experience in a 280DA to be in command and you had your insurance agent bind coverage for this one event with you not on the boat.

Having said all that........I can tell you that nobody is going to poke thru my boat and certainly it isn't going to be started or leave the slip without my being there.

The most important thing you can do pre-survey and sea trial is to be sure that everything works and there are no obvious defects.
 
I agree Frank. Any additional imput on my survey/sea trail questions is appreciated. In an effort not to create another thread, does anyone who has gone through the process know how the financials in the transaction work. More specifically, does he write me a check and then I pay off my loan or does he write the check directly to my bank? I guess once I get my loan paid off the I can get him the title and begin transferring the documentation, etc.
 
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