Question about Buying a Used Boat

[Teranodon]

I am a newcomer to boat-buying, and would appreciate some advice from experienced members of this forum.

I understand the importance of getting a professional out-of-the-water survey. If such a survey is commissioned and paid for by a potential buyer who subsequently does not agree on the terms of a sale with the owner, is it possible for a second potential buyer to purchase the results of the survey from the first one? The financial benefits to both parties would be obvious. Is this actually ever done? Is it reasonable to ask the owner (or a broker) to facilitate such an arrangement?

Many thanks for all replies.

[Mimsy]

Yes, you can sometimes purchase the previous survey but it might be tricky to get the broker/owner to facilitate depending on what was in that survey.

[nomadic mama]

It happens, and has the possibility to be a great arrangement if it works, and helps reach a sale, because, well, everybody wins, right? If the broker (or owner) is reluctant, perhaps that's a good red flag that there are issues with the boat.

One thing to consider is if your insurance will accept the other survey or not. If they don't, they may still require you get yet another survey to get coverage (or financing). If that's important to you, you'd want to clarify the situation before making the assumption! I'm honestly not certain, but have heard this discussion and think it's a good point to be aware of.

[ShaktiGurl]

Yes, we were able to obtain and use a survey taken a couple months before on a deal that fell through so it can't hurt to ask. Tured out we knew the surveyor from years before and were able to call him up and ask more questions which was very helpful.

[JK n Smitty]

The potential buyer who walked away owns the previous survey not the boat owner. The owner may have asked the guy who walked away for it but not always.

If you know who the surveyor was you might try calling him directly. Often they will tell you why someone walked away.

If you are going to finance the boat you will need your own survey due to liability issues

Good luck and fair winds,

Jesse

[Suijin]

Also, if the broker is a AYBA broker, then he or she is ethically bound to disclose the condition of the boat. Most brokers are pretty forthcoming if you ask them a pointed question, such as "what surfaced in the survey that caused the previous buyer to walk?" You are very likely to get an honest answer.

If the previous buyer visually inspected the boat before the survey, and decided to go ahead with the survey, then then something substantial probably surfaced that caused them to nix the deal with $500+ already invested

[Hudson Force]

Of course, this is diferent from the plan to obtain a survey from a previous potential buyer, but it is quite common to find a recent survey provided by the seller. I've even seen recent surveys candidly provided by the seller that contain information about significant faults.

[ShaktiGurl]

Originally Posted by JK n Smitty

The potential buyer who walked away owns the previous survey not the boat owner. The owner may have asked the guy who walked away for it but not always.

If you know who the surveyor was you might try calling him directly. Often they will tell you why someone walked away.

If you are going to finance the boat you will need your own survey due to liability issues

Good luck and fair winds,

Jesse

Good advice to call the surveyor as it made us feel confident in what we were about to do. We were, however, able to finance our boat using the previous survey which was less than 3 months old. It never hurts to ask.