Buyer Beware

Boat buying is an exciting yet stressful event where emotions run almost as high as the fear of missing an important step and dooming the whole process. I see this dance play out on nearly a daily basis as a marine surveyor. Here are the top three pitfalls I see ensnare eager boat buyers, along with the advice I give my clients to avoid them.

No. 1: Failing to haul out the boat for inspection.

In this first scenario, a potential client approaches me and typically says something like: “I have a boat under contract, and I need a pre-purchase condition and value survey. The boat is in the water, but it’s kind of inconvenient for the sellers
to arrange for me to haul the boat out, so I’d like to conduct the survey and purchase the boat without hauling it.”

I then explain that company policy requires me to inspect the hull as part of any pre-purchase survey, so if the boat can’t be hauled, I decline the survey.

There are a lot of bad things that can go on below the waterline, from problems with the hull to issues concerning the running gear. If the boat is in the water and is not hauled for a full inspection, it’s a disservice to the client, as well as a liability to myself. Arranging a haul-out can be inconvenient, and it adds additional costs, but these things should be expected as part of the boat-buying process.

No. 2: Spending money on a boat before you buy it.

This next scenario involves a client trying to do things in addition to the survey. Sticking with the haul-out theme, I often have a client say something like, “Okay, since we’re already hauling the boat out for you to inspect the hull and running gear, I’d like to leave it out for a couple of extra days and have the bottom painted.”

The logic (in their mind) is that I’m already paying for the haul-out and the bottom paint is in need of renewal; why not get the most bang for my boat buck and knock both out at the same time?

I have to caution the buyer that they haven’t even bought the boat yet, and they’re already trying to spend money on it. In a perfect world, the way a pre-purchase survey works is you have the survey done, you get the survey report, review it, choose the items you want to be addressed, then go back to the seller and negotiate repairs or a reduction in the sale price.

When you, as a buyer, plan on doing stuff in conjunction with the survey, you’re putting unnecessary skin in the game. Spending money on a boat before the purchase erodes your ability to negotiate any issues found with the seller, as they know you’ve essentially already decided to purchase the boat. During the buying process, don’t plan on doing any work on it, no matter how tempting it is. Complete the survey, review the report, choose the issues that are important to you, and then negotiate. There will be plenty of time to spend money on your new boat after the purchase.

No. 3: Failure to follow up on the paperwork.

The third situation that I typically encounter with an eager buyer is that they fail to follow up on documents and receipts. A perfect example would be when the owner or broker says something like, “Well, you know, Joe replaced the motor back in 2019, or he replaced the standing rigging, or whatever it was — Joe did something, and it’s good, and it improves the value of the boat.” The problem
is the buyer accepts it as truth, but fails to follow up and ask for the paperwork or receipts to verify it.

From a buyer’s perspective, if the seller or broker says something was done, lacking documentation to the contrary, you have to assume it has not been done. It’s human to want to trust and believe (particularly when buying a boat), but the credo a buyer should be following is to trust, but also verify.

If Joe says he changes the oil and conducts maintenance on the engines himself, then Joe should be prepared to provide receipts for the oil, filters, rags and everything else used to do the maintenance.

You have to be a pessimist when buying a boat, particularly with things like maintenance and repairs. And what’s the benefit of being a pessimist? You only get pleasant surprises!