Gould 0738 wrote:
If you're going to insist the seller pay for the checkout, you more or less
become obligated to accept whatever documentation the seller *already has*
regarding the mechanical condition.

I disagree.

It's traditional that a buyer pay for all these types of things. part of
the tradition arose from "yachting" in a climate where a boat being sold
is likely to have been laid up for the winter. But in the South there is
no reason to not have your boat in commission all year 'round, and a
boat that has been laid up for a long time is automatically suspect.

In this climate, a seller should expect to have to compromise with a buyer.


... Should the seller be forced to pay for a
fresh inspection for every (possible) looki-loo that comes along?

If the buyer is willing to give demonstration that he's serious, and not
just a tire kicker, then it's the seller's obligation to demonstrate
that the boat is sound in all respects.


As a buyer, you want a fresh, current, unbiased assessment.

Which is why you never never use a surveyor recommended by the seller or
the broker. Which is why you accompany the surveyor and look over his
should and ask a lot of questions.




The reason the buyer wants to pay for the inspection/ haulout/ survey is to
avoid any conflict of interest. You want that surveyor or mechanic working for
*you*, period, and understanding that his task is to help you reach an informed
decision on the boat- not help his actual client (the guy paying his bill) sell
it.

IMHO if the surveyor is to be paid the same regardless of the outcome,
then why would he care who signs his paycheck?

I have never asked a seller to pay my surveyor (but thought about it)
however I have walked away from boat deals when the seller was
uncompromising about making the boat available for my inspection... ie,
insisted that I pay to rig, launch, etc etc, just for a look. In at
least one case I know the boat went unsold for a year or more afterward.



If the cost of launching the boat for a test run seems prohibitive, you have
some real shockeroos in store should you take up boating.

Agreed. But for the sellers out there who want to insist on doing it the
old fashioned way.... there are a heck of a lot of boats for sale out there.

Fair Skies
Doug King