Boat buying blues !!!

M

MarkSee

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Re: Boat buying blues !!!

UncleWillie said:
Is there a difference in Demoing it and just using it for your own purposes?
Should the seller be allowed to take the boat out and use it for whatever reason he wants while waiting for the buyer to decide?
Unless it is a Non-Refundable deposit to take the boat off the market and freeze it from all use;
The buyer is free to operate it at his peril.

That would be like asking someone that is selling a house that they can't cook in the house or have guests visit while a pending contract was in play.
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Agree with there UW 1000% and then some.

If the OP(buyer) wanted to buy the boat and no one else touch it, he could have done the non-refundable option or just brought the cash, skip the survey and drive/ride off with it right then and it was his. His choice to opt for a survey and leave the boat in possession of the owner.

Mark
 
Quit It

Quit It

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Re: Boat buying blues !!!

UncleWillie said:
Is there a difference in Demoing it and just using it for your own purposes?
Should the seller be allowed to take the boat out and use it for whatever reason he wants while waiting for the buyer to decide?
Unless it is a Non-Refundable deposit to take the boat off the market and freeze it from all use;
The buyer is free to operate it at his peril.
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Isn't that what I said? It depends on what's in the contract. If you agree not to use it, that the miles (hours) are what they are, then no, no one should operate it.

Further, we're not talking about "waiting for a buyer to decide". The buyer has committed, the seller has committed. There's an agreed upon contingency. No, you can't do whatever you want.
UncleWillie said:
That would be like asking someone that is selling a house that they can't cook in the house or have guests visit while a pending contract was in play.
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Funny, but not anywhere close to the same. Have you ever seen that requirement in a contract to buy a house? I've seen it stated in MANY contracts that "this" is the actual mileage and I've seen banks void finance contracts because of mileage discrepancies due to use. And, I've seen buyers cancel sales too with no recourse for the seller because the seller breached the contract. So, yes, you can have mileage (hours) stipulations in your contract.
 
JoLin

JoLin

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Re: Boat buying blues !!!

heatz1express said:
Seller says that is all he is doing, but I am afraid the "other" prospective buyer might make him an unconditional offer and the seller could take the money and run! I will know later today!!! (didn't get much sleep last night - couldn't stop thinking about it!)

Thanks to all who have responded, I'll update thread when I've got some news.
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IMO, you're worrying about nothing. If the seller is honest he'll honor the terms of the contract. In the meantime he has a right to line up other potential buyers in case you back out. He's also putting a little pressure on you to complete the deal. He wants you to know that if you don't buy it someone else will (whether or not it's even true- you don't know that). If you want the boat that badly, you won't give him any grief over minor things the survey might turn up. It's a sales tactic, and it looks like, psychologically, he has you right where he wants you.

If he renegs on your contract and sells to someone else, well, you were better off because the guy's dishonest.

NEVER fall in love with a boat until AFTER you've bought it. Emotional attachment puts you at a huge disadvantage during the buying process.

My .02
 
tpenfield

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Re: Boat buying blues !!!

FWIW - I don't think that the OP and the 'seller' have a written contract, only a verbal agreement. . .

It is really a matter of wait-and-see at this point in terms of how the seller acts in terms of honoring the agreement.
 
JoLin

JoLin

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Re: Boat buying blues !!!

Ted, back on the first page the OP says they wrote up a contract and he put down 10%. He's to have the boat surveyed within a week. When the seller called him to tell him about the 'other buyer' he wasn't being courteous, he was playing with the OP's head. Not a tactic I care for, but I wouldn't necessarily call it unethical, either.

There was no reason for the seller to even share that bit of information. It's still his boat- he can show it to anyone he wants. There's a standing contract with the OP unless and until the OP calls it off. He wanted the OP to 'know' that if he doesn't buy it somebody else will. The OP is reacting exactly as he hoped.

My .02
 
tpenfield

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Re: Boat buying blues !!!

JoLin said:
Ted, back on the first page the OP says they wrote up a contract and he put down 10%. He's to have the boat surveyed within a week. When the seller called him to tell him about the 'other buyer' he wasn't being courteous, he was playing with the OP's head. Not a tactic I care for, but I wouldn't necessarily call it unethical, either.

There was no reason for the seller to even share that bit of information. It's still his boat- he can show it to anyone he wants. There's a standing contract with the OP unless and until the OP calls it off. He wanted the OP to 'know' that if he doesn't buy it somebody else will. The OP is reacting exactly as he hoped.

My .02
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Yup, sorry missed that on his subsequent posting . . . so long as the buyer stays on course with his due diligence and the seller is true to his word and contract, then no harm, no foul.

If not, my shmuck comments would apply. :)
 
skyking897

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Re: Boat buying blues !!!

Ah, playing the buying sellling game. BTDT. It really sounds like the seller is just messing with your head. If you want to find out, have a buddy call him about the boat and see what the seller has to say. It could give you peace of mind or let you know what kind of person you are really dealing with. I've sold everything from RV's to airplanes, it's no different, lots of times it's a mind game and if you can get the buyer emotionally involved, you win. Like others here have said, step back, give your head a shake and stick to your game plan.
Whenever I have taken a deposit on something I'm selling, I will continue to offer it for sale and I tell whoever is looking that there is a conditional offer. I then get their contact info so I can get back to them if the deal falls through. I got stung once because a deal fell through and I had told others that it was sold. Never again. Until the money is in my hands and it leaves my lot the deal is not done.
 
tazrig

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Re: Boat buying blues !!!

jigngrub said:
Buy new, no survey needed and you can ride away with her that day.
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Even buying new, depending on the value and reputation of the builder I would still want to have the boat surveyed. I'd want to see a lamination schedule, have the hull checked inside and out etc. Unfortunately, buying new today with the way things are built doesn't guarantee you of much.
 
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MarkSee

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Re: Boat buying blues !!!

Bubba1235 said:
If you and seller had an agreement and now he is trying to force you into handing over the cash before it's inspected there is a reason and my bet is it's not a good reason.
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Nowhere has the buyer said that is happening at all. Buyer only indicated that the seller said he would be "showing" the boat to someone else until the survey is done.

Seems to be a lot of speculation here in this thread on possible alternative motives by the seller and some people here who think it is "wrong" to even 'show' HIS boat in this lull period until survey has completed vs. those of us who feel it's perfectly fine for the current owner to 'show' HIS boat to others as long as it is not sold to someone else first before the survey has been completed and either accepted or rejected.

Mark
 
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frantically relaxing

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Re: Boat buying blues !!!

couple of stories...

3 years ago we went looking for a new-to-us motorhome. We found 2 we liked, both happened to be at the same dealer. We went to look. When we got there, one had been sold 20 minutes prior, and the second had a couple walking thru. We joined them, and as soon as we looked interested, they decided to buy it. Both rigs sold within 1/2 hour of each other, just as we show up to look... more about this later--

Shortly afterward, we decided that since half our 16 grandkids were getting to be teenagers, our 17' Bayliner was too small, so we went looking for it's replacement.

We found a 2000 21' Mariah, I looked, it was okay, told the wife, she said lets go see it. I called the place, they sold it...

I found a 96' Cobalt 252. It was nice for a '96, price was right too, but I decided to check to see what else was for sale. As I kept looking at the pics I took of the Cobalt, I decided I should take a closer look. This was 2 days later. They sold it.

I found a '99 Chris Craft 24' deckboat at a brokerage. From the pics it was the perfect boat for us. I talked to the guys at the brokerage at the 2011 boat show, told them I was interested. They would be getting the boat on Monday. So monday I take off work around lunchtime to go check it out. Only it's not there. I ask a salesman where it is? "Couple of guys just bought it, it's down the street at our storage lot, go check it out if you want." I was shattered, the thing was like brand new, and it WAS pretty much perfect. Oh well..

So THEN I find an ad a few days later, same brokerage, for a Four Winns 24' deckboat. I made a phone call about it. Some guy just bought it that morning...

How can so many boats & RV's I'm interested in get bought out from under me??? During "a recession" no less?

In the end-- As for the RV, we ended up scoring a killer deal on our barely used 2000 40' Allegro Bus, and I just happened to find buried in the back pages, an online ad for a certain always-pampered much-lower-than-book-priced 2003 Chaparral 260 SSI, :)

Both rigs have turned out be perfect beyond our expectations, and we couldn't be happier with both of them! We look back on it all, and we just figure that it was meant to be...

SO-- having said all that, remember that it IS just a boat after all. And if the seller DOES sell this boat out from under you, maybe it's an omen, and your 'perfect for you' boat is waiting for you too... ;)
 
coolbri70

coolbri70

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Re: Boat buying blues !!!

let us know either way, after all the speculation, i want to hear what the surveyor has to say:D
 
JoLin

JoLin

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Re: Boat buying blues !!!

Bubba, the deal hasn't been finalized. It's contingent on the result of the survey. If the buyer and seller wrote this up correctly, what the buyer has is 'first right of refusal.' The seller can continue to show the boat, line up buyers, even take another deposit... but he can't SELL IT to anyone else until the OP is all finished. That means he's either bought the boat, walked away from the deal, or broken some condition of the contract- like not getting the boat surveyed within a week. I bought my last boat this way through a broker- it worked out fine.

The seller isn't doing anything dishonest. I do think he's using some 'salesmanship' to keep the OP on the hook and give himself the psychological upper hand.
 
M

MarkSee

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Re: Boat buying blues !!!

Bubba1235 said:
Sorry but I disagree. The seller signed an agreement and took a down payment. End of discussion as far as I am concerned and I'd walk away. Just too many boats for sale to play these sort of games.
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I agree that as far as YOU'RE concerned, he has committed some breach. As far as what is reality differs from you.

And just to be sure I wasn't way off base, I did a walk in visit today and talked about this topic with my broker that I bought my Sea Ray with in 2010; she was representing me as the buyer. She said absolutely that until I had the survey done, the seller is free to show, test drive, crash, whatever he wants with HIS boat. However once the survey has been completed and accepted, not-accept or negotiate discovered items have been worked out, the current owner is asked NOT to run or show the boat as the engine hours and inspection items have been officially written up.

I know you disagree with that in your view, which is fine, but what I have indicated along with what the others are saying is what is ok, acceptable and how it is done.

Mark
 
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