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How to sell a boat privately and safely


RosieP

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Hi all,

We have put our boat up for sale privately not through a broker. We've had quite a bit of interest and an offer. What's a fair and secure process for selling a boat, particularly when more than one buyer is interested? I can't remember what we did when we bought her and were in in the buyers position but I remember nearly being stung by another sale, being confused and feeling at risk of losing money. I don't like being an estate agent!

I think this might be fair;

Accept first offer at the asking price

Take a 10% deposit and agree terms for refund or not. 

Buyer does survey at their cost. If they decide not to buy the boat because it's not 'sold as seen' then we return deposit. Move onto next buyer.

If they want to buy the boat but any necessary work to carry out, seller pays for this.

Does this sound fair and reasonably secure for both parties?

Thanks 

 

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Why would you want a deposit for a private sale if the purchaser arranges a survey?  I bought privately, before doing so I agreed to purchase at a price subject to survey and within a few days I arranged the survey which cost me north of 1,000 including lift out, surely that's commitment enough?

If there was a potentially non returnable deposit I would walk away.

Selling is frought with uncertainty, so is buying.

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Agreed 

 

I bought my boat , my first , privately . If a deposit was asked for i wouldve walked . 

The reason : A complete lack of trust in other peoples ethics . I wouldn t have cared if the seller was the Dalai Lama i still wouldn t have left one penny . 

If the buyer wants a survey its going to cost a sizeable amount & it demonstrates a genuine interest .

However , it might be that you have a potential buyer who s looking to buy without a survey . For me they would get priority as theres less faffing involved . It might be worth finding out which of your potential buyers is looking to survey & who isnt ? 

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1 minute ago, chubby said:

However , it might be that you have a potential buyer who s looking to buy without a survey . For me they would get priority as theres less faffing involved . It might be worth finding out which of your potential buyers is looking to survey & who isnt ? 

Totally agree. It was a point that I recently made in another thread. 

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Just make sure you get sight of proof of identity from the buyer. Banks are taking the anti money laundering regs very seriously these days, at least for us hoi polloi, and may ask you to explain where the dosh came from when it appears in your account.

This applies in spades if you take cash and try to pay it in.

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I would always expected a small holding deposit, either as a seller or buyer.  It demonstrates commitment on both sides.  As a buyer i would pay the deposit on the agreement that the boat is removed from the market.  I would therefore feel protected and more comfortable about arranging a survey, if needed.  As a buyer, I would be sure then that the buyer is not a timewaster.  If I were selling and the buyer refused to pay a deposit and I only had his word that he was arranging a dry dock/slipway for a survey, I would happily continue to offer the boat for sale to other interested parties, possibly leading to the original buyer being 'gazumped'.

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4 hours ago, NB Lola said:

Why would you want a deposit for a private sale if the purchaser arranges a survey?  I bought privately, before doing so I agreed to purchase at a price subject to survey and within a few days I arranged the survey which cost me north of 1,000 including lift out, surely that's commitment enough?

If there was a potentially non returnable deposit I would walk away.

Selling is frought with uncertainty, so is buying.

Because people have a habit of changing their minds, often for no apparent reason.  If I have taken my boat off the market for a few weeks and had to move it to a dry dock for them and then they pull out because they changed their minds, I would want some compensation for my wasted time.

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33 minutes ago, lulu fish said:

Because people have a habit of changing their minds, often for no apparent reason.  If I have taken my boat off the market for a few weeks and had to move it to a dry dock for them and then they pull out because they changed their minds, I would want some compensation for my wasted time.

Depends on how the buyer and seller engages. I would assess that at the time and indicate, as seller, how I would proceed.  If I felt there was a risk to purchase, I would keep the sale option open, advising the buyer and suggesting that once a survey was arranged I would change to sold subject to.

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On ‎02‎/‎03‎/‎2017 at 11:22, BruceinSanity said:

Just make sure you get sight of proof of identity from the buyer. Banks are taking the anti money laundering regs very seriously these days, at least for us hoi polloi, and may ask you to explain where the dosh came from when it appears in your account.

This applies in spades if you take cash and try to pay it in.

although banks take AML seriously indeed there is no requirement on you as an individual private seller to identify a buyer in any way shape or form.  If you receive the payment by BACS that will cover that aspect of it and yes if you pay £50k into the bank you are going to get asked where it came from and your account will, depending on the bank, have some sort of flag or indicator applied to it "just in case" it happens again.

If it was a car it would be quite acceptable to ask for sight of licence and insurance before a test drive, however that doesn't really apply.  Would I show you my ID if asked?  Probably and I suspect most people would. 

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