Hiring a Surveyor to do an Initial Walkthrough

[R. Bush]

I live in Toronto and am contemplating the purchase of a boat located in Florida. This isn't a massively expensive boat (just over 40k), so the cost of flying down there on the hope that it is actually worth looking at would be a substantial portion of the purchase price.

I have noticed several suggestions here on the forum that rather than wasting time and money traveling long distances to check out a boat it would be more cost effective to hire a local surveyor to do a simple walkthrough of the boat for you and let you know if it is worth the effort pursue the purchase. I think I have seen someone mention a cost of 200 to 300 dollars as a reasonable price to pay.

I think this sounds like an excellent suggestion; and with that said; can anyone point me in the direction of a reliable surveyor in the area of Indiantown, FL who might be willing to take on this kind of job?

Thanks for your input.

 

[mvweebles]

I can't speak to fees but $200-$300 sounds a bit low. You may have difficulty finding a surveyor. I know I did back in 2018 I'm San Francisco and that was well before the craziness of Covid catapulted sales.

There are a lot of TF members in Florida, many are quite knowledgeable. I know if I were within a 45-min drive, I'd jump at the chance to walk a dock and get intimate with some boat-flesh. You might put out a casting call for folks in the general vicinity to preview the boat for you. Send an Amazon gift certificate as a thank you.

Good luck.

Peter

 

[Comodave]

Here $200 is good for a 10’ boat.

 

[Njlarry]

I had a top notch surveyor offer to do a walk thru for 300. After seeing some of the pics I was glad to have saved the air fare and time. I would do sesrch and email or text a few and see what their responses are. Good luck.

 

[slowgoesit]

I can't speak to fees but $200-$300 sounds a bit low. You may have difficulty finding a surveyor. I know I did back in 2018 I'm San Francisco and that was well before the craziness of Covid catapulted sales.

There are a lot of TF members in Florida, many are quite knowledgeable. I know if I were within a 45-min drive, I'd jump at the chance to walk a dock and get intimate with some boat-flesh. You might put out a casting call for folks in the general vicinity to preview the boat for you. Send an Amazon gift certificate as a thank you.

Good luck.

Peter

THIS! It might not catch all the problems, but might definitely tell you the boat is NOT what you want to buy, or is NOT in the condition it appears to be over the internet. It's worth a try!

 

[socalrider]

I tried to do this during COVID times for a 50' Jeanneau sailboat in the Bay Area. I found a bunch of licensed surveyors through this site (I think.. it was a while ago). I also got some recommendations from a local surveyor I've used a couple times.

https://www.marinesurvey.org/surveyors/

I found one who was willing to do a walk-through over FaceTime for $200 or $300 I think. Never went through with it, because the owner decided he didn't want to allow anyone on the boat without an offer and a deposit! So I was able to check that one off the list for $0.00

 

[Pete Meisinger]

If I lived in Florida I would be happy to do a walk through for you. I think there are many T.F. members who would do the same. However, you are still taking a chance. One mans idea of trash could be another mans idea of a diamond in the rough.

Just take the trip. Florida is always fun. Who cares about money anyway? The search is half the fun. Lots of boats in Florida, set it up to inspect several while you are there.

pete

 

[LovetoBoat]

So from experience - make sure you ask questions of the surveyor. Like do they use a moisture meter, do they turn on appliances to check working order, check windows for leaks, functioning sump pumps... - this is not a joke. I had a Key West surveyor long story - wish he had stayed home and I could have just mailed him an $800 check. He was completely useless...


Make sure you ask questions - or you may be adding a lot more projects to your recently purchased boat.

 

[R. Bush]

If I lived in Florida I would be happy to do a walk through for you. I think there are many T.F. members who would do the same. However, you are still taking a chance. One mans idea of trash could be another mans idea of a diamond in the rough.

Just take the trip. Florida is always fun. Who cares about money anyway? The search is half the fun. Lots of boats in Florida, set it up to inspect several while you are there.

pete

Thanks for the replies.

I think that I will talk with the broker a bit more and then try and find a local surveyor to take a look.

I like your thinking Pete; but being married to a "non-boater" I have a fixed (and not very large) budget to spend on my hobby. Trips to Florida would take a bite out of that budget. Not to mention the evil Covid monster and the current difficulty it has created with cross border travel.

I am always amazed at how different a boat looks "in person". Went to look at one the other day. It really didn't look bad in the pictures, but once you got there it was a mass of cracked gelcoat and chipped finish. I don't think it was the broker taking deceptive pictures, but just that that sort of thing doesn't show up on a photograph.

 

[R. Bush]

So from experience - make sure you ask questions of the surveyor. Like do they use a moisture meter, do they turn on appliances to check working order, check windows for leaks, functioning sump pumps... - this is not a joke. I had a Key West surveyor long story - wish he had stayed home and I could have just mailed him an $800 check. He was completely useless...


Make sure you ask questions - or you may be adding a lot more projects to your recently purchased boat.

I'm not looking for a survey here - just to have the guy walk thru and tell me if the boat is worth pursuing or not, and if the asking price seems reasonable for that particular boat. If the answer to those questions is Yes, then I would make an offer and have the guy come back to to an actual survey of the boat. At that point I would come out and have a look in person and attend the survey myself. Potentially the surveyor could get paid twice for looking at the same boat, but the first $300 would be cheap insurance on my part to make sure the boat was worth the effort.

I hear what you are saying about finding a reliable surveyor. The boat I just looked at had a "survey" that was so pathetic my son and I read it over and laughed. I wouldn't have bought a used bicycle based on that survey. Out of curiosity I send it off to my insurance company to see if they would accept it for insurance purposes. Since it was signed by an accredited surveyor they said that they would. Kind of scary.

That is why I started this thread in the first place - I was hoping someone with local knowledge would chime in and point me toward someone who has actual knowledge and experience, and not just a piece of paper saying that they do.

Thread creeping my own thread here; in todays hot market am I being unreasonable to think I am going to find a boat in the US$50,000 range that would be in any shape to make the trip back to the Great Lakes on its' own bottom?

 

[mvweebles]

Thread creeping my own thread here; in todays hot market am I being unreasonable to think I am going to find a boat in the US$50,000 range that would be in any shape to make the trip back to the Great Lakes on its' own bottom?

I am not in the market so don't have any specific guidance, but here's a recent TF listing of an Albin 36 for $59k (though in Washington). Would be a good looper.

https://www.trawlerforum.com/forums...cabin-trawler-%2459-000-everett-wa-58654.html

A $50k-ish trawler is going to need some elbow grease, but finding one is possible. Just be prepared to buy and not linger on the decision.

Also, I am told the AGLC club often has boats listed.

Good luck - sounds like a blast.

Peter

 

[Sidclark]

As a broker and if I was your buyers broker, the first thing I would have you do is get the boat under contract! Otherwise, you could be just spinning your wheels here. Make a pre-survey a condition of the contract. It's done all the time and if it presents a problem with the seller, my advice is to keep walking. Right now the market is hot, so if you take the time to find a surveyor and have him give you a report, chances are that boat is gone. Even in a slow market I would give you this advice. Let's say you get as far as the pre-survey and the write up. Then a guy comes in and takes it as is, sight unseen. You've just lost 300-600 bucks, some time invested and are back at square one.
Once that boat is under contract you have first right of refusal. No one can come in and sweep it out from you. The thing to avoid is not to stretch out the pre-survey. Get it done ASAP. From there you should have an idea about moving forward with the deal and any possible renegotiations. I can't tell you how many clients have lost great boats because they took too long to place the boat under contract. If you have any questions I'm available via PM.

 

[chriscritchett]

I recently purchased a (smallish, 30’) boat on the E coast of FL, a bit below your price point. Based on my experience, you will struggle to find a surveyor with any available time so you can’t be too picky, at least right off. Finding one who will give up a day to make $300 instead of his usual $750 or more will make it even more interesting. But you never know, if he’s in Indiantown for another survey and only needs to give you an hour’s time on his phone, maybe it’s a score for him. Indiantown is full of boats so it’s worth asking a few people.

I second the suggestion to put out a call and see if you can find someone from here who’s local enough and might enjoy looking it over for you / with you.

If I was closer to Indiantown I would offer to do this for you, as it’s good fun for us twisted boat people. But it would be an all-day affair for me and I’m tight on time before summer vaca. Gotta pay attention to my own boat.

To your last question, I would say yes, you can certainly find able boats for reasonable money, but you need to look intelligently and get lucky. My boat is old and small, but in decent shape; came in under $40 & made the 200+ mile trip home to W FL with (almost) no glitches. I’ve put a few more hours on it since and would have no hesitation setting out on another long trip if I needed to. It’s not like you need to run miles and miles offshore and away from civilization. And there’s a difference between getting there safely and getting there with all the conveniences functioning at 100% (it’s a boat, will they ever?).

Anyway, another $.02 added to the pile. Best of luck!

 

[chriscritchett]

Having just read Sidclark’s post, I would second what he said re: contract. Only reason I got the boat I did is that I moved quick and was the first to see it. We were under contract less than 48 hours after I saw it, and less than a week after they first posted the ad.
This market is unforgiving to those of us without ‘real boat money.’

 

[Gdavid]

It is worth a few phone calls to the closest surveyors, there is a pretty good chance that you can find someone already familiar with the boat. You should be focusing on how recently was the boat in regular use and what it the general state of its maintenance. In many cases a surveyor will be able to tell of the boat was neglected or generally cared for within a few minutes, chasing down moisture readings should be left for a full survey after you have a contract on the boat but you really just need one or two hours of the surveyors time to let you know if this is a boat worth pursuing.

I did the same when I was boat shopping this spring, the boat didn't work out but it was still a good investment and I would have wondered about the boat had I not followed up on it.

 

[jleonard]

If it's within about an hour from New Port Richey, FL, send me a PM and I'd take a look for a very modest fee, enough to cover fuel and lunch.

 

[Sidclark]

As a broker and if I was your buyers broker, the first thing I would have you do is get the boat under contract! Otherwise, you could be just spinning your wheels here. Make a pre-survey a condition of the contract. It's done all the time and if it presents a problem with the seller, my advice is to keep walking. Right now the market is hot, so if you take the time to find a surveyor and have him give you a report, chances are that boat is gone. Even in a slow market I would give you this advice. Let's say you get as far as the pre-survey and the write up. Then a guy comes in and takes it as is, sight unseen. You've just lost 300-600 bucks, some time invested and are back at square one.
Once that boat is under contract you have first right of refusal. No one can come in and sweep it out from you. The thing to avoid is not to stretch out the pre-survey. Get it done ASAP. From there you should have an idea about moving forward with the deal and any possible renegotiations. I can't tell you how many clients have lost great boats because they took too long to place the boat under contract. If you have any questions I'm available via PM.

Just to expound on that a little. If you're working with a buyers broker you can already have a deposit in escrow and a good handle on the paperwork. You're ready to pull the trigger very quickly. Some brokerages will not even summit your offer without the deposit in escrow. If it's already there, you've saved anywhere from 2-4 days in the process. You are basing the deposit on 10% of your budget.

 

[bgillroy]

R. Bush. In these situations when I was surveying pleasure craft on Lake Erie Ias a SAMS surveyor i charged $200 to quickly evaluate key areas typically couple hours, then made phone call to my buyer. We discussed.. He directed me then to complete the survey, or, if no longer interested , just terminate my service. Works well for buyers.

 

[Jeff F]

"Thread creeping my own thread here; in todays hot market am I being unreasonable to think I am going to find a boat in the US$50,000 range that would be in any shape to make the trip back to the Great Lakes on its' own bottom?"

Yes. That trip is just a string of day trips in protected waters with assistance towing and repair facilities nearby. Not particularly demanding, boat wise. Assuming you do it yourself with an open schedule it's a great way to get to know your boat.

Any new old boat will come with a to-do list, but may as well get that done in Florida.

 

[Snug Harbor]

You can ask the broker to do a facetime or similar tour for you, we've been doing that often. It may rule out the boat before getting involved with having a surveyor pre-view it for you. That should be able to happen pretty quickly. If it looks like something worth pursuing, you should get a contract in place and secure a surveyor asap as previously suggested. Best way to find one is a 3rd party referral that you trust or going to one of the surveyor association website's. Then call and discuss what you'd like done. You need to visit the boat during the survey. Good luck!

 

[CarlF]

You might see if the broker would do a live video walkthrough with you telling him what you want to see. It doesn't take any more time for him than you visiting. Tell him that you are a cash buyer and plan to buy a boat in the next two weeks. Tell him what boat you own now and a few other things to make you seem like a serious buyer not a tire kicker.

If the boat's really a dog this will be be obvious in 5 minutes. Hidden stuff like moisture in the core can wait until the real survey.

If you like what you see enough that it's worth a plane ticket, tell the broker that you are going to come see the boat in the next week and hope to make a formal offer after seeing it. That way he'll call you before they accept a different offer - hoping to lever the price up by going back and forth.

 

[Barrie]

Hi Ralph. I'm in Ottawa and was interested in a boat in New England and could not go due to Covid. I hired Dana Collyer from Marine Safety Consultants in Fairhaven MA. 508-996-4110. Dana became my eyes and found all kinds of issues with the boat that the broker didn't. We even did a broker zoom call, but Dana was great and could see things zoom could not pick up. Highly recommend. Marine Safety have people all over the east coast. Not sure about Florida but I'm sure they will refer someone. https://marinesafetyconsultants.com/our-professionals/
My cost was $287.50 tax in. Ask for Dana and say hello for me.

 

[Harcourt]

Palm Beach and Broward Counties are close to Indiantown, so you can search out surveyors there, should be several to choose from.

 

[ssteakley]

Good Idea!

I was in the same situation, the boat I was interested in was in California. I used the Boat US list of surveyors near the location and paid him $300. Worth every cent since the boat had to many issues.
Saved me time, airfare food and hotel cost!

 

[BOHICABOB]

Here is a link to the Society of Accredited Marine Surveyors. aka SAMS. https://www.marinesurvey.org/

My only piece of advice is not to necessarily rely on yacht brokers for finding an objective surveyor. I held a home inspectors license in Illinois. I found out that real estate brokers had their "favorites" when it came to inspectors who walked a thin line on details so as not to screw up the deal. That's why we carried E&O insurance...Errors & Omissions. Best of Luck.