Offer required to SEE the boat?

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
I suppose one could agree to pay a "look-see" fee provided the broker was willing to pay for YOUR time to do so. My time is worth about $120/hr.

 

[OldDan1943]

Greetings,
I suppose one could agree to pay a "look-see" fee provided the broker was willing to pay for YOUR time to do so. My time is worth about $120/hr.

You are a cheap 'street walker'. Got a current health card?

 

[ssobol]

...
Of course there is that situation of the broker 'qualifying' a buyer by looking at things such as car he drives, the way he dresses and maybe even hair length.
...

Except for maybe the car, the way someone dresses and hair length are not the qualifiers they used to be. Actually, they are the opposite nowadays. I know someone who works in the fancy restaurant biz in Silicon Valley. He says the scruffiest guy in the room is the one with the most money. They've reached the top of the hill and simply don't care what people below them think about how they are dressed.

Nowadays people tend to wear suits because it is the required uniform for some jobs (i.e. like a McDonald's uniform) or because they are in trouble (e.g. court appearance, testify before Congress, visit by 60 Minutes) not because it is a preferred personal choice.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Re: Post #92...

 

[slowgoesit]

Interesting, the broker posted a boat for sale, only 5 pics, and none below decks. Reminds me of a broker at Ala Wai Boat Harbor in Honolulu in the early 2000's. He would find boats listed "For Sale By Owner" on the docks, take pics and advertise them as if he were the Seller's listing broker. If he got an interested individual, he would contact the Seller, and tell them that he had a client interested in their boat, and would they mind if he showed it for them . . . .
He never actually had a listing agreement with the Seller.
He seldom, if ever had inside pics, and almost never below decks.
When a boat sold, he would often try to strong arm some type of commission from the Seller, claiming that he had "showed" that boat to the ultimate buyer. He pulled this a lot on Service Members who sold boats, relying on the fact that the SM's generally sold their boats prior to moving off island, and hence wouldn't be available to fight spurious legal actions.

He went so far as to place a lien on two boats in our marina in Pearl Harbor, tying up the the titles, claiming he was owed a commission. One paid his extortion, the other said, "Great, I'm not actually leaving island, just moving up to a different boat!" He was a Navy Lieutenant, JAG officer in Pearl Harbor. He filed suit against the "broker" claiming financial damages due to the fact that the Buyer backed out because of the encumbered boat title. His case (filed against the broker AND the broker's insurance company) was settled before it went to trial. Mike wouldn't disclose the details of the settlement, but ended up buying a much nicer boat than he sold and paid cash instead of financing as he had originally planned!
Question: Does this purported "broker" even legally REPRESENT the boat in question? Inquiring minds want to know!

 

[BDofMSP]

I
Question: Does this purported "broker" even legally REPRESENT the boat in question? Inquiring minds want to know!

Since he got him to agree to taking my boat on trade as part of the deal, I'd certainly hope so!

 

[Kit_L]

slowgoesit wrote:

Question: Does this purported "broker" even legally REPRESENT the boat in question? Inquiring minds want to know!

Now: that's a horrifying thought. Definitely one would want to ascertain that before doing anything more.

 

[BruceK]

...how can you make an "acceptable" offer on anything without knowing the state/condition of the thing you are making the offer on? This would include the state of the engines and other complex systems. People don't (usually) make offers on cars or houses without knowing the condition of said car or house. If someone selling a car or house prevented you from making a proper assessment of the condition of what you were thinking of buying, you'd walk away, right? Why wouldn't boats be the same?

I liken it to a corporate takeover where there is an agreement on price etc, and then the buyer does "due diligence" where the financial records etc are opened up for detailed scrutiny.
It`s a 2 way street.I would not want to spend $$$ on general and mechanical surveys without knowing I could buy the boat to the exclusion of others at a known price.
The right to reject the boat covers you for defects, either by walking away or renegotiating the price. In a way an agreement to buy is a kind of option for which you don`t pay an option fee, though if you say "no" after survey you would usually have the burden of your surveyors fees, haulout, meeting your own expenses, etc.

 

[BandB]

Have to disagree. It may be the "norm" in CA, but that sure isn't true up here in the PNW or BC, where we have had no problem starting motors, going through electrical/gear before an offer. .

Well, it's sure the norm here.

 

[BandB]

I liken it to a corporate takeover where there is an agreement on price etc, and then the buyer does "due diligence" where the financial records etc are opened up for detailed scrutiny.
It`s a 2 way street.I would not want to spend $$$ on general and mechanical surveys without knowing I could buy the boat to the exclusion of others at a known price.
The right to reject the boat covers you for defects, either by walking away or renegotiating the price. In a way an agreement to buy is a kind of option for which you don`t pay an option fee, though if you say "no" after survey you would usually have the burden of your surveyors fees, haulout, meeting your own expenses, etc.

And 90% of corporate mergers and acquisitions never happen. I think boat sales may have a little better rate but I'd guess 75-80% that have contracts never close.

Buying boats and houses today in most cases is like buying options on them, you spend money on the surveys or inspections instead of an option fee. Similar on a business, you spend time and money on the due diligence. A contract on a boat is more the equivalent of a business "Letter of Intent."

 

[Peter B]

Good on ya!

Anytime the used car sales tactics come out, walk away.

Not even used car salesmen require an offer before seeing the car, and even not only running the engine, but having a test drive as well. How do I know? I've bought and sold more cars than boats, and am in the process again right now.

 

[Newtrawlerowner]

If you are using a broker, have them make the offer. I would advise against making the offer directly to the listing broker. In my experience the broker will require a deposit of 10% of the accepted offer. This is normal. But sending money to a broker you don't know is risky. Many articles I've read about scams suggest this is how it starts. If you pay the deposit and later decide to walk away, your deposit gets returned. Good luck.