see also: | Boatshed Services | Used Boats | New boats |
Buying through Boatshed – the Tried and Tested Sequence
Preparation and Research
The first step is to make a shortlist of boats that might suit your needs.
On the boatshed.com website there is a vast selection of all types of boats so there will probably be just the kind of thing that you are looking for.
So the vital next step is to register on the website (there’s no onerous obligation in doing so). The process is quick and simple and you only have to do it once no matter how many boats you view.
So, before you make a decision to travel to view, having registered, you can view unlimited photos, video, VR (virtual reality) clips and a detailed specification for each boat. The website’s boats for sale listings can be searched in a wide variety of ways. And every boat has been visited and photographed an experienced Boatshed broker personally, so they can talk in detail about the boat you are interested in.
If you’d like to discuss more, then contact the broker handling the sale by phone or email. In fact, they’ll advise and hand-hold you through every stage, so you’ll feel in complete, reassuring control.
Viewings
You can feel confident about the information presented on the Boatshed website, or by talking direct with the broker. Confident enough to make decisions about visiting boats to check them out. Make arrangements to do so with your broker.
All viewings are accompanied by a qualified Boatshed.com broker so hopefully they will be able to answer all your questions about the boat or find this information out for you. Boatshed brokers are a mine of useful information, as they work locally in the area where the boat is, they will be able to put you in touch with others within the boating sector if you need quotes for things like transport, insurance or work needed on the boat to get her exactly how you’d like her.
Offer
The two key points are that the Offer can be withdrawn and any Deposit paid is refundable.
So If you are travelling a distance you could safely make an Offer, place a Deposit (and possibly have an Agreement for Sale contract signed by both parties), before committing to expensive travel logistics. You could do so based entirely on the quality and accuracy of the information shown on the Boatshed website. You might think this unusual, but Boatshed regularly sells boats to buyers who have trusted the description and photos and the marine surveyor’s opinion; the first time they see the boat is when they come to collect her or she arrives on transport arranged by the Boatshed broker.
With or without a Viewing, when you’ve made up your mind that the boat is what you are looking for, the next step is to make an offer. This is normally made subject to survey but can also be subject to sea trials, engine test and equipment checks.
Contact the broker to make your offer, Boatshed is duty bound to inform owners of all offers made so they’ll let you know as soon as we possibly can what the owner’s reaction to your offer was. Quite often there is a period of negotiating but this is always done via the broker to ensure everyone understands fully and thus gets the best deal.
Agreement for Sale Contract and Deposit
After your offer has been accepted an Agreement for Sale contract needs to be signed by the owner and purchaser, and the purchaser pays a 10% holding deposit. Once the deposit is cleared in the owner’s account the boat is officially Under Offer and Boatshed cannot show any more clients the boat. You have a set time period to perform your checks. This deposit is fully refundable if the sale does not proceed in accordance with our agreement for sale and is paid into a client account.
You now have 21 days to arrange the survey and checks before completing the sale.
Survey
Boatshed recommends that you use a professional surveyor with the appropriate Professional Indemnity insurance. All costs for surveys and lift outs are down to you. Boatshed’s brokers are not allowed to recommend surveyors but they will be able to provide you with a list of local surveyors if you don’t know any close to the boat.
The broker will be informed of when the survey is taking place and will try to be there to meet the surveyor; this gives them a very good and early indication of any problems if they are found and how severe they are. This is vital as they will have to undertake any negotiations between buyer and seller if anything is highlighted in the survey.
The majority of surveys are plain sailing and any problems the surveyor finds are often known to the broker who will have forewarned the purchaser already and ensured that the offer price included an offset for any work required. Brokers will be able to provide details of local companies who can quote for any work needed following the survey to enable a fair price reduction to be agreed.
Obviously if the survey, or any other trials or checks reveal material problems then you can choose not to proceed and Boatshed will refund your deposit in full. However it’s far more usual for brokers to enter into negotiations on your behalf with the owner to secure a price reduction.
Taking Ownership
Once the final price is agreed all that remains is for you to pay the balance and collect the keys and the paperwork. The broker will have sorted all the necessary formalities out to correctly transfer title and to arrange to appropriate registration and if needed import or export documentation. Because Boatshed is a well-established worldwide organisation our brokers can rely on the support and advice of our experts and their colleagues across the world so that they can get even the most complicated transfer documentation completed. The boat is now yours but the Boatshed service doesn’t stop here.
You’ll need to arrange insurance, possibly transport for the boat, maybe there’s some work you want carried out, you’ll need to arrange for somewhere to keep the boat and might even need a little tuition or directions to the local supermarket so you can stock her up before your maiden voyage. Your Boatshed broker is there to help with all these things to ensure that buying a boat is as easy and safe as it can be.
