Should Seller or Buyer pay for Surveys

Torcan · Post by **Torcan** » Sun Mar 04, 2012 11:50 pm

I am of the belief that sellers should provide an updated survey when selling a boat. It helps to determine the selling price and lets the buyer know what is going on.
It also lets the seller fix problems themselves in order to command a better selling price.

After all, if you have 4 people looking to buy, why should there have to be 4 separate surveys paid for by the buyers?

All opinions respected and open for debate.

Big D · Post by **Big D** » Mon Mar 05, 2012 12:00 am

Buyer gets the survey done. There is no way I would take the seller's word for it or that of a survey they commissioned. I always maintain that there are two types of surveyors, the kind you get when you're selling or for insurance purposes. These will be less than adequate full blown surveys; I call them drive-bys. Then there are surveyors that you call when you purchase a boat and really want to know everything that is wrong. These guys will spend the better part of the day going over the boat with a fine toothed comb. More expensive but you'll know what you're in for and all the noted defficiencies can be used as a bargaining tool in negotiating a lower price. As a seller, you would already have a survey for insurance purposes.

Torcan · Post by **Torcan** » Mon Mar 05, 2012 12:07 am

Big D wrote:Buyer gets the survey done. There is no way I would take the seller's word for it or that of a survey they commissioned. I always maintain that there are two types of surveyors, the kind you get when you're selling or for insurance purposes. These will be less than adequate full blown surveys; I call them drive-bys. Then there are surveyors that you call when you purchase a boat and really want to know everything that is wrong. These guys will spend the better part of the day going over the boat with a fine toothed comb. More expensive but you'll know what you're in for and all the noted defficiencies can be used as a bargaining tool in negotiating a lower price. As a seller, you would already have a survey for insurance purposes.

This is why I come here for opinions and comments, surprisingly, I had never thought of it that way. I guess I am just of the school of taking people at face value and trusting. Has cost me money once in the past, but most people I've dealt with have been pretty straight forward and honest.

g36 · Post by **g36** » Mon Mar 05, 2012 6:35 am

if available i would like to see a survey the owner might have, ...but to trust it?.... not if i'm buying. i will have my own survey done by someone i hired to work for my best interest. saved me from buying 2 boats in the past. i think it was money well spent.

prowlersfish · Post by **prowlersfish** » Mon Mar 05, 2012 6:42 am

I agree with Big D as the surveyor should be working for the buyer . I would not trust a sellers survey .

Now before some one says the seller should pay for the buyers survey . there would be a lot more tire kickers wasting the buyers time and money.

Stripermann2 · Post by **Stripermann2** » Mon Mar 05, 2012 9:18 am

Torcan, when you buy a home, the seller relays to you, the purchaser, information and claims, he deems to be true. You need an independent third party to back those claims up or to disclaim and advise you on any issues.

So you want to protect your investment, you hire a home surveyor to protect your interest and investment. If I were selling you a home..or boat and I hired a surveyor, his interest is me. Not you. Why in the world would you trust someone who doesn't have your best interest at hand? The surveyor is hired and paid for by the purchaser.

I think you got it though...

jddens · Post by **jddens** » Mon Mar 05, 2012 9:23 am

If I'm selling a boat I might very well get a survey before putting boat on the market.....that way I could address issues before they come up in a buyers survey. Normally I would get my own survey if I was buying.......having said that I trusted the PO's survey in my case. I did my homework and found out the surveyor was the toughest one around and used primarily by buyers. I called him and discussed the survey. The PO used him to get his insurance survey so I was comfortable trusting his 2 month old survey.............John

MadBen · Post by **MadBen** » Mon Mar 05, 2012 9:35 am

I'm going to pay for my survey as a buyer. I'm also going to follow the surveyor thru the entire process. This is what I've done in the past. You can learn alot about your new boat this way.

Commissionpoint · Post by **Commissionpoint** » Mon Mar 05, 2012 9:58 am

If you are the seller there is no harm in getting a survey done to back up your claims regarding the condition of the vessel you are selling. Encouraging prospective buyers to have thier own independant survey conducted conveys a degree of honesty in the selling process. Just my 2 cents.

hmc · Post by **hmc** » Mon Mar 05, 2012 10:02 am

pay 600 bucks only to have it donr by the buyer seems like a waste

k9th · Post by **k9th** » Mon Mar 05, 2012 10:24 am

I am investing MY money and therefore it is my responsibility to make sure the product meets my expectations. I will gladly pay the survey before I spend a large amount of money - cheap insurance. My insurance company requires a survey at my cost to insure the boat.

As a seller - I would get a survey done to allow me to get the boat ready or be aware of any issues that might come up.

The old Latin saying - Caveat Emptor - let the buyer beware!

Commissionpoint · Post by **Commissionpoint** » Mon Mar 05, 2012 11:07 am

Yes Tim. Also as the seller it lends a degree of creedence to the claims you are making about the boat. You could say that 'this boat is in nearly factory condition', or 'you are going to need to address the (insert object here) soon' for example, and have some legit paperwork to back up your claims. If it costs 600 bux as was suggested to get this done you can easilly build that into your selling price if its really important to you to get that money back. Of course if you are selling a boat for tens of thousands of dollars you could alternatively take the attitude that the 600 is just part of the price of doing business.

Big D · Post by **Big D** » Mon Mar 05, 2012 12:00 pm

Commissionpoint wrote:Yes Tim. Also as the seller it lends a degree of creedence to the claims you are making about the boat. You could say that 'this boat is in nearly factory condition', or 'you are going to need to address the (insert object here) soon' for example, and have some legit paperwork to back up your claims. If it costs 600 bux as was suggested to get this done you can easilly build that into your selling price if its really important to you to get that money back. Of course if you are selling a boat for tens of thousands of dollars you could alternatively take the attitude that the 600 is just part of the price of doing business.

No question it is deffinately a selling tool for sure, and by passing this on to the prospective buyer, it shows that you're confident in the product you're selling. You should already have one for insurance anyway, and if there were any defficiencies noted, you could show the repairs that have been done. But all the same, as a buyer, I source my own surveyor as well. This will only be the beginning of the wallet drain if you buy it

it's a boat

BMILLER · Post by **BMILLER** » Mon Mar 05, 2012 12:10 pm

Sore subject here for me. I paid a very highly recommended licensed surveyor to throughly inspect and provide a detailed report for both me and the insurance company. The boat was classified by him, and in writing, as in very good and very well maintained condition....................so, not knowing about boats of this type, I took the "expert's" advise and laid down the $$$. I hadn't had it 3 hrs enroute to its new marina till all sorts of things started going wrong. And none ever showed up in the pre-buy and shakedown. Nonetheless, its almost a year now and it hasn't left the slip. I did contact the surveyor and complained about all he missed. He stated it was OK at the time.....................bull ! And, as I found out later, the PO jury rigged and later switched out several items before I could pick up the boat..............remote spotlight, hailer, radio, etc. Same appearing as the ones at survey but non functioned ones switched. And as a novice to this boat, I never rechecked as I already paid and trusted the PO............expensive lesson learned.

I recommend, if you are serious about the purchase, make the buyer pay for the survey, be right there looking over the shoulder of the "expert" and if possible, buy and take possession of the vessel on the spot and change all keys and remove it to a new location (if that's your plan) immediately.

In hindsight, I'd get a few knowledgable friends to first go look at the vessel before getting a survey. I wouldn't make the final purchase w/o the survey, but benefit from their past experience of problems.

Big D · Post by **Big D** » Mon Mar 05, 2012 12:25 pm

I seriously doubt that any surveyor including the really good ones are going to catch everything; that's impossible simply due to accessibility. Based on your story, this is a good reminder, to also consider that if you're not in the know mechanically and other systems, that you hire a certified marine mechanic to spot potential problems, and note such. This will allow for a more informative purchace, a bargaining tool, and a means by which to schedule some sort of plan to tackle the defficiencies.

Sorry to hear about the issues you've faced. Unfortunately it happens, even with the pros sometimes. But not getting a survey done is asking for trouble. Unfortunately you also had an a$$hole of an owner working against you too.

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Should Seller or Buyer pay for Surveys

Should Seller or Buyer pay for Boat Surveys

Should Seller or Buyer pay for Surveys