Quote:
Originally Posted by jstorm41
As a surveyor (SAMS and NAMS certified - 10 yrs and over 1000 boats) I applaud the general spirit of these tips. I think it is very smart to give a boat a very careful personal inspection before entering into a sales contract and hiring a surveyor. I really don't enjoy taking money for giving clients bad news about a boat that they could have seen for themselves.
J. Stormer
S/V TROPICBIRD
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I respectfully disagree. I would never make an offer on a boat or enter into any binding contract until a surveyor had seen it and reported back to me.
First, you save yourself the travel costs. If you have to get on a plane to see the boat and stay overnight, a survey is always cheaper than going yourself.
Secondly, a surveyor is going to see things that I don't see. He evaluates hundreds of boats and has a basis for comparison of this particular boat to similar boats. I don't.
If the surveyor gives me a positive report, then and only then will I go see the boat.
But before retaining the surveyor, I ask the broker for any prior surveys, for pictures and other details that were not in the advertisment. I call the builder and ask questions, or if the builder is defunct I try to find someone who worked for the builder. I scour the web for information on the boat. I try to locate the person who owned the boat before the present owner. If it's in a marina I talk to the manager. At that point I should have a fairly good idea of whether or not I am interested enough in this particular boat to invest $500 or so in a survey.
Brokers and sellers hate it when you want to survey the boat before entering into a P&S. So it must be the right thing to do.