Contingency wording?

[Boasun]

You need to know if there are any liens against the vessel also.
Know of one fellow who bought a boat at bargain basement price and then after all was said and done on the purchase found that there were liens against the boat up and down the west coast for fuel, yard work, etc. of many thousands of dollars.
Yes the liens do go with the boat, and he ended up with those financial liabilities.

[sailingdog]

Yes, a title search is a good idea, especially on an older boat. The title search company will essentially provide a document saying that they're responsible for having done a title search and that the boat's title is free and clear of any liens not mentioned. Then in the future, if any liens are discovered, the title company's insurance generally eats the cost of clearing them.

Liens are generally found on the USCG documentation... if the boat is state-registered, things are a bit messier, since there is no uniform method of documenting liens on state registered vessels.

[xort]

I haven't done this, only heard it described...
Put a time limit in the contract on how long the broker has before returning your escrow money if the deal falls through. The less than honest broker will sit on your money for 2 reasons; one to make a little interest (not much) the other main reason is to keep you attached to the deal while he twists arms to get a deal done. Hard to walk away if you can't get your money back. The fee will be $100/week after 1 week from your rejecting the deal. Have the broker sign off on this.

One broker I visited with said they have a check list. after each step in the process, I must sign off on acceptance of that part and cannot reject later for reasons on the checklist. made me nervous that this guy had an armload of stuff to hold me down. The checklist included the basic parts of the survey. After basic hull survey, i would have to sign off accepting that part of the survey. If I later come back with second thoughts regarding something found, "sorry, too late". I walked, in part, just because of that high pressure tactic.
I want an open ended contract that says I can walk for any reason prior to closing. I may not get it but my feet work just fine in that situation.

[WinterRiver]

Thanks, all, for the info.

I now have a copy of the standard contract. I've read through it, and familiarity is adding to my comfort level. I do have to consider whether I need to add any additional provisions.

Wow, xort, I would have walked away from that one with the checklist too. Sometimes it's not each idividual concern that kills the deal, it's the big picture. I can bet he got away with that many times by simply saying that was always the way it was done.