My letter to the broker:
Last week I tried to buy (name of boat), but it now seems to have been sold to someone else.
I'd be grateful for some feedback on why I was unsuccessful. I made an offer on the boat on Wednesday, and was in communication with the owner about the boat. So he knew I was interested, and you knew I was interested. Should I not have been made aware of the rival bid for the boat, so I had a chance to increase my offer? Was there any way in which I should have made it clearer that I wanted the boat?
I just want to learn from my mistakes so it doesn't happen again. What should I have done differently?
His reply to me:
I am very sorry you feel aggrieved, however, we do not, and would not want to operate an auction for boats, we do like to offer boats at what we believe to be a fair and reasonable price, however, we will also put offers to customers for their consideration which they may choose to accept or refuse, in this case you were willing to place an offer which was refused and no further offer was put forward, we cannot hold a boat while you make a decision whether or not to make an increased offer, when we have an interested party here on the day, wishing to place a deposit for a boat, at a price accepted by the owner, I do not feel we should jeopardize a sale by trying to contact people who have made rejected offers on a boat in the hope of raising the price, moreover, I feel going back and forth with higher bids can more often than not lead to dissatisfaction, in conclusion, until a deposit is placed on a boat we will not hold it for a particular person.
I hope you are successful in your search for a boat and we can help you in the future, and should you find yourself in a position where an offer is rejected, make clear your intention to make a fresh offer, but beforehand ensure you are happy you have gathered all the information you require prior to making any offer, as discussing a price does not constitute an offer. I do hope this is of help.
So. My mistakes:
- Not deciding then and there on the boat and putting down a deposit
- Not making it clear that if my offer was rejected that I would increase the offer
- Delaying while I sought information from the owner
Does he mean I should have tried to ask the owner about the boat before even making an offer? Would the broker have given me that information? Wouldn't this have delayed my making an offer allowing someone else to slip in before me?
Thank you to all who have expressed their sympathy. I'm getting over it! I had initially thought that the broker was at fault, but now I can see his point of view. My biggest mistake was not recognising the gift horse and acting swiftly enough. I was quite prepared to pay the asking price. Why didn't I offer that straight away? When will I stop kicking myself?
Oh. Nearly forgot. Actually some of the delay could be down to the broker: on the day he received my offer I got an e-mail back, which, as will be clear, he intended to send to the owner:
Hi (my first name, same as first name of owner),
Just had a long conversation with Mr (my surname), chap who made offer.
A bit of history on him - Came in to look at marina, not to purchase boat. Saw your boat and fell for it. Believe he has done some boating but not owned his own.
He seems quite genuine from the conversation and very keen to know as much about history and any problems there may be with boat.
I laughed when I read it, and, of course, replied pointing out his error.
It doesn't seem quite so funny now.
3 comments:
Halfie,
A good if disappointing experience. I don't think you did too much wrong if as I suspect you didn't fancy a gamble. I looked at a boat at the same brokerage and was working out the financing and the pro's and con's - then someone came in with cash and no survey !! and he got the boat at a very good price.
My understanding is an offer is made and a deposit is paid (a % of the price could be 10%)This is subject to survey but only refundable if after finding major faults the deal falls through. The survey can find faults but if not significant means you cannot walk away. So I think you were right in your approach....it is a lot of money and you need to be sure you are not buying a financial heartache. Talking to the owner and broker is central. I would suggest getting your face known at a few brokers of your choice and letting them know what you want. When you see it work through the broker for all questions - as we did for Waterlily.
Good luck, it's a buyers market and there will be more bargains, and this was a bargain (unless the survey says different) but don't beat yourself up, use it as a learning point for the next boat !! I hope to see you on the cut soon in your own boat.
Nev
Nev, I should have paid a deposit then. I was pretty sure about the boat, but not having been through any of this it before, I was playing safe and asking about a survey. I wouldn't have minded a few small things showing up, and if, as you say, it had found that the hull was just about to rust through and the engine was shot then I could have walked away. But before you said it, I'd been thinking that putting down a deposit was committing to buy.
And your advice about asking the questions through the broker sounds good: then he would be in no doubt as to my interest. But it wouldn't have prevented someone else beating me to it with a deposit.
It doesn't seem at all like buying a house.
Thanks for your encouragement, and I too look forward to that meeting.
Any delay is always a gamble as someone else who is prepared to take a chance can always come in first. I think this was really bad luck Halfie, but there was not much you could have done about it without taking what most people consider to be an unacceptable risk: to buy a boat without a survey. By the way, I bought my barge 'in the water' as we say, and incurred major costs as a result. In the end, I think your caution was still sensible.
PS. Speaking as an English teacher, the broker could do with learning to put a few full stops here and there. I felt exhausted just reading his reply!
Post a Comment