Sales most often fall apart on the day the buyer's survey report arrives. A pre-sale survey lets you see those findings first and decide calmly what to fix and what to price in.
- You see the buyer-survey surprises in advance.
- Fix class A findings before listing; price class B openly.
- The report is yours; sharing it with buyers is your decision.
- A serious buyer may still commission their own survey; that is normal.
1. Why a Seller Survey?
- Support the asking price with a measured condition record
- Settle "that repair costs X" arguments before the negotiation
- Fix safety findings that would stop a sale in time
- Give a remote buyer confidence: measured, photographed report
2. What Is Checked?
The scope matches a pre-purchase survey: hull moisture and sounding, structure, engines under load, electrics, gas, safety equipment, rig and sea trial. The boat must have been ashore and dry for at least a week. More: survey process.
3. Using the Findings
- Class A: fix before listing, or the buyer's survey will stop the sale.
- Class B: repair or price it in openly; documented repair holds value.
- Class C: normal maintenance; not a negotiation item.
- Get repair quotes on the terms in the repair quotation sample.
4. Preparing for the survey
To get the most from a pre-sale survey, prepare the boat as you would for a buyer:
- Haul out at least a week before; hull moisture is only read properly on a dry hull.
- Leave lockers, bilge hatches and the engine space accessible; reduce personal gear.
- Put all documents in one file: registration, invoices, service records, earlier reports.
- Tell the surveyor about known issues at the start; the report will measure and cost them too.
- Arrange fuel and marina permission for the sea trial.
5. Using the report when you sell
The report is yours and you decide how to use it. The usual route is to show a serious buyer the summary and the invoices for findings you have fixed. That does not stop the buyer commissioning their own survey, but knowing that the two reports will not differ much shortens negotiation.
Publishing the full report as listing material or using it for another sale needs written permission; see the terms of service.
Frequently Asked Questions
Scope: The survey is non-destructive and nothing is dismantled; details on the survey types page.
Related Pages
Send the boat, year and marina; we reply with an itemised written quote.
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