Who holds the deposit, on what terms it comes back, what happens if the survey goes badly, whether the balance is paid before transfer completes, if these are not settled at the handshake, there is no ground left to settle them on later.
This page covers the money and paperwork side of buying. It is not legal advice; draw the contract with your lawyer. The aim is that you know what to ask for.
1. The Order of Things
| # | Stage | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Offer and acceptance | A price is agreed verbally. Nothing binding yet. |
| 2 | Memorandum of agreement | Price, deposit, survey rights and deadlines go in writing. This is where the real protection sits. |
| 3 | Deposit | Shows the agreement is serious; the refund conditions are in the memorandum. |
| 4 | Survey and sea trial | Condition established by measurement, within the period the memorandum allows. |
| 5 | Discussion on findings | Price adjustment, rectification, or withdrawal. The right written into the memorandum is exercised here. |
| 6 | Document check | Ownership chain, liens and encumbrances, hull number, VAT history. |
| 7 | Transfer and balance | The balance is paid simultaneously with transfer, never before. |
| 8 | Handover inventory | An equipment list, photographed and signed by both parties. |
2. What Must Be in the Memorandum
- Identity of parties and vessel: make, model, year, hull number (HIN), registry details. A memorandum without the hull number cannot prove which boat it describes.
- Price and currency: at which rate and on what date. Who carries exchange movement should be stated.
- Deposit and refund terms: in which circumstances it returns, in which it is forfeited.
- Survey right and deadline: the buyer's right to survey, within how many days, with a surveyor of whose choosing.
- Findings threshold: if the total cost of findings exceeds a stated figure, the buyer may withdraw or renegotiate. Without this clause a survey gives information but no protection.
- Inventory: what stays with the boat, listed item by item. "As seen" leaves you chasing missing sails and electronics after handover.
- Transfer timetable and costs: notary, registration, lift-out and crane, who pays what.
- Consequences of withdrawal: stated separately for each side.
The clause most often missing: the findings threshold. Memoranda that grant a survey right but say nothing about what happens if findings appear are very common. The seller can then say the boat was sold as seen, and the deposit becomes contested. Set the threshold in advance, as a figure or a percentage.
3. The Deposit: Who Holds It?
Handing a deposit straight to the seller is the least protected route for a buyer. The options in practice:
| Method | Protection | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Direct to the seller | Low | Recovery becomes difficult if a refund is due. |
| Held by the broker | Medium | The release conditions must be in writing; where the broker acts for the seller, neutrality is limited. |
| Held in a lawyer's account | High | Release conditions defined in the agreement. |
| Notary or escrow arrangement | High | It costs something, and on a high-value sale it earns it back. |
Whichever route, the critical point is the same: who releases the money, and on what condition, must be in writing.
4. Cross-Border Sales
- Flag and registration: which flag the boat will carry, how the change is made and who handles it.
- VAT status: decisive if she is going into EU waters; a gap in the chain becomes the buyer's risk.
- Transit log: on a foreign-flagged boat, responsibility for closing an open transit log at the point of transfer should be stated.
- Funds transfer: who carries the cost and the timing of an international payment.
- Language: where the contract exists in two languages, say which text governs.
5. Transfer Day Checklist
- Hull number physically checked and matched to the papers?
- Liens, mortgages and encumbrances searched?
- Inventory verified aboard, item by item?
- Keys, documents, manuals and spares handed over?
- Marina and hardstanding accounts settled? (Debts follow the boat.)
- Insurance: seller's policy cancelled, yours in force?
- Handover record photographed and signed by both parties?
- Balance paid simultaneously with transfer?
6. Using the Survey in Negotiation
A report on its own does not produce a discount; presented item by item, it does. The method:
- Class A findings are not negotiating points. They concern safety and are rectified before the boat is accepted.
- Class B findings are the ground for negotiation. For each: the report item number, the measurement, the photograph and a realistic repair cost.
- Class C findings are ordinary maintenance; putting them into a negotiation weakens the seriousness of your offer.
- Offer three routes: a reduction, the seller rectifying, or the price standing and you taking it on. A demand with no options locks the negotiation.
Note: the report belongs to you. You are not obliged to give it to the seller; sharing a summary of the relevant findings is usually enough, and usually stronger.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not the seller directly. A lawyer's account or a defined escrow arrangement where possible. What matters is not the amount but that the release conditions are written down.
Not if the memorandum sets a findings threshold. Without one it becomes contested, which is why that clause matters more than any other.
Not necessarily, though it is worth it on a high-value sale. What matters is not where it is signed but that the findings threshold, survey right and refund terms are in it.
Simultaneously with transfer. A balance paid before transfer completes can leave you holding nothing but a receipt.
They can, but where the broker acts for the seller, neutrality is limited. Ask for the release conditions in writing.
Because it is what handovers argue about. Sail wardrobe, electronics, dinghy, outboard, spare anchor, unless each is listed, "as seen" is read in the seller's favour.
Unpaid berthing and hardstanding accounts tend to follow the boat. Ask for written confirmation that they are clear before transfer.
No, it is yours. In negotiation, an item-by-item summary of the relevant findings is usually more effective than handing over the whole report.
Related Pages
Buying a Yacht in TürkiyeProcess, risks and budgetRegulations, Documents and EnvironmentDocument set and checklistReading a Survey ReportFinding classes and negotiationRepair Guide100 findings and realistic costsChoosing a Marine SurveyorSeven questions to askYacht InsuranceCover on transfer day
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We will show you which clauses are missing; you draw the contract with your lawyer.
💬 WhatsApp 📝 Written quote 📞 +90 501 5 SURVEYLast reviewed: September 2026. Maritime regulations and charges change; confirm with the relevant authority or your agent before acting. If you spot something out of date on this page, tell us.