An important part of what we do at Boatshed is help our owners’ boats stand out from the crowd and attract serious interest in a busy, often crowded marketplace. The strength of our website and IT platform, and the attention and importance our brokers place upon extensively photographing and detailing every aspect of a boat for sale, is a key part of that philosophy, but we are always devising new ways to support this effort.

Together with the Marine Inspection Association of surveyors and brokers, we have introduced across the group Independent Pre-Sale Assessments (or IPAs) to help market second-hand sail and motor boats. Boats we sell can be physically inspected, assessed and reported upon by an experienced, independent, marine surveyor before they are listed. Up to 56 critical areas of a used boat are assessed by an expert surveyor. The IPA report appears alongside the boat’s advertised specification and is immediately available to any prospective buyer who views or requests information about the boat.

MIA surveyors have agreed discounted fixed fees for IPAs. The cost of an IPA depends upon the size of the boat to be inspected. A survey is arranged by the broker selling the boat, upon the instructions of the seller, who will appoint a MIA surveyor local to the boat. The seller pays the surveyor direct for the IPA. MIA fees for IPAs are as follows:

  • Up to 40 feet: £149 plus VAT
  • 40 to 60 feet: £199 plus VAT
  • 60+ feet: £249 plus VAT

Advantages to a Seller of instructing an IPA

  • An IPA is one of the most effective methods of making a vessel stand-out from a crowd of other similar boats available for sale.
  • A MIA report helps to reassure potential buyers of the condition of a vessel, which will make the vessel more marketable and improve the prospect of an early sale.
  • An IPA will reveal any significant defects with the vessel before sale, enabling a seller to address these, or to price the vessel accordingly, factoring-in any post-sale repairs that a buyer will need to undertake.
  • An IPA is a focused ‘walk through’ vessel assessment by an expert surveyor, available at relatively low cost.

Advantages to a Buyer of a boat being sold with an IPA report

  • The invaluable reassurance that a vessel advertised for sale with an IPA report has already been given a preliminary, structured, once-over inspection by an independent, expert marine surveyor, who is knowledgeable about second-hand yachts and motor boats and what to be wary of, and to look out for, when buying one.
  • The confidence to proceed with a boat viewing, knowing that what is reported in the IPA report fairly represents the boat the buyer will travel to see and is interested in.
  • Real savings of time and money in the boat buying process - buyers waste less time viewing unsuitable, disappointing boats and, generally, will pay less for a full condition survey undertaken by a surveyor who has already carried out a preliminary inspection and prepared an IPA report.

If you are selling a boat with Boatshed and are interested in an IPA, please discuss this with your Boatshed broker.

For more information about IPAs and the MIA please visit: http://marineinspectionassociation.com