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Richard
Consider picking up a dictionary and looking up the word
KARMA
You might be surprised to find out what it means.
>From: Richard Goodwin <>
>To: Live-Aboard <>
>Subject: Re: lv-ab: Marine Surveyor recommendations
>Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 13:56:51 -0800 (PST)
>
>A couple of surveyor stories...
>
>I've had some interesting experiences with marine
>surveyors. I've used three of them so far -- all
>highly recommended and in business for a long time.
>
>I relate the first story here in spite of the fact
>that, 30 years ago when it happened, I was obviously
>not a very upstanding fellow in my business dealings,
>but I want you to know what can happen.
>
>This first time was when I was selling a 25' wooden
>folkboat in Annapolis. I was recnetly married, broke,
>desperate for money, and not in any mood to be
>ethical.
>
>The buyer made the mistake of telling me who he was
>using for a surveyor. I called the surveyor and said
>I was delighted to meet him because as soon as I sold
>my boat I was going to buy a much bigger one and
>wanted him to survey it, provided of course that this
>boat sold ok with no problems.
>
>He actually said to me that he would not jeopardize
>the sale. He was as good as his word. The survey
>found nothing wrong in spite of the fact that the
>stuffing box was so corroded that it leaked water in
>sufficient quantity to sink her overnight in the slip,
>and in spite of the fact that the mast had been broken
>and roughly repaired (by me) by shoving the two ends
>onto a 3' galvanized pipe and bolting them to the
>pipe, then covering the break with a thin piece of
>aluminum sheet.
>
>Somehow both the surveyor and the buyer managed to
>miss these two things. The day after I deposited the
>buyer's cash in my bank account, the buyer took the
>battery home to charge it -- something I explicitly
>told him not to do, neglecting only to say why he
>shouldn't do that -- and next morning he called me all
>in a lather because the boat was on the bottom of the
>slip, which is when he discovered the break in the
>mast, which was now at eye level from the dock. I
>read him the riot act for letting "my" boat sink.
>Hey, I was young and foolish. At least I'm not so
>young now. :-)
>
>The other two times I asked surveyors I hired to give
>me the lowest possible valuation and list absolutely
>everything they could find wrong with the boats. They
>did so beyond my expectations, and enabled me to buy a
>boat for half what the seller was originally asking.
>
>So ... one lesson I learned as a buyer -- never ever
>tell the seller who you are using for a surveyor.
>
>And another lesson -- do your own survey, and bring
>lots of knowledgeable friends to also survey her, and
>write down anything you or they don't understand and
>ask the professional surveyor about it.
>
>I've had home inspectors do the same thing -- overlook
>or minimize problems. One of them said to me: "There
>are no problems, only opportunities. If I find so
>many problems that sales fall through, how long do you
>think I'd be in business?"
>
>Good luck. And don't buy a boat from me. :-)
>
>Dick
>
>
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