The process of selling your narrowboat

We at Venetian Marina have recently been fortunate enough to feature on the acclaimed, highly informative Youtube channel, The Narrowboat Experience. Via their frequent video updates, Kath & Annamarie share updates on their canal experience, along with useful information and helpful tips on all things narrowboat. Having sold their boat through our brokerage they were kind enough to invite us to talk through the buying and selling process on an episode of their vlog. Having discussed the buying process last time, we will now go though what is involved in selling your boat.

Here at Venetian Marina it is our aim to remove as much of the stress of selling your narrowboat as possible. for a very reasonable 4% + VAT of the final sale, with a minimum of £1,250 + VAT, we will sell your boat for you on our brokerage. This means that you can sit back and relax, and let us take care of the ofttimes arduous process.

The first necessary step, if you wish to sell your boat through us, is to arrange a valuation. Either give us a call, pop in for a chat or fill out the form on our website. We will then find a time that suits you to meet at the boat, to complete a free, no commitment, appraisal of your boats worth. We will provide you with a guide price that we feel you can realistically expect to achieve from brokerage. Depending on the boat in question, we will sometimes be able to offer you a cash price or even a part exchange if required. A cash price is for those of you who are looking for a no hassle quick sale option and funds can be in your chosen account within as little as 24 hours.  

If you opt for the brokerage option, you will need to bring the vessel to us to Venetian Marina, once you've arrived, we will sit down with you and gather as much information on the boat as possible. This should take no more than half an hour, and helps us give any potential buyers a fuller overview of the boat. All that is left to do is hand the keys over, and we can begin getting ready to advertise your boat.

We will create a brochure using the information you have given us, along with a floor plan, and carefully taken photographs. Once we are happy with this, we will send you an e-mail containing your unique log in details to enable you to access your private vendors area via our website. Here you will be able to see the specification details we have created, and let us know if there is anything you would like us to change before we put the boat live on our website. We will never proceed with advertising your boat until we know that you are happy. It is also within your vendors area that you will be able to see how many people have viewed your boat, and, once an offer has been accepted, how the sale is progressing.  

If anyone offers the full asking price we can accept this on your behalf. Any offers that are made that do not meet the full asking price will be brought to your attention immediately. We can offer advice, but ultimately the decision on whether to accept or not is your own. 

As soon as an offer is accepted the purchaser must pay a deposit of £1,000, thus securing your boat, and taking it off the market. If no survey is required we ask that the money be paid within 7 days. However, It is often the case that the buyer will require a survey. This will be at their cost. 

Depending what issues arise on the survey, there may, at this point, be some further negotiation on the agreed price. We will negotiate on your behalf to try and secure the best possible deal for everyone involved. We will only negotiate on the price with relation to requirements on the survey, not recommendations or advisory points. 

Once a final deal has been agreed we will encourage the purchaser to pay the balance as swiftly as possible. We will then transfer you the funds from the sale of the boat, minus our commission. You will receive a bill of sale in the post to sign and return, in a provided pre-paid envelope, and the selling process will be complete.

For your regular fix of canal based updates, on what we have discussed here and so much more, please follow the inimitable Narrowboat Experience on their Youtube channel and social media. And for any queries you may have regarding the services we provide, don't hesitate to give us a call, or why not pop in and say hello?

We are here to help. 01270 528251