A valuation is a statement of opinion by a knowledgeable but disinterested party that a particular vessel is worth a particular amount at a particular place and a particular time under given conditions.
Clients may request a surveyor to carry out a valuation survey for pre-purchase purposes, for insurance or for finance when the client needs to verify the value to satisfy a third party (the insurance company or the bank), for his own curiosity or for legal reasons (dispute, estate administration, taxation etc.).
Strictly, a valuation is not a survey; it is rather a conjecture, an opinion. However, surveying the vessel is an important part of the valuation.
Condition of the boat, when compared to its peers, has an important contribution to the value of the vessel. However, some condition aspects contribute less to the value of the boat and some more. Some, like the condition of an aging navigation system, can have at face value an uncertain contribution.
A history of damages may be revealed as a result of serious investigation and certainly will influence the valuation of the boat.
Even lore around a vessel may have to be considered.
However, external contributories like market conditions or taxes influence valuation significantly as well.
Looking at the question of value from our perspective, we endeavour to determine nothing more or less than the price a sound person is prepared to pay for a particular yacht under a given set of circumstances. The circumstances are the physical details of the yacht and other factors which influence an individual’s decision as to whether to buy the yacht in contemplation.
For us, with a range of tools and information at our disposal, we endeavour to support our survey with a body of evidence that, if judged by a jury of peers, would withstand scrutiny.
Dr. Yusuf Civelekoglu
Cert. Marine Investigator
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