Legal Question in Consumer Law in Virginia

We recently found a boat online on Craigs list for 23,500. We drove out to meet the seller and we agreed to buy the boat from him for 23,000 he took a personal check for 1,000 from us to hold the boat and said he wanted to take his kids out one last time next week and then we could have the boat. We said OK that would give us time to get the loan from the bank. One week later we recieved a call from the seller saying he took out another interested buyer and that he wants to sell for 25,500 now and is giving us first chance over this new buyer. We also found that after he promised the boat to us and took our 1,000 check, he had reposted his boat online for 25,500. We want to possibly give the extra 2,500 but we are afraid he will keep up a bidding war until we get him the money which he will not take until after he has used the boat for the last time. Do we have any legal right to the boat or because there has been no contract are we out of luck?


Asked on 7/07/11, 3:54 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Michael Hendrickson Law Office Michael E. Hendrickson

Of course there was a contract (albeit an oral one) and, yes, if you're

up to litigating the matter in the local circuit court, you could probably

force this seller to go through with the deal, but it might

cost you another $5K to?

If it were me I'd call this guy up and tell him to send me my $1000.00

back; I'm done with this deal. (There are plenty of other boat bargains

out there in these still depressed economic times and you should

have no trouble whatsoever in locating another attractive offer.)

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Answered on 7/07/11, 5:19 pm
Michael Hendrickson Law Office Michael E. Hendrickson

Additional comment: From the TV series entitled "PAWN STARS" comes the

explanation for the acronym BOAT, i.e., Break Out Another Thousand!

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Answered on 7/08/11, 9:57 am


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