Your thoughts on loans with view to buy....

[Halfpass]

Ok so my boy has only been advertised for a couple of weeks and I feel that already I have had my share of timewasters, those that just don't turn up or the ones that call 4 / 5 times with sooooo many questions saying I must come and see him he sounds lovely then never ring back and those that come say they love him and will go home and think about it then again never call. After the vetting I am being honest with everyone that calls and explain what the vet said (not that I have ever been dishonest) and I am also prepared to take a drop in price to reflect this. Had a call yesterday from a local girl who is looking for a loan with view to buy. What are your thoughts on this? She wants to come and see him but I'm really not sure how it works. I would be happy to do it providing there is a time that we agree that she buys him by providing she wants to. I.e. 6 months. When is the buy price decided. I'm worried that she will ewant to buy him and he'll be poorer than he is now and she'll say he's worth less if that makes sense. This will give me time to save some extra pennies to buy another one. I have had horses on loan before but have never loaned one out can anyone give me any advice and some of thie experinces good or bad and do loan with view to buys really work or am I likely to have him bakc once the loan term has finished. Any advice much appreciated.

 

[Equibeau]

I may be way off the mark here, but I would have thought that "loan with a view to buy" would be only for a max of about 1 month, just to make sure that the horse ticked all the boxes and suited both parties. 6 months would seem an awfully long time to me (eg. what if the horse went lame - who would take responsibility then?) It's a bit of a minefield!. I would say the price should be agreed before any loaning takes place, though I have never been lucky enough to get anyone to agree to this before a sale!

 

[ihatework]

If you are going down that route then make sure you have a watertight agreement.

I'd be tempted to have something along the following lines.
a) she has him vetted before she takes him
b) she has him on 2-4 weeks trial, at the end of which she must pay a 10-20% deposit of a pre-agreed purchase price, this is non refundable in all circumstances, unless you decide to break the contract for whatever reason (i.e. you don't like how she is keeping/riding him)
c) at the end of the 6 month loan period the balance of the purchase price is to be paid in full, horse remains your property until this point.
d) Throughout the whole loan period horse is to be insured to the hilt, including loss of use.

 

[Claireg9]

I would say no to loan with view to buy, your quite right she may hand the horse back at the end of the loan or say the horse is only worth x!
I would say your better off saying your prepared to do a trial period of a week (2 at maximum) so she can see if the horse suits her and if she suits the horse. If you do this make sure you draw up a plan/contract... Of course things can still go wrong and if the horse goes lamn it might still be handed back to you... but this is why 1 week is best keep the time short to lessen risks.
Hope it works out x

 

[Scarlett]

I loaned to buy my Irish Cob - the original loan period was 3 months, it would have been less but he needed some time off before I really started working him - and the purchase price was agreed on the loan agreement. We had the option not to buy him and send him back at the end of the loan period, didnt though!

Although the purchase price was agreed and in the contract I found out pony had a back problem and the price was reduced by the amount the treatment cost me....

I'd keep the loan period short and agree a price first, in writing and witnessed.... Good Luck...!

 

[Munchie]

As she is local why not offer the girl a weeks trial but at your yard. That way she can try out the horse and you are still around to keep an eye on things.

Personally I'd never loan mine out wvtb. Too many things could go wrong and too many people are dishonest. I'm just paranoid but at this time of year I'd be worried she just wanted something fun to ride over the summer and would end up sending it back at the start of winter / whenever your loan agreement ended.
Also suspicious of people who want to do lwvtb for finacial reasons. If they cant afford to buy the horse then how are they going to cope with unexpected vets bills etc.
As I said, I'm just paranoid - I realise not all people are bad - and personal preference on these matters is never to do it.

If you do however, decide to go ahead all I can suggest is make sure you have a full contract stating who pays for what, an agreed sale price etc etc. Also make sure everything is insured!

Good luck!

 

[the watcher]

I loaned one of mine for 3 months before paying in full because she was young and had not been in work, so was an unknown quantity. I paid the non returnable deposit (30%) after 1 month as I was confident by then that she would work out with the right training, and at that time negotiated a total price reduction for teeth, remedial farrier work and the back person for an uneven pelvis.
Having said that I knew the owner and was totally up front with her, I was taking a bit of a risk and she had a horse that was at the time worth very little without training. We both came out of the deal happy