French Selling broker says they do not allow buyers broker commision

[tanre]

Hi all, novice here.



French selling broker is telling me the following:


"The fact is, in US, there are buyer broker & seller broker.
In France, the same broker do both.

If you have you buyer broker, that’s fine. But we will not split our broker fee. We do not work with other brokers for the sale of this boat.
Unless you pay your own broker"



Is there any truth to this?


Also, they seem to expect 10% for deposit but have read many times that this is no longer the norm. What say the group?

[billknny]

Even in the USA no broker is required to split with a buyer’s broker. If he has an exclusive listing contract he gets the commission himself and can split—or not—as he sees fit. One of the downsides of using a buyers broker is you’ll never see these boats!

10% deposit is standard. What do you expect? The buyer to take the boat off the market for you with no earnest money down?

[boatpoker]

All things are negotiable ..... except when dealing with the most arrogant people on the planet ....... the French.

[MartinR]

The broker is right. Why should he split his commission because you want to involve another person in this. 10% deposit seems right.

[Sojourner]

Bought our Amel from a french broker a year ago.... very straightforward, hands-off guy (I mostly dealt with the seller), liked him a lot. Michel Charpentier. He was the sellers broker and I did not have a buyer's broker, just an inspector I paid for. As a sort-of American, I was used to contracts being like books, so my biggest surprise was the simple one pager used to do the deal. But when there are six lines in the whole contract, you really don't need to pay someone else to 'broker' it. Maybe because of the whole Amel cult, but it almost felt like a handshake deal, one I could trust and didn't let me down. Your mileage may vary

[valhalla360]

I don't know if there is a govt mandated industry standard...but unless there is, in general terms, if his contract with the seller says he gets the full commission, I would expect it's up to him if he wants to split it.

The broker and seller are under no obligation to pay for your buyers broker.

[Palarran]

I think it makes sense. US brokers are asking 10% commission to sell boats because they give 5% to a buyer's broker. You can negotiate a lower commission if it's an in-house sale, but my guess is they will find someone who will become the buyer's broker if that happens in order to get the max commission. IMO, 10% is very high and I'm simply not going to pay it. So after this winter season I'm going to do a listing with a broker for 5% flat where there is no buyer broker commission. 5% should be enough to cover listing the boat on yachtworld and then walking out your door to meet a few buyers. But it also would depend on the selling price of a boat.

If you feel you need a broker, then pay for one.

[Montanan]

Suggest you read this site.

The commission structure depends on whether the listing is a Central Agency or a Direct / Open Listing Agreement.

http://https://www.yachtsinvest.com/...-mediterranean

[jb2c]

Depends on how badly he wants to sell the boat. If it's a very popular model, or a boat that is priced particularly well, then he doesn't need to split. He knows he can sell it and get a full commission. If it's not that popular or not priced attractively, and he knows it could sit on the market for a good while, he should be willing to negotiate.


At least in the US it works that way.

[Pelagic]

Ignore the broker issues....it doesn't matter!
Focus on the boat, the condition, if it is really what you want and set your OWN price for what your willing to pay.

The broker/seller will either accommodate you and your own broker, or they won't.
But remember, its your money they want, so normally they compromise and make a deal.
Just don't get involved in that.

[boatman61]

We do things differently over this side of the pond.. buyers brokers are pretty non existent.. that's an American weirdo thing.
More DIY here..

[Capn Jimbo]

The facts:

1. There are no hard and fast rules.

2. Commissions are split particularly if the seller and/or his broker are motivated.

3. The French are fine people, clearly nicer than at least one poster here.

4. 10% - again - is not standard; further, that's the seller's problem.

5. Buyer's brokers are indeed being used, and I used one of them. In my case he didn't ask for a contract as he expected to be paid a split commission. He was a super guy, and never found me exactly what I wanted. He was so good, that I still gave him a check for all his help and advice.

Good luck. BTW one way to handle the seller's broker in this case would be to simply say "Fine, but my offer will have to be 5% lower...". Let him explain that one to the seller.

[contrail]

Frankly I never heard of a buyer's broker until I joined this site some years ago....and I have bought multiple boats. But commission was always 10% as was the deposit.

[oldjags]

Originally Posted by boatman61

We do things differently over this side of the pond.. buyers brokers are pretty non existent.. that's an American weirdo thing.
More DIY here..

It may be weird, but it's also an effort to open up the market for boats. Most countries don't have an MLS system for real estate or for boats. When you call a broker, or a real estate agent, all he will show you are his own listings. The perfect boat may be for sale only 2 slips away, but you won't get to see it unless you find it yourself.

If a broker knows what you are looking for and has the prospect of splitting the commission if he finds what you want, he's much more likely to keep his eyes and ears open and let you know when something you might be interested in seeing comes on the market, even if he's not the listing broker.

If you don't live close to the market area, it's difficult to keep tabs on new listings, and having a buyer's broker can be a great benefit.

Fortunately, the internet is making the idea of exclusive listings seem a little archaic.

[stevenhigbee]

Originally Posted by tanre

Hi all, novice here.
French selling broker is telling me the following:

Since you have already communicated directly with the seller's broker, your buyer's broker has already been bypassed. The correct way to do this would be have your buyer's broker make the first contact, along with opening the negotiation for a commission split. As long as the seller's broker is able to communicate directly with you, he has no motivation to cut somebody else into the deal, rather completely the contrary.