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Old 02-01-2019, 20:41   #1
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Gotta Love those Brokers...Not

I know, you are all sick to death of the broker threads , but Its just a wind-up dealing with them.


I have a large chunk of cash burning a hole in my pocket (44-46 ft Cat sized hole) and the brokers are just so uninterested in selling me a cat.


The latest unbelievable laziness that I have been on the end of, is that in response to a list of relatively simple questions about a boat, all I get back is a 5 year old pre-inspection report and a 1 liner saying I hope that answers your questions!


The report looks like it was written buy someone working for the previous broker as every issue they found, was stated as no immediate action required - Even a possible leak into the Balsa Core!


That's my rant for the day done
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Old 02-01-2019, 20:46   #2
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Re: Gotta Love those Brokers...Not

Get a different broker. There are some really good ones out there, but you have to look. One way is to ask locally which broker sold them their boats, and what they think of them.
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Old 02-01-2019, 21:08   #3
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Re: Gotta Love those Brokers...Not

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Get a different broker. There are some really good ones out there, but you have to look. One way is to ask locally which broker sold them their boats, and what they think of them.

I am Buying, not selling. So I am at the mercy of whoever the seller chooses to be their broker!
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Old 02-01-2019, 21:15   #4
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Re: Gotta Love those Brokers...Not

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I am Buying, not selling. So I am at the mercy of whoever the seller chooses to be their broker!
Not quite, you can use the services of a "buyers broker". They take on the grief you are currently having.

In fact, a good buyers broker can make the searching / buying process so much easier and you are only dealing with one broker. Find one that relates well with you, develop a rapport with him/her and you become friends for your boating life.
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Old 02-01-2019, 21:20   #5
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Re: Gotta Love those Brokers...Not

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Not quite, you can use the services of a "buyers broker". They take on the grief you are currently having.

In fact, a good buyers broker can make the searching / buying process so much easier and you are only dealing with one broker. Find one that relates well with you, develop a rapport with him/her and you become friends for your boating life.
I agree completely. I tend to do most of the homework, but have always used a buyers broker to complete the purchase.
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Old 02-01-2019, 22:09   #6
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Re: Gotta Love those Brokers...Not

Quote:
Originally Posted by UFO View Post
I know, you are all sick to death of the broker threads [emoji3], but Its just a wind-up dealing with them.


I have a large chunk of cash burning a hole in my pocket (44-46 ft Cat sized hole) and the brokers are just so uninterested in selling me a cat.


The latest unbelievable laziness that I have been on the end of, is that in response to a list of relatively simple questions about a boat, all I get back is a 5 year old pre-inspection report and a 1 liner saying I hope that answers your questions!


The report looks like it was written buy someone working for the previous broker as every issue they found, was stated as no immediate action required - Even a possible leak into the Balsa Core!


That's my rant for the day done
I had very similar experience. I was very cashed up when looking for my current boat, could not believe the uselessness of the brokers I dealt with. The broker cost the guy I bought from 20k through his uselessness, nearly lost him the sale.
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Old 02-01-2019, 23:01   #7
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Re: Gotta Love those Brokers...Not

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I had very similar experience. I was very cashed up when looking for my current boat, could not believe the uselessness of the brokers I dealt with. The broker cost the guy I bought from 20k through his uselessness, nearly lost him the sale.
Aww, Dale, if you worked him down 20 K how can you say he was useless? A crack salesman would have cost you serious money!

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Old 02-01-2019, 23:28   #8
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Re: Gotta Love those Brokers...Not

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Aww, Dale, if you worked him down 20 K how can you say he was useless? A crack salesman would have cost you serious money!

Jim
Hi Jim, I didn't word that to well.

Firstly I found no brokers overly proactive ie just didn't follow up or even take my enquiries seriously , I had 250k sitting there ready to buy a boat, I doubt there was a more serious buyer than I at the time, I was buying a boat, not tire kicking.

The broker I purchased my boat through nearly got in the way of me viewing the boat, I was in Hong-Kong and spoke to him via the phone. I told him politely I didn't want to screw around, this is my offer subject to inspection, please put it to the owner, if he isn't willing to accept that offer I'll fly to Oz and inspect, if not then that's OK, I'll head to Europe rather than fly to Australia. The broker said no to the offer without presenting it to the owner.

I flew home anyway to see a friend. While I was there I decided to look at the boat, I liked it and reduced my offer by 20k due to the broker annoying me, which he said no to. Three days later he rang me and said he'd talked to the owner and they would except my offer. I'm certain the po is not aware of my original offer.

The problem with this bloke was he failed to present the offer to the owner, it's up to the owner to decline the offer, not him. His lack of ability or lack of effort resulted in me reducing my offer further, I would have honored the original offer. I fail to see what he actually did other than lose his client money and some paperwork. He certainly did not sell me a boat.

Yes, it worked for me, only because he failed to do his job well, he also misjudged my personality. I explained I came from a sales background and I'm not interested in the dance. In the end I got the boat 60k aud under advertised price.

Maybe I should send him flowers.. Lol.
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Old 03-01-2019, 09:01   #9
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Re: Gotta Love those Brokers...Not

I agree with Wotname. I asked my buyer's broker if the selling broker was less likely to lie about boat condition before I invested in a flight; he said yes because of the old adage that "What goes around comes around".
Don't know if that's universally true but, as in real estate, having a buyer's broker is the only way to go, IMHO.
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Old 03-01-2019, 09:30   #10
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Re: Gotta Love those Brokers...Not

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I am Buying, not selling. So I am at the mercy of whoever the seller chooses to be their broker!
Absolutely not true! Get your own broker. The seller still has to pay them. I can highly recommend Jeff Jones at The Multihull company. He got the price of our boat lowered by $10,000 and made arrangements for us to get discounts on the things we needed and wanted for the boat.

Maje
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Old 03-01-2019, 12:43   #11
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Re: Gotta Love those Brokers...Not

Good brokers are out there. Our selling broker drove 400 miles to show our GB 36, then drove home, broke his ankle riding his motorcycle, drove back for the sea trial, and home again.
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Old 03-01-2019, 13:05   #12
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Re: Gotta Love those Brokers...Not

Yeah, some yacht brokers are like some car salesmen, not worth the time you spend talking to them.

But I believe there are some good ones out there. The best one we ever met was the one who did not sell us our boat.

Huh?

Well, we were looking for a Cape Dory 30 in New England back in 2013. We visited with a broker in Maine who had several 30s and we looked at all of them. After the boat visits, we weren't sure. So the broker asked us some questions about how we planned to use the boat (live aboard all summer in Maine) and he suggested that we the consider the next model up in the old Cape Dory line, the 31. The boat is 9 inches wider with a large aft head. Just big enough for two rather slender folks and we wanted an aft head for several reasons.

Problem was, the broker did not have a 31 listed to sell us. But he did know that there was an owner of a Cape Dory 31 in the marina, and suggested we visit him. We did and graciously got invited for a evening sail.
We were smitten with the boat and soon found one in Annapolis. It needed work, but the price reflected that. Six summers later, we're still very happy with the boat.

So, end of story. The point is, there are excellent, honest brokers out there. Maybe keep looking on this forum for names. Another idea, if you have a particular make/size of boat in mind, is to join the owners group of that model and ask for references, while also asking them what they like and dislike about their boats. I personally think this approach can yield lots of inside info about a boat before you buy it.

BTW, the name of the broker in Maine was Dave Perry, recently retired. Any Cape Dory owner will have heard of him and many have met him. A great guy and a great broker.

Best of luck with you search

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Old 03-01-2019, 14:43   #13
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Re: Gotta Love those Brokers...Not

Looking at brokerage yacht without your own "buyer's broker" is about as smart as going into court without your own lawyer.

Your broker's job is to protect you and ensure that the selling broker reveals everything before you make a trip out to view. They can save you miles unnecessary of travel looking at yachts you wouldn't consider if seen in person, that may look good on a web listing.



The selling broker's commission is what gets split with the buyer's broker. There is zero cost to you and a massive amount of protection and time saved when you find someone good to work with. Unless you plan on looking only at non-brokered boats, get a trustworthy professional to provide a second set of eyes through the process, and have them set up all your showings.
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Old 03-01-2019, 16:03   #14
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Re: Gotta Love those Brokers...Not

I called one broker that did not answer his phone and I could not leave a message because his voice mailbox was full. He did not have a cell phone or email listed. I called his boss and got an immediate response, but it is pretty sad if you cannot even manage to accept phone calls.

I agree with the others on a buyers broker. When we started looking broker after broker would not even return our phone calls. Others basically said they were too busy to show us boats.

After we got a buyers broker to make these calls for us we only had this happen once.

My experience is 2/3 of brokers are incompetent, but there are lots of good ones out there. Find one of the good ones to represent you.
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Old 08-01-2019, 11:59   #15
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Re: Gotta Love those Brokers...Not

What if you are generally avoiding brokers full stop, lower end of the market.

Then you find your beloved, but she's being sold by a broker.

Can you make contact and get part-way through the due diligence process before retaining a buyer's broker?

And what if that boat then falls through, and later you find another boat, but have no need for "your" broker complicating that deal?
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