Buying new for us pre-owened boat

[Smart555]

Hello everyone!
We’re looking for the pre-owened boat to buy in 200k budget. Before we had only brand new boat smaller size and don’t have experience with used.
We livе in Florida and looking boat on Boat trader and yacht world in range 200-300 miles from us.

How the procedure of buying the used boat usually looks like? Do we need to hire a broker?
And if needed when, in what stage?
If we choose the boat we like do we need to make deposit first before professional marine surveyors? How difficult to register the boat then?

Thank you in advance!
And Merry Christmas everyone!

[doug1957]

With that budget, you could hire a buyer's broker - they are usually paid by the commission. Can be helpful as they work for you and not the seller. Deposit goes first, then the survey. Be sure the contract lets you back out (with a deposit refund) if the survey is not acceptable.

[thinwater]

Search threads and Google buying a boat. There will be reams on information. Yes, you need a surveyor, and for your first used boat, you are better off with a broker (the seller will pay the fee, but yeah, you still pay for it) to help orchestrate the process.

My first thought is that you probably have no experience in boat repair and only very light maintenance. When you buy used your greatly expand what is affordable, but unless you are interested in maintenance and what makes a boat tick, you are also entering a whole new world of work. Notice how many threads relate to repairs and maintenance. Thus, look for a boat that is a good brand and is in excellent condition. As you go larger, the work goes up by the cube of length, and used adds another layer of complexity. If you go with an older boat 5 feet longer than the one you have, life may get too complicated. IF you hire it all done, a new boat may be cheaper.

Just sayin. I just moved down because I was tired of cruising, and maintaining a big cruising boat for day sailing felt silly.

[Stephen Fascian]

For the price range you are are talking about, I would expand your area. For example a 5 to 7 year old boat from New England will be in much better condition then a boat from the South. Having a captain delivery the boat would be a small fraction of the purchase price for the right boat.
Also you might want to talk with a marine consultant, they can be extremely helpful
Check out Steve's sight Steve D'Antonio Marine Consulting | Your advocate for a safer, more reliable and less costly boating experience
A buyers broker is the way to go, just do your research first.

Good luck

[Smart555]

Originally Posted by thinwater

My first thought is that you probably have no experience in boat repair and only very light maintenance. When you buy used your greatly expand what is affordable, but unless you are interested in maintenance and what makes a boat tick, you are also entering a whole new world of work. Notice how many threads relate to repairs and maintenance. Thus, look for a boat that is a good brand and is in excellent condition. As you go larger, the work goes up by the cube of length, and used adds another layer of complexity. If you go with an older boat 5 feet longer than the one you have, life may get too complicated. IF you hire it all done, a new boat may be cheaper.

Just sayin. I just moved down because I was tired of cruising, and maintaining a big cruising boat for day sailing felt silly.

Thank you!
We go opposite from small to big.
first of them was 24" Yamaha and then 32" Regal express cruiser.
Both of them were brand new. But the last one drove us just crazy with constantly occurring problems and repairs. Probably because we used "weekend cruiser" more harder then it originally supposed to be used, traveling for a long period with often offshore passages for 5-7 hours non stop not in the best weather condition.
We agree that we don't have serious experience maintaining the boat but often on our way we had to manage small repairs. Happily for big problems we had the guarantee and the boat stayed for repairs at dealer service during months, more then half a year

now we are looking 50''+ boat ,older but heavier build for longer cruising

[Smart555]

Originally Posted by Stephen Fascian

For the price range you are are talking about, I would expand your area. For example a 5 to 7 year old boat from New England will be in much better condition then a boat from the South. Having a captain delivery the boat would be a small fraction of the purchase price for the right boat.
Also you might want to talk with a marine consultant, they can be extremely helpful
Check out Steve's sight Steve D'Antonio Marine Consulting | Your advocate for a safer, more reliable and less costly boating experience
A buyers broker is the way to go, just do your research first.

Good luck

Thank you for information!
But it seems too difficult to go everywhere to look at the boat if it located too far away. In the same time in our area we could see much more by ourself.
Use a marine consultant is a good idea for us and can help to make right decisions.

[lensming]

Using a Buyer's Broker is probably a good idea for you. Let me give you a tip. If you spot a boat you think you might like, for instance on Yachtworld, and you think, "I'll ask a few questions, save my broker some time, and if I'm interested in it, I'll have him contact the broker for the seller and we'll get more serious..." DON'T!!! No need to ask me how I know this. Apparently, once you personally contact the Seller's Broker, he thinks YOU are now his client as well, and will not want to speak with your Buyer Broker. Additionally, YOUR broker may now not want to represent you on that particular boat as well, since they don't like to step on each other's toes. Or something like that.

So, search for boats until you find one that interests you, then immediately call YOUR broker and ask him to look into it. I had no idea there were all these rules, and despite having been to several instructional sessions and conferences [I'm an aspiring Looper] and having conversations with a fair number of brokers, somehow I never got the rules on how these things proceed...

[LakeSuperior]

All boats are pre-owned even if they are new!

[Smart555]

Originally Posted by lensming

Using a Buyer's Broker is probably a good idea for you. Let me give you a tip. If you spot a boat you think you might like, for instance on Yachtworld, and you think, "I'll ask a few questions, save my broker some time, and if I'm interested in it, I'll have him contact the broker for the seller and we'll get more serious..." DON'T!!! No need to ask me how I know this. Apparently, once you personally contact the Seller's Broker, he thinks YOU are now his client as well, and will not want to speak with your Buyer Broker. Additionally, YOUR broker may now not want to represent you on that particular boat as well, since they don't like to step on each other's toes. Or something like that.

So, search for boats until you find one that interests you, then immediately call YOUR broker and ask him to look into it. I had no idea there were all these rules, and despite having been to several instructional sessions and conferences [I'm an aspiring Looper] and having conversations with a fair number of brokers, somehow I never got the rules on how these things proceed...

Thank you very much for information.
basically ,if the boat located around 200m do we go to see it by ourselves or with broker?

[Lepke]

It would save everybody time if you could narrow down your must haves and don't wants so you're not spending time viewing boats you don't wouldn't buy. If you can get the boat list to a few types, you can ask people with those boats better questions, here and on other forums. You might even find people willing to give you a ride so you can experience a design before you buy.

[lensming]

Thank you very much for information.
basically ,if the boat located around 200m do we go to see it by ourselves or with broker?

Smart555, we've driven close to 10,000 miles this past summer [2017] to look at boats. If you find the boat you want within 200 miles, I'll find that surprising, although I see you're in the Miami area. However, as I understand it, you ask your broker to check into the boat you find interesting. Supposedly, brokers will be more candid with each other than with us, the customer. If you broker says it's worth looking at, either he will go with you to see it or ask the selling broker to give you a "courtesy showing." In any case, if you ARE using a buyer broker, don't contact the other party directly. Follow your broker's lead. And good luck; we're still looking.

[lensming]

Originally Posted by Lepke

It would save everybody time if you could narrow down your must haves and don't wants so you're not spending time viewing boats you don't wouldn't buy. If you can get the boat list to a few types, you can ask people with those boats better questions, here and on other forums. You might even find people willing to give you a ride so you can experience a design before you buy.

See, that's a problem for someone who hasn't owned a boat of the size/type they're now looking for, even if they've owned other boats before. I'll use myself as an example. We currently own three boats-a 16.5 ft. open bow, a 22.5 ft. cuddy cabin, and a 24 ft. open bow. Two runabouts and a cuddy, all with gas engines and I/O drives. Now, to do the Loop, we're looking for a 40-45 ft. trawler with one, perhaps two, diesel engines with direct drives, maybe bow and/or stern thrusters, and a generator. How in the hell do you know your must haves and don't wants without looking at some boats?!? How do you even know what type [tug, trawler, etc.] without looking at and going aboard some boats?!?

Your statement sounds like our first broker [now fired] whom we had to practically beg to show us a motor yacht. He finally did, and promptly asked us if we'd like to make an offer on it. The. First. Boat. We. Set. Foot. On! When we told him it was a good first look but that we wanted to see other boats for comparison, he said, in essence, "Well, figure out what you want in a boat and what kind of boat you want and get back to me." Followed by not ever hearing from him again. We had previously given him a list of the things we thought we wanted in the way of equipment, but he evidently wanted the exact make, model and length of boat. We were looking for some professional recommendations, and that just didn't happen.

[jobberone]

You need to buy a boat you're going to use and enjoy that hopefully is ready to sale and you won't be upside down in. Maintenance costs are part of ownership.'

What are you going to do with the boat? If you want to sail to the Med and Caribbean then you need to plan accordingly. If you are going to sail on the weekends and slip the boat in the marina otherwise then that's a different boat.

If you want coastal cruising then stay 45 or less with mast clearance and draft issues. If you are going to single hand the boat then you need to consider in mast or in boom furling and electric winches with lines back to the cockpit. I'd look at the Freedom 45 CC or a smaller cat for coastal cruising.

If you're going to have a crew or live aboard then I'd go bigger. You can then look at all the other things that go with the type of use the boat will see. You don't need davits/dingy or water maker if weekend coastal cruising.

I'd hire a buyer's broker who can keep you on track. You don't want a boat either you or your wife doesn't really like.

[sailpower]

Originally Posted by Smart555

Hello everyone!
We’re looking for the pre-owened boat to buy in 200k budget. Before we had only brand new boat smaller size and don’t have experience with used.
We livе in Florida and looking boat on Boat trader and yacht world in range 200-300 miles from us.

How the procedure of buying the used boat usually looks like? Do we need to hire a broker?
And if needed when, in what stage?
If we choose the boat we like do we need to make deposit first before professional marine surveyors? How difficult to register the boat then?

Thank you in advance!
And Merry Christmas everyone!

Sounds like you might be looking at a power boat rather than sail?

200k will go a lot further in sail than it will in power depending on your parameters.

[Smart555]

Originally Posted by lensming

See, that's a problem for someone who hasn't owned a boat of the size/type they're now looking for, even if they've owned other boats before.
Your statement sounds like our first broker [now fired] whom we had to practically beg to show us a motor yacht. He finally did, and promptly asked us if we'd like to make an offer on it. The. First. Boat. We. Set. Foot. On! When we told him it was a good first look but that we wanted to see other boats for comparison, he said, in essence, "Well, figure out what you want in a boat and what kind of boat you want and get back to me." Followed by not ever hearing from him again. We had previously given him a list of the things we thought we wanted in the way of equipment, but he evidently wanted the exact make, model and length of boat. We were looking for some professional recommendations, and that just didn't happen.

We’re totally agree with you and we’re in the same situation. First we’d like to have a look at several boats of different types to understand more clearly what we actually want, can afford and which of them suits us better. And of course the main aim for the broker to make a deal faster not to spend a lot of time searching the best option for us.