Thats TOO Much!

[passage_paul]

Given I have seen several threads regarding deals under x amount or how to negotiate fairly etc... I thought maybe a thread that would allow beginners like myself to feel the pulse of the market and to gauge expectations. Of course for myself I would have a survey at the time of offer.

SO if you would like to post a boat that you are considering or one that could serve as good example of being overpriced please share.

I would love to be able to realign expectations. I think everything is overpriced.. so I need a reality check!

popyachts.com/pilothosue-sailboats-for-sale/bruce-roberts-flanders-k402-motor-sailer-in-galveston-texas-201817

I have been taking a bit more of a look at pilot house vessels and came across this. Granted I am willing to put some work into a mild project.... but this with a starting price of 82k..seems like a loss.,, I could be persuaded closer to 62k..??.

[nightowle]

At 82k it seems a bit high, particularly for the stated condition. There's nothing wrong with offering 62k if you feel that is a more accurate price for this boat. One concern I have with a BR boat has to do with where it was made. Yes, BR designs are good - but who made the boat is more important.

[LittleWing77]

Very strange pictures. It's like they are focusing on small, single things like the windows and installed amenities like the new air conditioning unit, but omitting wider-scope pictures such as how the salon looks from the companionway. And rug covering on the companionway stairs? An accident waiting to happen and/or an excellent mould-trap (of course, easy enough to remove).

How long has she been on the hard? Why is she for sale? Did the Owner die? (It looks to be a partially completed, rather large, re-fit).

Doesn't look anywhere near $82k. If you really want to take on a possible headache (at least a good survey will reveal what you'd actually be dealing with) - offer half.

Good luck!
LittleWing77

[CaptTom]

Best beginner boat-buyer advice: Don't fall in love.

I once overpaid for a "dream" boat. It was in a neighbor's yard, under cover, and I just fell in love with the idea of what was then, to me, a bigger boat with more amenities. I bought it for the asking price, no survey, not even any real due diligence.

Reality turned out to be different than the dream. It looked a lot shabbier in daylight than it had under the cover, and although I did enjoy the boat for several years, I realized pretty soon that I should have offered about half the asking price.

My last boat I carefully calculated how much it would cost to bring it up my standards, and what I thought it would be worth at that point. Then I offered the difference. About 33% off the asking price. I was honest and shared my calculations with the seller. The offer was accepted and I did end up putting in about what I'd estimated.

The problem is knowing what it's really worth. You can only determine that after looking at a LOT of boats that meet your requirements. And it's hard to know your requirements if you haven't owned a similar boat. Fortunately, today we have the internet. Although asking price and selling price are two different things, you can get a ballpark by looking at enough boats.

[passage_paul]

The boat I posted here was just one I came across and NOT for me to seriously consider. I was hoping to illustrate some of the overpriced vessels that are out there based on just an initial ad view. I think the whole "you had me at hello" is the biggest lesson I have gleaned from everyone here.. a lot of regret in those stories that I hope to avoid... as well as paying too much.

I guess most are overpriced initially. It is doubtful that many sellers are giving their best/lowest at the start.

[denverd0n]

Long post, and I may have told this story before, but still relevant, I think...


I have a friend who had about a 35' powerboat that he had owned for ten or so years, and decided to sell it. He priced it at $125k. I told him I didn't think he was going to get that much for it, given what I was seeing on Yachtworld, Boattrader, and such. He insisted that he had spent a lot of money on the latest electronics (ten years ago, remember) and that he "wasn't going to just give it away!"

Within a couple of months he had someone come along and offer him $80k for it. Personally, I thought that was not a bad offer, especially since the buyer could probably be negotiated up at least a little bit. He turned it down flat. Again, "I'm not going to just give it away!"

Over the course of the next couple of years he had a few people look at it. He had a couple of more offers. Never enough for him. "I'm not going to just give it away!"

Finally he lowered his asking price. Remember that all this time he was still paying for dockage, registration, insurance, and a bit of maintenance now and then -- though he was not using it much, so the boat was deteriorating some.

To make a long story short, after about six years of this, he finally sold it for $76K. Yeah. Less than the very first offer he had gotten, and after spending many thousands more keeping the boat for all that time.

I think there are a whole lot of boat owners out there just like my friend. They have unrealistic expectations of what their boat is worth. When they don't get the offers they expect, they somehow blame the buyers, and keep on insisting that they're "not going to just give it away!" In the end they take a bath on it, because they were not realistic about the pricing to begin with. You also see the same with home sales, sometimes -- especially FSBOs.

On the other side of the coin, I do sometimes see boats that seem very reasonably priced. Not surprisingly, they don't stay on the market very long.

So, if a boat seems over-priced to you, there is no harm in offering a lot less than what the seller is asking. He might just be at that point where he has finally realized that his initial asking price was too much. Or he might tell you to get lost, and that he is "not going to just give it away!"


Of course, if you've looked at a lot of boats, made a few offers, and keep getting a flat "no," then perhaps it is YOUR expectations that need to be adjusted.


Either way, good luck finding the boat you want at a price you can afford.

[Piscis]

Good points, denverd0n