Why Don't You Want to Sell Your Boat?

[sailpower]

Originally Posted by denverd0n

I've never heard of that. Maybe it's common in some specific areas. If a broker here in Florida asked me to do that I would laugh out loud, right in his face. Probably accompanied by some comment along the lines of "Are you out of your freakin' mind!?!"

This is the internet. Who knows what really happened?

In FL there are now new brokerage contracts for FYBA members that do not require a deposit with offer until three days after seller accepts.

Also, a lot of FL brokers are now using the Yacht Closer system which also makes the process much easier.

The broker completes the contract on the Yacht Closer site and sends you the link. You approve and esign it. The broker then sends the link to the sellers broker and the seller esigns. No changes can be made once the the first esign is done. If changes are needed the originating broker prepares a changed version that is then esigned by both parties.

No faxing or scanning required and documents can be printed at the link if desired. No money for three days after acceptance.

What could be easier than this?

[Dulcesuenos]

In the case of our low ball offer it wasnt that low considering what was needed. When a pristine version sells in 2 weeks of listing for nearly the asking price of a vessel that needs sails, standing and running rigging, electronics, fridege and ac replaced, fuel tanks fixed or.replaced, and an entire interior replacement and floors replaced. I would think as a broker you'd have integrity.enough to inform the seller and try to negotiate a realistic.price.
The sad truth is some brokers spew.BS and because there are enough boat illeterate people out there they hope to have one these come along and buy not knowing what they are getting into.
Once a broker is aware of issues they are supposed to disclose it. Likely story.of that happening. Im sure the internet has Made people more savvy. We looked at a Island packet cat last year. That was on the hard and obviously blocked wrong. The keels were pushing up the hull bottoms and everything above them by several.inches and the broker said there supposed to.be flexible theyll go back in.place when its in the water..... unreal

[tomfl]

Originally Posted by cheoah

SNIP

I think there is some confusion here on the buying process.

SNIP

What you seem to be missing is that there is confusion on both sides.

The OP asked the question 'why don't you want to sell your boat?'. To a lot of folks putting stumbling blocks like not being able to look at a boat or tender an offer for a boat with out a deposit makes it look like the seller does not really does not want to sell their boat.

As one poster said 'If any idiot seller/broker thought I was flying across the world just to kick tyres, they missed out.'

I spent six months looking for a boat. While I learned a lot about boats and the market it was not really not much fun. It is one thing to drive for ten minutes to the nearest car lot and kick tires. It is completely different to drive for five or ten hours or get on a plane and fly thousands of miles to look at a boat and I would not describe that as kicking tires.

Bottom line is that there are some buyers/sellers who have all/some/more of the rules you have listed, and there are some buyers/sellers who have basically no rules.

You pay your money and you take your chances.

[sepeteus]

Originally Posted by rancher44

Iam so tired of looking at boats with inflated prices and the owner says " I have had a lot of lookers and this is a great market to sale the boat so I am not going to lower my price" The boats have been on the market for at least a year plus.
There are so many boats out there I have been looking for all most a year for a cat .
Range 200-240K. I want a 42-47 Really like the Leopards .
I have looked in the BVI and after I make reservations to go see the boat the owner says on I for got to tell you theres this little problem and it goes down hill from there .cancel my flight and loose a couple hundred. Or I have been contacted by some on this site with stripped down boat high price been for sale for a while

Hey, I am just about to list my boat. I wish to get certain amount for it but in the end the market will rule the price. I will be stepping up in size and price. My boat is a great cruising setup and will sell.
Cheers
Seppo

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by sailpower

In FL there are now new brokerage contracts for FYBA members that do not require a deposit with offer until three days after seller accepts.

Sounds like some brokers are moving forward from ye olden days .

[savoir]

Originally Posted by denverd0n

I've never heard of that. Maybe it's common in some specific areas. If a broker here in Florida asked me to do that I would laugh out loud, right in his face. Probably accompanied by some comment along the lines of "Are you out of your freakin' mind!?!"

Happens a lot and I totally hate it. Being forced to do that was costing me $300-500 each time in bank fees and currency buy/sell differences. The owner was free to say no to my offer and all I could do was move on . . . . . $500 poorer.

It's an American thing and a testament to their arrogance and insularity. Foreigners don't exist in the world of them and their brokers. I wound up buying in Rhode Island where the brokers are very switched on to the needs of foreign buyers.

[leftbrainstuff]

We looked at over 125 boats. We set low expectations and had a great 80 day roadtrip to start our boat search.

13,000 miles and 12 months later and we bought a great Liberty 458.

Get yourself a good broker and give them clear instructions. Build the relationship, be patient and persistent.

BTW good boats seem to consistently sell for approximately 15% below their listing price.

[rancher44]

What I am finding out is if a boat is fairly priced then it sales with in the first 3 months . If it has issues or is priced out of reason Then the result is the boat does not sale for years. And then the seller wonders what is the problem .
After much thought I think some are just waiting for some sucker to come a long and scam them
I have even had some say welll I just had it surveyed so you can save hauling the boat . Turns out it was an insurance survey and did not address the bottom blistered
to the point of 20-30K

[seahag]

Happy Ending to all this.

After a few years, and lots of boats seen, and all the crazy broker stuff, finally bought a boat. More than 2000 miles away, different country, paying for delivery, import fees, extremely expensive logistics, and long distance communication, it boils down to:

1. Good communication between buyer and seller. Respect. A good deal for both of us.

2. HAHAHAHA to the idiot brokers who didn't work to sell their client's boats--and by far the biggest of them, was the CLOSEST to where I live...incredible. I can't wait to bring the boat to the harbor we will both share. Even with all the extra costs, it will be a bargain compared to their extraordinarily high prices.

3. There were about three brokers in all this that really took their jobs seriously, and made the efforts to answer calls, emails and knew about their own listings. They were really pretty darn good. The rest were like my original rant.

4. Tire kickers can buy things too.

5. REALLY glad this phase is over with.

Cheers!

[monte]

Congratulations on the new boat! Two years to find it? I guess some of those brokers that didn't return calls must have known something

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by monte

Two years to find it? I guess some of those brokers that didn't return calls must have known something

Probably they knew that they weren't going to get a commission this month or next by spending time working with seahag. So they blew her off and NEVER got a commission from her.

The good brokers probably knew the same thing. But they also knew that by investing a little bit of time up front they could build good will that would pay off in a commission down the road.

[appick]

I totally agree as many others do. I've thought man if I became a boat broker I could kick ASS at it compared to the competition! I actually know what a majority of parts on sail and power boats are called and how to properly spell them. I could be honest about the state of condition of a vessel. I could also probably sell it three times quicker by telling the seller what I honestly think the boat would sell for and maybe list it for only 10-15% higher. In my experience many of the boats I looked at (albeit they are at the bottom end of the market) are listed for over 50% more than they will sell for. This has held true as I've bought many boats and helped friends do the same. So I could tell the seller, I can have it sold in a year listed at X price, or we can list at what the other guys want to list it for Y and you can pay storage and upkeep for the 5 years its going to take to have someone come along and offer x price anyways.

My twist is that when looking to purchase is that I'll go through the broker. If they are just about useless as with my last boat purchase (they didn't want to take my offer to the seller) I got the name off the boats cradle. Then I google searched the area for the name along with marinas, the boats name, ect. I found their contact info and gave them a call directly. I built some trust with the seller, explained why I was calling and was completely honest with her in my assessment of the boat. She just so happened to totally agree with me, she knew everything that was wrong with the boat and more. She laughed when I told her what the brokers listing said of the boat, "Well maintained, in great shape, ready to cruise..." I told her I wasn't trying to offend her by making my ridiculously low offer, she told me to make it anyways and was more than happy with it. It was less than half her asking price. We of course are still running the sale through the broker despite his lack of enthusiasm for his job.

So if the broker isn't doing his job go around him. Look for the owners name when on board on registration papers ect. Get in contact with the owner and cut out the middle man. Many times I find this works better.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by appick

I totally agree as many others do. I've thought man if I became a boat broker I could kick ASS at it compared to the competition!

So your business plan would be to be an ass kicker in selling smaller cheap boats every once in a while. I bet the other brokers would welcome you so they could focus on working with buyers looking to get a boat in the near future and selling boats that earn money.

I always laugh at people who post they looked at x number of boats for x years (x being a big number) before finally getting a boat that they got for 50% of asking price, but wondering why the brokers didn't take them seriously.

[rancher44]

Congrats on the boat Sea hag. What boat did you buy and where do you plan to keep it .

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

So your business plan would be to be an ass kicker in selling smaller cheap boats every once in a while. I bet the other brokers would welcome you so they could focus on working with buyers looking to get a boat in the near future and selling boats that earn money.

I always laugh at people who post they looked at x number of boats for x years (x being a big number) before finally getting a boat that they got for 50% of asking price, but wondering why the brokers didn't take them seriously.

Agree 100% with sailorboy.

The good brokers are the ones who can spot a serious buyer, then focus them on the best boat that's within their budget. Not waste two years while they look at every boat on the market. A good broker will eliminate the junk boats, saving everyone involved lots of time and hassle.