I'm Ready to Buy the Boat, but How Do I Get a Broker to Take Me Seriously ?

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by lorenzo b

? A broker will make maybe 5%

Where is that one?

[boatman61]

Most I know ask 10%... some even 12....

[lorenzo b]

The fee is usually 10%, split between the sellers broker and the buyers broker, and about half that goes to general office expenses and insurance. If a broker represents both the buyer and the seller, they cannot truly represent either.

[Rodz]

I think that the discussion is going into different direction that you expected.

First, you have to know what you are looking for. Not only in terms of money but also boat size, performance, equipment and condition at least.
Second, go over the Internet and try to find few boats that suits your expectations. Most (if not all) the listed boats are on the Internet.
Third, call (or someone on your behalf) the listing brokers and talk to them to find out if they are interested in selling these boats to a Canadian. If they do you may discuss next step over the email.

From my experience I doubt if they tell you anything about this boat (I have had a bad experience). You have to come and see her no matter if you have your own broker or not. Continuing this thought, I do not know why you want your own broker? You need a very good and trustworthy inspector who will check the boat. And remember a good inspector is A MUST.

Just my 2c.

[Bergovoy]

Originally Posted by Velma

I would love to call a broker directly but I am deaf and it's really difficult to understand over the phone....lol. There are benefits being deaf and Canadian but then times like this I would love to be able to just pick up the phone and talk to a person. I guess emails are still a hard thing for people to take seriously. My best bet is to just go to the east coast and start my travels, walking docks etc. I can understand people face to face, as I lip read, but the phone doesn't work that way unless I get onto skype maybe.

Nothing is supposed to be easy in life so this is just another exciting challenge for me. Nothing worth doing is easy right? I just can't wait to join you all out there sailing the beautiful ocean and facing new challenges!! Bring em on baby!!!

Hey Velma,

(i'm hard of hearing, and my daughter is deaf) I sign, but not well and surely not fast...

Where are you looking? How far south? Have you read any of my threads/discussions? I am moving to florida this tuesday, (driving from So. Cal).

I have had good luck with emails and brokers, but cant really get too far with them until I get there.. I am guessing you are having the same issue?

it is best to wait until you are there anyways to go looking for yourself... I am not sure whre or how you are looking, but if you have a destination then look in craigslist for boats, then search for sail or sailboat...

good luck


bill

[BASIL358]

I just bought a 1982 Nonsuch 30C sailboat in Stuart, Florida and I
would like some instruction on sailing her. Needless to say I would be
happy to compensate anyone who can help me with this. Please contact
me at my e-mail address: BASIL358@AOL.COM.
Thanks Very Much,
Basil

[nv5l]

I can wholeheartedly recommend John Proctor at Lawson Yachts just south of Boston. Just email him, and if you want, I'll be happy to call him for you -- I've spoken to him numerous times over the last few years since I bought the boat, and he's always been very helpful.

I think he's even featured in a youtube video that was filmed before youtube existed.

Anyway, good luck...

[meyermm]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Try something like this..

Oi.... $h*t for brains... in case you did not know there's a crisis and I'm looking to put some money in your dirty sticky little hands if you'll get of your fat ass and go to the computor and send me some details about these boats...
The money from my recently sold house is burning a hole in my pocket and I'm 'Road Kill' for some sleazy ex-secondhand car salesman to screw me up and down...

Your truly disgusted prospective client...

Can't hurt... may work better than being polite....

As usual your postings are to the point and give me a laugh.

[avb3]

Originally Posted by Velma

So I sold the house, only took 15 days and even got what I was asking!!

Velma, what part of Alberta are you in (I am in a suburb of Edmonton).

I am in the process of doing exactly what you did, although I have not gone through the de-cluttering phase yet.

And, I have had the same problems you have had with brokers getting back to me. All I know is that when the house is sold, those who do not get back do not get a second crack. I am actually thinking of going to Florida in the spring and go from marina to marina looking at what is available.

What are you looking for?

[Jim Cate]

G'Day Velma,

I wonder what sort of communications you are sending the brokers? Are they inquiries about specific boats that they are listing, or are they more generic in nature?

If the former, they really are not doing their clients much good, and should be ashamed of their business practices.

But, if the latter, well, I'm a bit more sympathetic. Tire kickers outnumber buyers in the boating world, and I know that brokers get their time wasted every day.

What you might consider is figuring out a sort of "form letter" to send to them. It should include such things as your budget, what types of boats you might consider, any types that you would not consider, what your intended usage is, what your experience level is, and any other factors that seem important to you. Telling them that you will be a cash buyer might help, too. And you might just as well be up front with them and say that you have difficulties with telephone communications, and would prefer written exchanges, at least in the initial stages.

Such a letter might be like this:

I am looking for a boat to do coastal cruising on the eastern coast of North America, in the size range from around 34 to 40 feet OAL. I would prefer fibreglass construction, but would consider steel or aluminium. Will not consider timber or ferrocement hulls. I prefer sloop or cutter rig, and will not consider gaff or other oddball rigs. Only diesel auxillary power considered. I prefer boats built later than 1990, but would consider exceptional older boats. While I would consider a boat that needed cosmetic help, I am not interested in boats that have been neglected....

And so on, filling in your specific needs. You might end by telling him the maximum figure that you will be willing to pay.

Ann and I used this technique when we were looking for a larger boat here in Australia. We printed up our criteria and would hand it to a broker when we walked in his door, or would e-mail it to distant ones. Some brokers loved it, some ignored it, but we tended not to waste each others time.

We were Yanks trying to buy in Australia... don't know how that relates to Canadians buying in the USA, but most of them treated us ok!

Good luck with what can be an exciting and interesting experience.

Cheers,

Jim and Ann s/v Insatiable II lying Morning Cove, NSW, Oz

[ncarter]

My 2 cents : Stay away from brokers. It is a buyers market. Search the various websites, (there are many), that sellers ,(who dont want to deal with brokers either), use. There are hundreds of thousands of boats for sale at the moment...just on Craigslist. Also you can poke around the dry storage areas at large marinas, owners stick 4sale signs on their boats all the time...**ask at the desk of just about any marina or boat yard and they will be more than happy to direct you to the boats that have been abandoned at their facility...they usually have a mechanics lien title, or at least they are in the process of getting one. Do your homework & screw the brokers.

[boatman61]

I'd not use a broker either... unless it was the only way to get to a boat I wanted... lets face it... the sellers automatically gonna add at least 10% to cover his fees... thats a 10% you can use toward the boat.... if your going old they're a waste of space in the main....
Cheers Meyerem.... I try to stick to the point...

[MarkJ]

I was going to buy a small van, put a matteress in it and go door knocking.

only deal with the listing broker and don't let him look for other boats for you. thats a way they inflate the prices.

[Kettlewell]

Like I said earlier, try to deal directly with the boat owner if possible, but I will add that there are good brokers out there who will work with you. And, as I said earlier a good way to test drive the broker is to visit a bunch of them at the boat shows. Another good way to look for boats these days is to put out a query on the likely Web sites and forums, like this one. For example, if you're interested in a wooden boat, go to that forum, or a multihull, go to one of those. I bet the folks on this forum could come up with some good ideas for cruising boats if you gave us some idea of what you're looking for.

[capn_billl]

Good luck. I haven't had much success with borkers either. Like the above said these are guys who couldn't make it as a used car dealer.

One thing I never got as a buyer, is why do brokers list boats on the other side of the planet. I go to a local broker and he has 20 boats listed, ... all of them at least 1000 miles away. Then I look at the boats with for sale signs in a local marina, ... all of the contact numbers for the broker are on the other side of the country.

I went into a local brokerage with checkbook in hand ready to lay down cash for a boat. (In the $50,000 - $100,000 dollar range), You would think that would get someones attention, but he couldn't even bother to put is cigar down and stand up long enough to shake my hand. He just stated "go find the boat you want and come back and write me a check". I'm going to put several thousand dollars in his pocket and he can't even bother to stand up? I ended up buying one of his boats anyway, but I found a new broker on the other side of town, that was willing to drive me back to this guys lot, and tell me about the boat, help me look over the boat, found a surveyer, and hired a local captain to help me to get it home. At least that way the cigar guy had to split his commission with the broker who did his job for him.

One good sale of a multimillion sportsfisher, and these guys can just goof off and live comfortably for the next year. We are small potatoes to them