Documentation and offer to buy

[sailjumanji]

We flew from Texas to Florida to see a boat that was for sale by owner. Was a charter boat, and he was selling his entire fleet. I asked him about price prior to booking travel, and he indicated he was a motivated seller. When we got there, he had cleaned up the boat, and didn't seem so motivated on price anymore. Also found that much of the equipment on the list didn't work, and engines had 50% more hours on them. We paid his captain to take us for a test sail. I presented an offer to him with an explanation of why it was lower than ask, and listed all of the items broken that would have to be fixed. He took it as a personal attack, and basically told us to find another boat. We went back to Texas.

Two weeks later his wife called and asked for our best offer. We raised it a bit. He accepted, and even was a big help to us getting it ready for a captain to bring across the Gulf to Texas. The one thing that almost torpedoed the deal was our surveyor ran his mouth off and told seller the valuation was about $170k vs $150k sales price. Time was not on seller's side, and we had cash in hand, so the deal went thru.

[gallatin1988]

Thanks everybody.

So far all the responses have been extremely helpful.

FWIW, the is a private sale and the boat has been on the market for at least a year and at the beginning of the year the price was dropped ~10%. The seller, at least to me at the moment, is trying to be transparent and open. I firmly believe he is open to negotiation.

I do think the boat is priced unrealistically high. The original price was close to $40,000. The current price is approx. $36,000. I think a realistic price is actually closer to about $27,000 or $28,000 or perhaps a tad less. I might be willing to pay a little bit more if only because I would haven't to move boat any appreciable distance. I have logged several thousand miles in travel looking for a boat.

[Discovery 15797]

Originally Posted by gallatin1988

Hi All,

If you were selling a boat, would you take low offer more seriously if the potential buyer (me in this case) included in the offer documentation as why the is what it is?

In this case, by documentation, I mean:
1) currently yachtworld listing
2) soldboat.com sales history
3) potential survey findings
4) refit costs (ie new rigging and/or sail, etc) assuming I don't believe that the current asking price reflects the necessary refitting
5) etc

I might a low offer on the boat in question which might be below the seller's envisioned acceptable price but I want him to take it seriously.

Would any/all of the above have an affect you as seller?

Am I overthinking this? (Something I'm very prone to doing [emoji16][emoji3061])

1.) Boat prices are often based on local markets, so the price listed for a Bene in the Med, might be very different compared to the same year / model in Florida
2.) Sales history of a boat may show previous sales info and approx suggested sales price, but may not take into account upgrades.
3.) Survey deficiencies are your strongest bargaining point.
4.) Refit costs may not be a strong bargaining point. For example, if the standing rigging is older than 10 years old you could say that it should be replaced. But, unless you are also willing to pay a professional rigger to inspect the rig and indicate the rigging requires replacement the seller might not accommodate your proposal.

An $8k or $9k difference on the asking price is pretty significant. But, if the seller is motivated to sell it never hurts to make an offer; especially if you have a survey report and document/explain your reasons for your offer.

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by sailjumanji

Two weeks later his wife called and asked for our best offer. We raised it a bit. He accepted...

Under the circumstances, I think I would have LOWERED my offer a little bit!

[letsgetsailing3]

Originally Posted by denverd0n

Under the circumstances, I think I would have LOWERED my offer a little bit!

Well, he successfully negotiated a deal, so I'd say his strategy worked.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by gallatin1988

Hi All,

If you were selling a boat, would you take low offer more seriously if the potential buyer (me in this case) included in the offer documentation as why the is what it is?

In this case, by documentation, I mean:
1) currently yachtworld listing
2) soldboat.com sales history
3) potential survey findings
4) refit costs (ie new rigging and/or sail, etc) assuming I don't believe that the current asking price reflects the necessary refitting
5) etc

I might a low offer on the boat in question which might be below the seller's envisioned acceptable price but I want him to take it seriously.

Would any/all of the above have an affect you as seller?

Am I overthinking this? (Something I'm very prone to doing [emoji16][emoji3061])

Yep, I think it helps and have done it before a couple of times successfully.
Let's face it, sometimes "buying takes a bit of selling". You need to be working with a broker that is good enough to be "sold" to and to Pass that on. Many sellers start out high and settle lower 1-2 years later because they were either mislead by the broker or are just too proud of their boat thinking "my boat is better than the rest" . It's a learning curve. A sales pitch can be made why the buyer feels the offer is correct for sure. There's a saying in boat selling that "the best offer you ever get is the first one", which too many turn down only to pay another years moorage and get the same or lower sale.

-Sold boats or other listed sisterships/similar boats: You may not know the selling price but can often show with research how a boat started at X price and for a year has come down to Y price and still not sold.
-Comparable boats in better shape or more loaded with gear: It doesn't matter if all the gear is old, you can still use it as a bargaining point. The broker or seller of the boat you want to buy wont take the time to research it. "I really should buy this boat, but there is something about yours that tugs at my heartstrings.... so I thought I'd give one more try on yours"
-Refitting costs, even if you may not do the refitting. Those items are in the back of the seller's mind anyway. You bring them out front. That let's him know others see those things too.

It's psychological warfare , buying and selling a boat. Every seller thinks his boat is the best boat ever.

[letsgetsailing3]

I'm always amazed at the "new" canvas/sails/rigging/bottom paint that's five or six years old. It just feels like that money was just spent.


Perspective is a funny thing.

[Flod]

Finding a motivated seller would be my number one priority. Lots of boats out there listed with very high prices and sellers hoping to get good money and upsizing otherwise just stick with currrent boat. I don’t think your argument will stick. When I have sold boats I heard a lot of similar reasons like:
-My budget is xxx
-I need to install xyz
-I have another similar boat I can buy for z
Or the best one:
-I don’t like Cast Iron keels. Can it be switched to lead?
All of this is really none of my business and will not make me lower the price. However the one time I really had to sell I accepted a lower offer after some normal negotiation and cash now. Anyway my point is that the seller don’t care about what you want to do with the boat but he will care about a fast and easy deal with cash and no fussing around

[sail sfbay]

Originally Posted by Flod

Finding a motivated seller would be my number one priority.............Anyway my point is that the seller don’t care about what you want to do with the boat but he will care about a fast and easy deal with cash and no fussing around

Ditto Flod!!