Advice on selling my MOBO in the Solent

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Sadly we will be selling our boat soon and was wondering whether it’s best to keep her at a broker at Swanwick or on our berth at Southsea?

Obviously there is quite a cost hike if I shift to Swanwick, although it may be cheaper if out of the water.

I have not actually signed up a broker yet, so any advice on that also welcome.

D
 
Do a search on here as there was a post month or so about best place to sell a boat. And a debate on whether to leave in or out the water.

Think it was before the underwater lights question
 
There has been some threads about brokers too.

People politely name the good brokers and, in all fairness, bash the bunch of bad brokers without being too specific.
Goes without saying that a keen seller needs a proactive broker.

Before you decide make some calls in the role of a buyer. I've been there lately and got very frustrated over both sellers and brokers that did not perform or at least follow up on their own communication. After an initial contact on this forum with the owner, we eventually ended buying through James Dickens Marine in Hythe (boat was near Bursledon). Very helpful and professional (also makes onboard 'videowalks' to aid photos), understood completely how to supply info that we needed before travelling from abroad to view. We were his 29'th customer taking the boat out of the UK and he made sure all went smooth re. lift/load/transport, when we were back home.

Choise of the seller, highly recommended by the buyer.

Henryf made posts about DIY advertising and really showed that your own effort can be better than, or an important addition to, the brokers job.

A key point is photo quality. Not all are pro photographers, but if you don't even try...

You should add a note in your signature on this forum as well.

When I sold my previous boat it was DIY. Made a homepage with lots of info and entered ads on the popular boat selling sites, containg basic info, one picture and a link to the dedicated homepage.
 
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Definitely on her berth, I would much prefer to visit a boat while it is afloat in a nice marina setting rather than tucked away in a corner of the yard.
Also much easier to take prospective buyers out for a spin, give them the helm and hey presto, sold!

I have never understood this no test drive policy of sellers or brokers?
 
Leave her afloat at her berth,

Presentation, presentation, presentation, DIY or Broker,remove personal stuff, make the boat as clean as you can, then clean it again,then keep it clean, too many people thnk it's the brokers job to sell it, wrong,the owners efforts sells the boat,if it looks shabby you'll get shabby offers.

Price it realistically, look at what others (with the same boat) are asking then decide how yours fits into the price levels, spec,upgrades,condition etc. the broker I used, paid my wife the best compliment with, "the boat sold itself, it was spotless" swmbo does the inside I do the outside, oh! and it was gone in three weeks!

Best of luck with your sell.
 
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Depending on how much of a hurry you are in it has got to be worth having a go at selling it yourself,not withstanding the saving on brokers fees.You may well have a boat that is within the price range and type that people will go online to buy direct..
There any many websites that will cost you nothing or very little to advertise on and your skill with a camera needs to extend initially to a decent exterior shot to get people half interested and mybe a few interior .
Wait for a bright sunny day if poss get all or any canvas covers off.
You may feel the urge to post endless streams of interior pictures but just keep these to email peope who are interested enough to ask for more details.
Clear ALL the junk off the boat that you are not selling with it and gather all and any paperwork,receipts bills etc aquired over the years.
Helps if are not to far away from boat to give viewings.
Hardest bit is price,not just the market value but how much does the boat owe you and are you happy to sell for that ?
Regards afloat or ashore,depends on your buyer,if below a certain price,( actual cash transaction)the buyer may well (like me) prefer the boat ashore to inspect hull and stern gear and buy as seen on that basis ,on more expensive boats,pehaps not important as surveyor will want to inspect hull out of water and engines while under way.
Get your adverts online before Public Holidays suchas Easter etc when people are at home bored and trolling the interweb.
Have used all the free websites and have had interest from all of them resulting in online sales for my last three boats.
Must admit found my present boat by just wandering around Essex Boatyards :)
If all else fails then time for the broker to get involved and help you with your sale.
 
The pros and cons of leaving the boat in its berth or putting on brokerage have been debated but having spent Friday and Saturday looking at various boats I would echo Epervier in making sure that the boat is presentable and clean.

Looked at one at Hythe and not only was it dirty on the outside with mildew on the canopy etc but the owner was a smoker and had obviously smoked in the boat. Add to that a generally unloved feel to the boat and we didn't hang about too long. As ever it is on for top money but the owner has done little to make it presentable - we are ready to buy and that model is on our list but now at the bottom of it.

In short there could have been an offer but now unlikely.
 
When going on any boat I always have a good sniff of what the interior smell like,it all swings on that.Have driven 150 miles to view boat,stuck head inside and walked off boat.
A mixture of mould,diesel and just plain neglect.
 
In this climate id say after having mine on the market for over a year now, that price will be the deciding factor over anything, scruffy presented boats will sit there for ever.

My boats up to date, no faults, clean, 100yards from Swanwick, yet there seems to be little market for 41ft mid 90s flybridge Princess boats, unless you want to give them away to the time wasting foreign buyers. In my opinion there are little amount of buyers about that can commit to fuel and mooring bills, along with insurance and general running costs for my type of boat.

Id also go with a broker that can give you as much coverage as possible and pay a bit more comission to effect a sale if thats your aim, if you are happy to just get out of boating, not wishing to attain market value then id forget the brokers, use ebay or apolloduck etc and pitch it well under market guide prices, im sure then someone will buy your boat.

The reason I have stuck to a price im happy with is the fact there are 3 other boats for sale the same as mine in the uk, there all on a more money than mine, the owners are not prepared to sell below parr, so neither am I!, ive also made offers on what im after for them to be declined straight away, the moral of it to me is why should I drop over 20% on my asking price when others wont.

Its a funny old market at the moment, I just hope when the weather picks up so will the sales, and as fo part ex, forget it! too much car culture out there for me.
 
volvopaul said:
.. time wasting foreign buyers
Click to expand...

Ouch!

I think the distance (and cost) to travel justifies a thorough homework hence asking more than locals, who can come by easier. My previous boat went to Germany and the buyer was nursed a lot before coming. After he saw the boat he paid the asked price. Had absolutely no problems selling to a foreigner.

That said I completely agree that those putting an offer by mail, phone or even SMS before bothering to view the boat, hardly can be taken serious. I had a few of those too, but just gave them a "sorry, but good luck searching for a boat". Timewasters could easily be local as well, IMO.

I did not, and will not, keep reducing price until a boat (or car or anything else for that matter) sells. Just like I wouldn't sell to just anybody. If your price, by all reasonable arguments, is right then you should stick to it.

Since boats that appear identical can be 30% different in asking price you can't blame buyers for getting confused, asking for an explanation of the asked price.
 
I agree that price is the bottom line. To be fair, it maybe that if I made further enquiries about the boat I viewed I might find that the seller is up for an offer and that being the case I might consider it. Thing is, given the slightly above average asking price I don't get the sense that there is a good deal to be had, so given the state of the boat I am probably not going to bother pursuing it.

I sympathise with Volvopaul trying to shift what is obviously a good boat at a reasonable price but he is right about running costs, particularly fuel and I am not sure what the future is going to look like and that makes me hesitant about paying top dollar for anything, particularly a flybridge boat. I guess I am not alone in this.

Interestingly, the Brokers I chatted with said the main issue was finding good stock as opposed to selling things but then I was having another look at boats we looked at six months ago!!

Interestingly the seller of one has a bottom line that I definitely won't go to and neither will anyone else according to the Broker. So what will break the stalemate? A change in economic conditions? Lack of alternative stock making the asking price achievable? A change in outlook on the part of the seller or persistence paying off and dropping lucky with a buyer who is prepared to pay the price?

Now where is my crystal ball.........
 
Paul, if you still have your boat in three years time, how much will you have spent (wasted) in moorings, insurance and maintenance costs?
The only way you will sell the boat is to price it correctly. You obviously think the boat is worth a lot more than it really is, as do the other owners. Look at what it costs you to keep it and then rethink the price. (This from my recent 2.5 years selling experience with boat finally sold at the proper price).
 
Buyers ultimately must consider the two sides of economical consequense to ownership:
Investment and operating costs.

Many look at boats over their financial capability and gamble by placing ridiculous offers, hence setting the scene for the general trade.

If a seller refuses to accept market value, he won't sell. On the other hand sellers shouldn't pay for buyers' adventurous dreams come true buy reducing price below any fair market value, IMHO.
 
SolentPhill said:
Do a search on here as there was a post month or so about best place to sell a boat. And a debate on whether to leave in or out the water.

Think it was before the underwater lights question
Click to expand...

Here is the link

http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=298347

Posted 28/12/11 0920hrs.

Hope it helps


bammylovechops
Registered User
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Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Manchester
Posts: 161
Best in or out???
Often wondered, is it best to leave boat in or out of the water when selling???
Obvious positives for both options, but which has the initial best pulling power?

__________________
It is better to have memories than dreams.
 
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Last September we put our boat on the market and left her afloat on her berth. Within six weeks it was surveyed, sold, paid for and taken away.

OK, so we were not the most expensive boat of its type on the market, but if I am honest I put it down to ensuring that she was really clean (and I mean REALLY clean), we removed all of our things for the photographs (which we took ourselves), made sure she stayed empty and spotless, polished her inside and out until she gleamed and washed her down every weekend while she was for sale. A lot of work in the short term and while she sold for less than we wanted, she did sell for more than we would have accepted and within a sensible timeframe.

Find a broker who you get on with and feel you can trust is my advice. Work on the theory that the person who is likely to buy your boat is in fact quite similar to you and therefore if you wouldn't buy from your selected broker, chances are............
Oh, and be prepared to be creative, use the extras such as a dinghy/outboard as incentives to close quickly and not as part of the initial package

Finally, I hope it goes well for you. You hear some horror stories and see boats on the hard which seem to have been for sale for ever but the twice we have sold boats through brokers in the last five years, both sold quickly and with marginal movement on the price.
 
I am thinking of using a Broker to find my next boat. (Many boats dont get advertised on the Internet) I am spending hours looking at all the Websites. Certainly using a Broker can be invaluable. But living in the right area can help. When I recently sold my last boat located at Whitehaven the on,ly enquiries I had were from the South Coast. I sold it to someone in Southampton (350 miles) Who did not want the trailer so I advertised that and again sold it to someone on the South Coast. (Mind you I had to deliver them)
So the moral of the storey is " If you live on the South Coast you can afford to use a Broker as the price you will get for your boat compared to the rest of the UK will more than compensate for their commission"
PS What sort of boat is it as I am looking for a 21-26ft Diesel Cabin Cruiser.
Send Private message if below £28,000.
 
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PCUK said:
Paul, if you still have your boat in three years time, how much will you have spent (wasted) in moorings, insurance and maintenance costs?
The only way you will sell the boat is to price it correctly. You obviously think the boat is worth a lot more than it really is, as do the other owners. Look at what it costs you to keep it and then rethink the price. (This from my recent 2.5 years selling experience with boat finally sold at the proper price).
Click to expand...

In my case your statement does not exist, im not selling to get out of boating im actually moving up with another 60k plus to spend on top of what I get for my boat, so im not wasting a penny on moorings or running costs at present of in the future, I use my boat in the week to stay on, the moorings are cheaper than a hotel here in Swanwick so it stacks up for me very well.

Just out of interest I pitched my boat 10k under the other 3 princess 410s 16 months ago at 114950, the others were on at 129k, which yes id say is way over the top, ive since dropped 15k on the asking price to 99k to still get offers around 90k but they never go anywhere, as for the foreign buyers yes they bid over the phone, they have the spec and turn up wanting more when they know the deal at the outset, or they spend 2 weeks haggling through the broker and then never turn up, ive lost count how many of these ive had now.

The boat is regularly washed down, cleaned inside, always left after I go home in a clean state to present for sale, the broker always has positive comments about my boat and says the engineroom is better than boats 10 years newer. The selling price can be factored on what it costs to swap in my case yet try offering 25% less on the next boat to combat the gap and its just a waste of time.
 
Selling at the bottom end of the market is a tad easier,always price boat virtually at price I want plus a monkey :) ,that gets you the views if anyone is even half interested .
Then simply state,do what you want regards survey etc but you've got my bottom line.
 
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