Boat brokerage and buying a boat

[Little yogi]

Hi

Having sold my last boat I've been looking for a replacement boat for almost two years, without much success.

Looked at one a few months ago which wasn't local to me it was a round trip off 6 hours, made an offer offer accepted, arranged survey and boat transportation, had a text from the owner the next day saying he wanted to keep the boat a bit longer might sell latter in year ahahah

Then this week found a lovely boat though a brocker, made an offer brocker said she would contact the owner and would let me know what he thought of the offer which was not far of asking price, wel. Its been nearly 48 hours not a word from the brocker., looks like I'm going to have to call her to find out what's going on.

Is it me or have others found it a bit off a nightmare trying to purchase a motor boat

 

[stelican]

Hi

Having sold my last boat I've been looking for a replacement boat for almost two years, without much success.

Looked at one a few months ago which wasn't local to me it was a round trip off 6 hours, made an offer offer accepted, arranged survey and boat transportation, had a text from the owner the next day saying he wanted to keep the boat a bit longer might sell latter in year ahahah

Then this week found a lovely boat though a brocker, made an offer brocker said she would contact the owner and would let me know what he thought of the offer which was not far of asking price, wel. Its been nearly 48 hours not a word from the brocker., looks like I'm going to have to call her to find out what's going on.

Is it me or have others found it a bit off a nightmare trying to purchase a motor boat

We bought a motorhome!

 

[Tranona]

Give her a call. For some sellers it is big decision and they take their time, but there may be a sound reason for lack of response. Yes it can be a frustrating time as it is not like walking into a shop and buying a pint of milk.

 

[superheat6k]

Hi

Having sold my last boat I've been looking for a replacement boat for almost two years, without much success.

Looked at one a few months ago which wasn't local to me it was a round trip off 6 hours, made an offer offer accepted, arranged survey and boat transportation, had a text from the owner the next day saying he wanted to keep the boat a bit longer might sell latter in year ahahah

Then this week found a lovely boat though a brocker, made an offer brocker said she would contact the owner and would let me know what he thought of the offer which was not far of asking price, wel. Its been nearly 48 hours not a word from the brocker., looks like I'm going to have to call her to find out what's going on.

Is it me or have others found it a bit off a nightmare trying to purchase a motor boat

'Radio silence' is simply a tactic likely intended to get you to put forward a better offer, but it can work both ways, so I would suggest do not call them and when she calls you say thanks to whatever she says and when she suggests you need to offer more advise "oh, but I assumed your vendor was not interested, so I'm looking at another (better) boat now."

But of course you would be prepared to re-consider the offer, but wondered if there is any favourable movement on the price.

You are here to buy the boat at the best price you can, not make friends.

 

[Boat2016]

'Radio silence' is simply a tactic likely intended to get you to put forward a better offer, but it can work both ways, so I would suggest do not call them and when she calls you say thanks to whatever she says and when she suggests you need to offer more advise "oh, but I assumed your vendor was not interested, so I'm looking at another (better) boat now."

But of course you would be prepared to re-consider the offer, but wondered if there is any favourable movement on the price.

You are here to buy the boat at the best price you can, not make friends.

and don’t forget a good broker is good at sorting serious buyers from dreamers who waste everyone’s time making offers that are simply not going to buy the boat, good boats at the right price sell very easily

 

[Little yogi]

Update

Heard back from the broker this evening, apparently she had another viewing today and they have made an offer very close to the asking price, and have indicated they could go higher to secure the boat.

Whilst the boat is in really good condition and I do intend to keep her for long time, I'm not sure I want to get into a bidding war , seems its still a seller's market.

 

[ChromeDome]

Bidding is in the nature of demand and supply, not to blame the broker for.

Imagine you was the seller. Would you sell for less than you could?

Revisit the investment- and operating budgets, update your 5 year TCO estimate incl. risk assessment (repair, upgrades) and see how much difference a higher bid would actually do.

If the result is not to your liking the consequense is clear: Walk away.
Other offers will appear, they always do. Adjust your requirements when searching and see..

 

[Portofino]

You had first dibs , had an opportunity to seal the deal last week along the lines “ I ll take it ( subject to survey ) full asking price , if you remove it from the market today .Here is my deposit “

Also gauged at viewing via the broker “ what’s the level of interest “ .Depending on the boats popularity , price , state etc the body language and other vibes on the day only you can tell .

But then the broker maybe should have said “ there’s other viewings in arrangement “ which she’s bothered on the sellers behalf to carry out if your offer was under asking .

Her life , yours and the sellers would have been so much easier if you just offered asking .

Its not a bidding war , never was it’s a very simple first come first served one sticker price .

 

[Greg2]

In years gone by we had the luxury of taking time to find a boat we liked, working out what it was worth compared to similar on the market (price and how long they had been for sale) and in the context of what we could afford making offers that were, in some cases, notably below asking price. It would be rare to find someone else after the same boat at the same time.

That all changed in 2020 and has remained the same since then for a variety of reasons (pandemic, Brexit, new build costs etc etc) . Now a used boat will cost more than it would have in 2019 and if it is a good one / popular model it will sell so if you want it you have to move swiftly and be prepared to pay.

We sold as we emerged from the first lockdown in 2020 and bought a couple of months later as ‘pandemic prices’ were beginning to kick in. The price was higher than we really wanted to pay and as long term boaters it was difficult to swallow that as we knew what sort of money the boat would have sold for a year previously. My lad pointed out the bleedin‘ obvious - the additional ££££ was not a big deal if considered in the likely long term ownership of the boat and ultimately did I want to have the boat and be happy or be scrabbling around amongst the new boaters trying to find something that we liked. He was right - we stopped prevaricating and bought the boat.

Recently we have been looking to upgrade our day sailer and there isn’t much out there and good ones that have appeared (at high prices) have quickly disappeared whilst we have been thinking about going to view.

Put simply, snooze you lose!
.

 

[Little yogi]

Some valid points there and i take on board what Greg2 said.

There was another viewing yesterday and the perspective purchaser made an off close to asking, So I have increased my offer to dam nearly asking, and will go to full asking if need be, just waiting to hear back from brocker

 

[Farmer Piles]

We finally got our bigger boat last year but it involved 2-3 years of viewing boats. We traveled from Cornwall to the Solent three times viewing boats - 5 hours each way. We had a boat sold from under us when we had agreed a price and I had paid for a survey - private sale. But we got there and we now have a great boat.
In my experience, be keen with the broker but not too pushy, make an effort to be friendly and pleasant as they deal with a lot of a**holes. If you are straight and easy to deal with there is a good chance that they will encourage the seller towards your offer as long as it's in the right ballpark. Very often it can be the owner that's being difficult or slow so don't assume that it is the broker being slack - although they can be.
Good luck you will get there and it's worth the effort.

 

[Farmer Piles]

PS; if you can go and see the broker in person, engage with them and build a rapport. It all helps as we humans are social creatures and you become more than just an email or a voice on the phone.

 

[Fire99]

It certainly seems from conversations that the boat market in the UK is still very strong and the pendulum still seems to be swung in the seller's favour. (I'm sure there are exceptions). For me (as a buyer) a few things have stood out. Firstly, your budget is your budget so I do think as much as we always think we'll never see another boat the same, if it's significantly over budget I'd let it go. Secondly, on the other hand, don't try and squeeze a few quid out of the seller and push them into another buyer's hands. If it's a nice boat and the price isn't mad, pay the money and take it home. I guess lastly is if you have the money to hand, so no subject to a loan agreement or you need to release some equity somewhere etc, will help a sale I think. I think sellers are tempted by the genuineness and relative lack of complications in selling..

That's my 50 pence worth.

 

[gordmac]

Agree, if it is what you want and can afford to just pay the money and get it. In the greater scheme of things a few grand here or there on a boat purchase isn't that significant over the years of ownership.
Presumably someone in NI can buy an EU boat without paying the vat penalty?

 

[Aardee]

Explain you're not getting into a bidding war and will offer asking price on condition the boat is taken off the market today or you'll withdraw your offer. Take control of the process rather than waiting for the next call, the next viewing, the next offer.

 

[Fire99]

Agree, if it is what you want and can afford to just pay the money and get it. In the greater scheme of things a few grand here or there on a boat purchase isn't that significant over the years of ownership.
Presumably someone in NI can buy an EU boat without paying the vat penalty?

It seems so and visa versa, but I think that has yet to be proof tested. But NI still adheres to EU VAT rules on goods so the theory is sound.

 

[Little yogi]

Had a call from the broker to say she had viewing today they made an offer of asking price and the boat is sold .

when I asked why did she not come back to me so we could finish our negations, she said what can i do when I have someone in front me offering full asking, I said you shouldn't be taking offers from other parties if you've already started negations with someone else, I would have been happy to go to full asking if needed, personally I don't believe she ever put any of my offers to the owner, if she had and got back to me straight away to sell could have been conclude three days ago. bad practice IMO but the problem is boat brokerage is totally unregulated so they can do what they want.

Oh well the moral is if you see a boat you really want just pay the asking price.

 

[Little yogi]

It seems so and visa versa, but I think that has yet to be proof tested. But NI still adheres to EU VAT rules on goods so the theory is sound.

I'm actually in the Republic of Ireland the boat was in Northern Ireland, if a boat was in Northern Ireland before the official Brexit date then it can be imported to the Republic with no vat or import duty, unlike the mainland England , Wales or Scotland , then weed have to pay import duty at 33 % of the value of the boat plus vat , which is why its longer viable to import from the Mainland , Brexit has not done Ireland any favors shame as ive seen some really nice boats back in England which is where I'm from originally

 

[Aardee]

Oh well the moral is if you see a boat you really want just pay the asking price.

The moral of the story is act decisively and control the process. There's always someone hustling while you're waiting

 

[Fire99]

I'm actually in the Republic of Ireland the boat was in Northern Ireland, if a boat was in Northern Ireland before the official Brexit date then it can be imported to the Republic with no vat or import duty, unlike the mainland England , Wales or Scotland , then weed have to pay import duty at 33 % of the value of the boat plus vat , which is why its longer viable to import from the Mainland , Brexit has not done Ireland any favors shame as ive seen some really nice boats back in England which is where I'm from originally

Gotcha!!! What a pain in the backside. Import duty is a stinker.. When I was in Co Wicklow and thinking of staying, import duty on a car from the UK was a tough eye blistering..