boat brokers

[steveeasy]

Well Ive genuinely been giving them the benefit of doubt for some considerable time, that went out the window today. Quite by chance bumped in to a really nice chap on the pontoon couple of months back. we chatted for a while and then he handed me a card. He was xxxxxxx from xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx .Oh yes always find a home for a Contessa 32. So I thought id genuinely give it a go. quite fancy a small upgrade, but equally not too bothered.

So I email the firm. they stated they had to do the due diligence bit first. everything. past history. previous bill of sales. title. vat status. id check the lot. then told they will carry out a full appraisal. get a date 5 weeks ago. dont bother turning up. wait three weeks, nothing. follow it up with a call. We will be out next week. Then out the blue, get told, popped over to carry out an appraisal. your boat is old. not worth bothering with. Thanks for your kind offer to us but no thanks. the fixed fee is the same, so id understand if we could not agree an advertised for sale price but nothing.

Now thats what I call a good service. especially as they approached me. could not even be bothered to put anything on paper. what a total insult to a caring boat owner. well I try.

Steveeasy

 

[steveeasy]

wrong thread.
Deleted

 

[Irish Rover]

If everything you've stated in your OP is fact what not name the broker?

 

[steveeasy]

why not ?. Why would Anyone. No big deal just a waste of my time. I’ll post a redacted copy but it’s little interest other than to me who found it bloody rude and dissapointing.

Steveeasy

 

[Stemar]

I'd say you dodged a bullet there. "Your boat is old..." Of course it is, most Contessas are, but that doesn't stop them being in demand and fetching good prices. It isn't just lackadaisical, it's downright incompetence.

By all means name them, so others can avoid them.

 

[Irish Rover]

why not ?. Why would Anyone. No big deal just a waste of my time. I’ll post a redacted copy but it’s little interest other than to me who found it bloody rude and dissapointing.

Steveeasy

Why not? Exactly. As @Stemar says it may help other members to avoid them. I've certainly named brokers who gave me a bad service in order to warn others.

 

[dunedin]

I'd say you dodged a bullet there. "Your boat is old..." Of course it is, most Contessas are, but that doesn't stop them being in demand and fetching good prices. It isn't just lackadaisical, it's downright incompetence.

By all means name them, so others can avoid them.

But how much time did the OP spend preparing the boat for the broker to view it. Washing, clearing junk out, cleaning the cabin.
Clearly the boat is old.
Some Co32 have been lovingly maintained, sympathetically updated, and presented immaculately. These will indeed sell quickly.

However, as we have seen in here so often, other boats are just old and scruffy, with no attempt made to clear out and clean up for sale. The broker will know such boats don't sell quickly, don't generate much money - and often result in complaints from views who feel their time was wasted.

We don't know where the OPs boat fits on that spectrum. But unless spent some serious time preparing for sale, it us possible that the broker made the correct call?

 

[steveeasy]

If you dont mind ill tell you where I am. My boat is in very good order and ive spent considerable preparing her. I also wasted 6 weeks waiting for a professional broker to carry out the work in assessing her and marketing her. I was patient and efficient in providing all the information that was requested prior to them providing a date to do their work. a date they simply ignored and eventually turned up unannounced which in it self is rude and quite frankly very unprofessional.

Of course she is an old boat but she is tidy, bright, looks fab on the water and has £3,000 of new deck winches on her with a newish Neptune windvane. upgraded electrics and regularly varnished cabin sole boards. everything serviced. sails immaculate. canvas clean. yes ill add some pics. yes your find fault, but she is 50 years old and yes their is a market for them, just like fulmars, Twisters , and anything else of course relative to the price.

What I would have expected was an email notifying me they where going to turn up and view my boat. an appraisal. provide a valuation and discuss a marketing plan. What I got was a 5 week delay, turned up unnanounced. told me she was old and tired. no thanks to my kind offer and good bye. My view how utterly rude.

Now I know you lot have high standards and that is a good thing. these are not marketing images. But i think my boat is a good example of the lower end of the market for Contessa 32s. which quick frankly is the best part of the market. not the 40, 60 or £100,000 share of the market. Ive sent an email saying how dissapointed I am by there poor service and how rude I believe it was to tell an owner thier boat is old and tired instead of being proactive and at least providing some potential options. I may have been happy to market her at a reduced price. they had already told me the price they charged for their service so that aspect would not have been affected by a reduced selling price. So I can only assume they are full of XXXXX and go for the cream.

Ive had no response from them.

 

[dunedin]

If you dont mind ill tell you where I am. My boat is in very good order and ive spent considerable preparing her. I also wasted 6 weeks waiting for a professional broker to carry out the work in assessing her and marketing her. I was patient and efficient in providing all the information that was requested prior to them providing a date to do their work. a date they simply ignored and eventually turned up unannounced which in it self is rude and quite frankly very unprofessional.

Of course she is an old boat but she is tidy, bright, looks fab on the water and has £3,000 of new deck winches on her with a newish Neptune windvane. upgraded electrics and regularly varnished cabin sole boards. everything serviced. sails immaculate. canvas clean. yes ill add some pics. yes your find fault, but she is 50 years old and yes their is a market for them, just like fulmars, Twisters , and anything else of course relative to the price.

What I would have expected was an email notifying me they where going to turn up and view my boat. an appraisal. provide a valuation and discuss a marketing plan. What I got was a 5 week delay, turned up unnanounced. told me she was old and tired. no thanks to my kind offer and good bye. My view how utterly rude.

Now I know you lot have high standards and that is a good thing. these are not marketing images. But i think my boat is a good example of the lower end of the market for Contessa 32s. which quick frankly is the best part of the market. not the 40, 60 or £100,000 share of the market. Ive sent an email saying how dissapointed I am by there poor service and how rude I believe it was to tell an owner thier boat is old and tired instead of being proactive and at least providing some potential options. I may have been happy to market her at a reduced price. they had already told me the price they charged for their service so that aspect would not have been affected by a reduced selling price. So I can only assume they are full of XXXXX and go for the cream.

Ive had no response from them.

Looks very smart. Would it be worth attempting a direct/ private sale?

 

[steveeasy]

My Point.
dont think i am acting like a petulant child. I think Ive a reasonably nice boat. met a professional broker. did all the ground work requested and they were extremely lack luster and could not even have the decent to tell me when they were going to go aboard my boat. then turned their nose up at it.

No I cant do a private marketing of it as I work!! and the distance involved is way to far to allow potential buyers viewing opportunities. I ended up feeling deflated(get over it Steveeasy) yes I have. But I detest poor service from people that actually operate in a market that should promote efficiency and professionalism.



Steveeasy

 

[Irish Rover]

If it helps you, then by all means come on the forum just to have a moan. However, I really don't understand why you won't name your time waster, rude, brokers.

 

[steveeasy]

If it helps you, then by all means come on the forum just to have a moan. However, I really don't understand why you won't name your time waster, rude, broker

This is what they say

provides a professional yacht brokerage service for owners wherever their boat is lying, we offer a fully mobile service. Using the latest technology we provide a tailored premium service to meet the requirements of each boat allowing the vendor to keep the boat in her home berth, in commission and being enjoyed.

Sell your boat with us and benefit from the complete brokerage package.

• Onboard face to face consultation prior to listing.
• Vessel documentation check, RCD, VAT and Registration.
• No obligation market appraisal and valuation.

As well as the above a lot more. So you do the ground work. provide all the documentation by return. they say they are going to do an appraisal. dont turn up for weeks. despite being chased. then turn up out the blue. not sure any market appraisal was done. too busy. tired an old. thanks for your kind offer but no thanks
Mark Cameron Yacht sales.
It bothers me not. He or they could have responded to my emails. im sure they are efficient but not for me. wasted best part of 2 good months.

 

[Irish Rover]

This is what they say

provides a professional yacht brokerage service for owners wherever their boat is lying, we offer a fully mobile service. Using the latest technology we provide a tailored premium service to meet the requirements of each boat allowing the vendor to keep the boat in her home berth, in commission and being enjoyed.

Sell your boat with us and benefit from the complete brokerage package.

• Onboard face to face consultation prior to listing.
• Vessel documentation check, RCD, VAT and Registration.
• No obligation market appraisal and valuation.

As well as the above a lot more. So you do the ground work. provide all the documentation by return. they say they are going to do an appraisal. dont turn up for weeks. despite being chased. then turn up out the blue. not sure any market appraisal was done. too busy. tired an old. thanks for your kind offer but no thanks
Mark Cameron Yacht sales.
It bothers me not. He or they could have responded to my emails. im sure they are efficient but not for me. wasted best part of 2 good months.

I assume this is the website and I see they have boats as cheap as £5k for sale so it's difficult to understand what their issue was with yours Boats for Sale - Mark Cameron Yachts - Specialist Sail and Motorboat Brokerage

 

[steveeasy]

Ships Papers

As part of the process of taking on any new listing we will check through the ships papers to ensure all is in order. This allows us to check the vendor has clear legal title to the boat, confirms the boats VAT and RCD status and clarify the boats position in regards to registration in the UK. As part of this process we will be expecting to see:

• Bill of Sale in favour of the vendor, if the boats been owned for 5 years or less we would also expect to see the previous bill of sale.
• Builders certificate
• RCD Certificate of Conformity – for boats built after 1998
• VAT invoice, acknowledged as paid
• Registration certificates, Part 1 or Part 3 (SSR) (if registered)

What’s the Market Value?

As part of our brokerage service we can provide a no obligation free valuation. This process can normally be completed with a few details of the boat and a selection of photographs. If you wish to proceed with listing the boat for sale we will complete a full valuation process, attending the boat before providing a market appraisal for the class. When looking at the asking prices of similar examples of the class currently on the market, you should allow for the achieved selling price being below this, often as much as 10%

Thanks but no Thanks
What a load of cobblers on the website.

 

[steveeasy]

I assume this is the website and I see they have boats as cheap as £5k for sale so it's difficult to understand what their issue was with yours Boats for Sale - Mark Cameron Yachts - Specialist Sail and Motorboat Brokerage

You tell me. 2 months. boat is spotlessly clean. Demand is reasonable for the type of boat. I expected some positive comments followed by some harsh truths about a market in difficulty. I did not expect Thanks but no Thanks, after the delays involved.

Steveeasy

 

[Fr J Hackett]

Your boat looks extremely tidy if a little dated and as you say that would put it lower down in the Contessa 32 price bracket but as you also say there is a ready market for C32s so you would expect it to sell easily and quickly. Difficult to understand the Brokers reaction if they knew it was a C32 and age.

 

[dunedin]

Mark Cameron is well known and well established in the Scottish brokerage market for many decades. I bought a boat through him many years ago and all was fine.

 

[Irish Rover]

Mark Cameron is well known and well established in the Scottish brokerage market for many decades. I bought a boat through him many years ago and all was fine.

All the more reason to expect a more professional service than experienced by the OP, wouldn't you think?

 

[steveeasy]

Your boat looks extremely tidy if a little dated and as you say that would put it lower down in the Contessa 32 price bracket but as you also say there is a ready market for C32s so you would expect it to sell easily and quickly. Difficult to understand the Brokers reaction if they knew it was a C32 and age.

All the more reason to expect a more professional service than experienced by the OP, wouldn't you think?

Your boat looks extremely tidy if a little dated and as you say that would put it lower down in the Contessa 32 price bracket but as you also say there is a ready market for C32s so you would expect it to sell easily and quickly. Difficult to understand the Brokers reaction if they knew it was a C32 and age.

id stood with his partner 2 months earlier on the pontoon looking at my boat. they sell well I was told. card handed to me. hence me following it up. So I think its fair to say they knew it was a CO32 as confirmed by every single piece of paperwork supplied, as requested by them.

Steveeasy

 

[benjenbav]

id stood with his partner 2 months earlier on the pontoon looking at my boat. they sell well I was told. card handed to me. hence me following it up. So I think its fair to say they knew it was a CO32 as confirmed by every single piece of paperwork supplied, as requested by them.

Steveeasy

I wonder if the answer is that when they discussed the possibility amongst themselves they realised that they had too much else going on, or too much that they felt would be more remunerative in terms of their time/effort in relation to their commission.

IMHO folk are generally very poor at saying they’ve changed their minds or that they simply don’t want to do something and, often, this results in behaviour that is more annoying than if they straightforwardly said at the outset, ‘Lovely boat. We’d be happy to handle it if you ever wanted to sell. But not right now; we’re just too busy.’