Boat Buyer's Brokers or Agents in Europe

[IanCalling]

All sorts of issues to solve for me, an Aussie with not much sailing experience let lone buying experience, to buy a sailing cruiser in the med to start with but also to be my longterm home. I know sailing schools exist and I can correspond with insurance companies and registration people, but it is soooo messy from the other side of the world.

Is there such a thing as a "Buyer's Broker" or a "Buyer's Agent" who can conduct me through the whole minefield without me having to sort out the optimal solution to each issue from scratch myself? To solve such things non-resident appears to have pitfalls if you get it wrong. Imagine it - buying a boat somewhere but not being able easily register it or insure it...

Perhaps the title is wrong but I think you get it. Is there such a service available in europe?

 

[Sticky Fingers]

You could try these guys. No connection. They cover the Med.



Boatwish International
't Breukeleveense Meentje 6
1231 LM Loosdrecht, The Netherlands
+31 (0) 35 58 29 049
+31 (0) 65 43 15 124
info@boatwish.nl
www.boatwish.nl

 

[Mr Cassandra]

I am haveing very similar problems.The International yacht broker who i am dealing with
speaks no English ,German Austrian or Spanish. He persists in sending everything in Italian and being that i am living out of a suitcase it difficul to get things translated ,printed and returned to him.
If it was not for the magnificent help I have received from a fourumite,I would have given up on the boat i have wanted for years.

 

[Tranona]

In general buying a boat in the med is relatively easy, but suggest not something to be done from a distance. OK to do your searches on line, but a visit to view and buy is pretty essential for a used boat. Not so difficult if you are buying new as the UK dealers for the major builders all organise delivery and commissioning in the Med, usually in either Slovenia South of France or Spain.

Many Australians have done what you are planning, but you really need to do your homework first. The major constraints are the limited amount of time you can spend in the EU on a normal visitor's visa and if you buy a boat that is not VAT paid the limitations on the time the boat can stay in the EU. There are ways on minimising these constraints but they depend on your personal circumstances and managing your itinerary.

You don't say what sort of boat you are interested in nor what you want to do with it, but the common route is to buy a modern boat of say 36' upwards built by one of the big builders such as Bavaria, Beneteau etc, particularly if you want to take it back home as these have a good market there. They are also probably the most suited to Med cruising as well. If you are buying used then probably the best places to buy are Greece, Croatia or Spain where there is always a good choice and you will find brokers who speak English - although some can be quite difficult to deal with! A good alternative is to buy from the charter operators who sell boats typically after 5 or 6 years use. They are easy to deal with as most and many are British owned or managed. You have tobe extra wary of the condition of the boat for obvious reasons but generally they offer good value and you might be able to arrange a week's charter before you buy. Most used boats will be VAT paid so you can take them anywhere in the EU (and elsewhere) without restrictions.

Registration is sometimes an issue but you may well be able to register the boat in Australia - you need to check at your end. However there are alternatives, particularly using either the Guernsey or Jersey registers, both of which are accepted everywhere and are open to non residents. A bit expensive to set up but low cost to maintain.

As to buyer's brokers, they are not common although some brokers will help search (as the one referred to above, which is part of one of the biggest brokers in Holland), but to be honest in these days of the internet finding boats for sale is the least of the problems. Work really starts when you have identified your short list and then you will find that most selling Brokers will help you through the process. Don't forget that not all boats are sold through brokers and often you can get a better and easier deal buying privately.

Hope the above helps to give you a start.

 

[Pasarell]

I agree with pretty much all Tranona says above. You need to get an idea of the boat you want before committing to someone to help you even if that is wise to do.
Friend of mine here in Greece bought his first boat 18 months ago from a charter company. He did 5 or 6 weeks of sailing courses in the Med over a couple of years where he booked a berth on a boat skippered by an instructor. Worked out what he liked and size he could handle then moved down here from UK when he retired early and within 2 months (at the end of the season) had the boat he now calls home. 40ft ex charter Bavaria from 2008. He was / is a little naïve about equipping and setting up but learns fast from talking to other people.

There are lots of boats for sale in Greece, private and ex charter, many through brokers so easy to find on the internet, but also plenty privately in the various storage yards. Near me there are 3 large storage yards with plenty of older private boats for sale that are open to offers. May be best for you to get a little experience at home then come over here out of season planning to stay for a couple of months. Plenty of cheap apartments out of season, cheap hire cars and where there is a community of people wintering such as in Lefkas plenty of advice - some of it even worth listening to! There are also a few trustworthy people who would help and advise for a small fee but I would only go down that route once you know them. Biggest group in Lefkas, where I am, are Brits but plenty of other nationalities too including several Australians.

Good luck with your search. It's all part of the fun of eventually owning the right boat.

 

[IanCalling]

I know pretty much what I'm looking for (Jeanneau un Odessy 39i or 42i) and I've found about 6 candidates in Spain, France and Italy. The factors I'm looking at are registration (Holland or Belgium are the most likely) and insurance (complications include no European base and minimal experience). All these can be solved but it all takes time for the non-initiated. I need someone to guide me through the process without stumbles. Someone who can arrange for negotiation, registration, insurance including whatever tuition and training that is required.

 

[IanCalling]

Thanks for the reply and I am already down the track you describe.

Already identified Jeanneau Sun Odessy 39i or 42i as most likely and found a number of candidates in France, Italy and Spain. I'm a fast learner too and I'm getting up to speed on many things and factors like not being an EU resident and minimal experience. I can solve all these things (purchase, registration, training, insurance) in time but time is not something that is abundant to me as my home is finally sold and May 1 and the EU summer is approaching. I'm looking for someone to guide me along efficiently for a fee.

 

[IanCalling]

Thanks, just what I'm looking for. Interesting that they seem to formulate their fee in terms of the difference between the advertised and negotiated fee. Not sure what that means if the boat is already advertised on yacht world by a broker who, no doubt, expects his fee too.

 

[IanCalling]

Not sure where you are based but we might be in the same boat - or same "lack of a boat". If you live in EU then it might be easier though. Care to swap some more detailed notes to see if we might be able to help each other?

 

[Sticky Fingers]

Hi Ian,

Your replies are not linked to the posts you replied to.... makes it a bit confusing, you might want to edit them to include the post as a quote

 

[Tranona]

I know pretty much what I'm looking for (Jeanneau un Odessy 39i or 42i) and I've found about 6 candidates in Spain, France and Italy. The factors I'm looking at are registration (Holland or Belgium are the most likely) and insurance (complications include no European base and minimal experience). All these can be solved but it all takes time for the non-initiated. I need someone to guide me through the process without stumbles. Someone who can arrange for negotiation, registration, insurance including whatever tuition and training that is required.

Unlikely you will find any one person who will be able to do all that, but you may well find the broker selling the boat will be able to organise most of it.

Really think you are being too ambitious trying to do this from a distance in time for this season.

Seems to me your priority is to learn how to sail and this might best be done before you leave Australia. The next best alternative is to sign up for an RYA course with one of the many sailing schools in the Med, particularly in Spain, Gibraltar and Greece. Achieving a Day Skipper qualification would set you up well for cruising and will help you get insurance. Some of the schools also offer charters as well as being connected with brokers who can help you in your boat search. Schools are usually run by British instructors which obviously helps from a language point of view.

As I suggested already buying in Greece is much the easiest and language is not a barrier. There are also several schools operating there. Italy is well known for being a difficult place to buy compared with other countries - the easiest being Greece and Spain. These two countries also have the biggest "tourist" related boating sectors.

 

[wwalsh]

Many australians have purchased yachts in Greece. They are a major percentage of buyers in recent years. From the local brokers i would single out yiannis drimousis of http://www.ydyachts.com/ as providing the proper complete service .