brokers

[BB1]

In reply to ( Syvictoria ) The asking price of the boat in question is between 15k and 20k my maximum budget is with in 9.5% of the asking price. For me to view the boat it would require an overnight stop over. There seems to be very little that comes with the boat apart from the bear minimum so yes I am holding a little back. As for getting a surveyor to give me a report on the boat is out of the question as I would want to see the boat for my self before making a firm offer and making arrangements for a haul out and survey. On viewing I would like to see the engine running. Am I asking too much? My main issue is the broker wont email or phone the vendor. I will try the broker one more time and if no luck I will move on.

Have you put your offer in writing or verbal

 

[RivalRedwing]

It seems be a sellers market at present... the brokers are working on that basis...

 

[Tranona]

To be honest I have taken a dislike to this broker and have decided keep looking. I would like to thank syvictoria

I am sorry, but from the broker's point of view you are not a serious buyer. It really is an odd approach to ask if the seller will accept a lower price before you have even seen the boat. That is NOT an offer any seller would consider. All you have done is indicate that you are not willing to pay his asking price. All sellers are open to offers, but it must be an offer that if accepted is going to proceed to a contract and sale, and asking over the phone if he will accept 10% less, subject to a viewing is not a good start. I have just sold a boat and my broker received exactly the same sort of offer - "will he take asking price less x% before I come to view" and of course he got the same answer as you did. The broker acts in his client's interests and I can see why he was not prepared to put your question to the seller.

If you think the boat will meet your requirements, either make a firm offer subject to survey and sea trial or view it and then make the offer.

 

[Koeketiene]

I sold my 2 previous boats privately.
Probably not what OP wants to hear, but I too refused to discuss price with someone before they had viewed the boat.
As for distance/time it would take to view a boat... if it's such an imposition: buy local.

 

[grumpy_o_g]

In reply to ( Syvictoria ) The asking price of the boat in question is between 15k and 20k my maximum budget is with in 9.5% of the asking price. For me to view the boat it would require an overnight stop over. There seems to be very little that comes with the boat apart from the bear minimum so yes I am holding a little back. As for getting a surveyor to give me a report on the boat is out of the question as I would want to see the boat for my self before making a firm offer and making arrangements for a haul out and survey. On viewing I would like to see the engine running. Am I asking too much? My main issue is the broker wont email or phone the vendor. I will try the broker one more time and if no luck I will move on.

You're asking the vendor to accept a lower offer without you even having seen the boat but still reserving the right to negotiate an even lower price after you have seen it. If you think about it you're really wanting the vendor to lower his asking price by 10% whilst offering nothing in return. I'm not really surprised it was rejected out of hand and I can understand why the broker didn't want to go back to his/her customer and have that conversation. Having said that it was always worth a try, I just don't think you should be surprised it didn't get anywhere.

 

[KevinV]

Every seller asks more than they need for the boat, and every buyer offers less - if your budget is within 10% I wouldn't bother anyone about it beforehand, that's normal negotiating space in my opinion.

When I bought mine I had a long phonecall with the broker, with a list of specific questions about the specific boat, and also by-the-by whether the seller was actually wanting to sell, or just chancing their arm because prices are high. I also outlined my total (non-negotiable) budget for a sea-ready boat, which was at it's upper limit at the asking price - anything not up to scratch with the boat had to come out of the sale price - I asked for an honest opinion whether the broker felt the seller would negotiate on that basis - not a guarantee, not a pre-negotiation, just an informed opinion. I didn't want to travel 4.5 hours each way to waste the broker's time and mine, and the seller's hopes, so I wanted to be clear on my position before I got in the car. The broker had a chat with the seller, told him I was serious, coming to view promptly, but not trigger happy - we all understood each other.

Not very different in fact to your position, just presented differently.

(As it was, we ended up agreeing amicably at 25% below asking because the seller, aided by the broker's opinion, decided he wanted me to have the boat and get her looking pristine again - which she will, bang on budget.)

 

[Solent sailer]

Last time we bought a boat we just chatted with the broker and he told us that the vendor had turned down an offer of xxx so we needed to be over that amount but as the boat had been on the market for a while so he would be open to offers, gave us an idea of what it might go for so we booked the visit to look at it.

 

[burgundyben]

To be honest I have taken a dislike to this broker and have decided keep looking. I would like to thank syvictoria

You kinda vindicated the broker.

 

[syvictoria]

It really is an odd approach to ask if the seller will accept a lower price before you have even seen the boat. That is NOT an offer any seller would consider.

I beg to differ. This situation is actually quite a common occurrence, and by no means are all sellers unwilling to consider such offers. Likewise the modern practice of buyers straight away asking for a 'best price'. The latter is a horrible way to conduct negotiations in my opinion, but anyone who has sold anything recently (ebay, Gumtree, etc.) is likely to have had to deal with such requests.

 

[Tranona]

I beg to differ. This situation is actually quite a common occurrence, and by no means are all sellers unwilling to consider such offers. Likewise the modern practice of buyers straight away asking for a 'best price'. The latter is a horrible way to conduct negotiations in my opinion, but anyone who has sold anything recently (ebay, Gumtree, etc.) is likely to have had to deal with such requests.

The role of a broker is to find a buyer that will actually buy. The key phrase used to describe such a buyer is "ready, willing and able" - that is, wants the boat, prepared to sign a contract and has the money. That is the test a broker uses before putting an offer to the seller. The OP fails on that test (from what he says) - he just wants to know if the seller will consider a lower price - to which the answer is, come and look at the boat and put in a formal offer. Why should a broker waste his client's time putting a speculative enquiry to him? Brokers get these kinds of questions all the time and their job is to weed out those that are unlikely to lead to an offer. No different from buying a house - the estate agent qualifies the potential buyer first - do they have a house to sell? have they got a mortgage offer in principle? what timescales are they working to and so on.

KevinV's approach (post#26) is much more likely to get a response. He has explained his position such that he moves from just another speculative enquiry to a potential buyer - no commitment yet on an actual offer, but an understanding of the parameters of the negotiations that might follow a viewing.

 

[doug748]

I agree with the rest, you would be nuts to lower your starting figure on the strength of a phone call. In fact I would be miffed if a broker even mentioned it. He may well tell a prospective buyer that you are "considering offers" or "firm on price - we have had four viewings" or some such, that is quite different.

.

 

[Bobc]

Tell us what boat it is. Someone here might know the owner.

 

[Biggles Wader]

I dont see a problem with a frank discussion along the lines of "My absolute top price is £20,000. The asking price is £25,000. Are we wasting each other's time?"
That's not an offer but is a basis for finding out if it is worth making a long journey to view or not.

 

[bill bligh]

All I am going to say is that the broker pi55ed me off and I only wanted peoples opinion. You could say I was in the wrong frame of mind when I first put finger too keyboard. I am not giving information out about the boat or broker as that could backfire on me further down the line. You good folk have given your opinions for and against. I know there are good and not so good brokers out there so I will leave it at that and move on. If you wish to keep the thread going please do. but I'm done. It wont be long before I will be back on the water. Personally I think prices will drop as people who have brought boats during Covid realise the cost of keeping them.

 

[dunedin]

Are there many people like me who know what make and model boat they are interested in and with a top budget of X pounds.

It is great that you know exactly what you want - and wish you luck in your search.

But you might need a lot of luck. Unless the type of boat is as common as a Topper dinghy, by narrowing down to one type of boat you reduce your options hugely. If also working to a fixed budget and limited willingness to travel, during a period when boat prices are exceptionally high, then your options become extremely narrow.
Perhaps you need more flexibility in terms of boat type, price, location and/or timing. Otherwise you could become very frustrated / disappointed - and it isn’t necessarily the brokers’ fault.

When we bought our boat it was the only one of its type for sale worldwide. But fortunately for us it was located off the beaten track for this type of boat. It needed flights, hire cars and at least two nights in hotel to view it. But we treated this as a mini-holiday, and also viewed another rare type of boat when we were out there. We were flexible to a degree on boat type, and more so on location and budget (blown by miles), but worth it in the end.

Also, if a gap of “9.8%” on the price of a £20k boat is a deal-breaker such that you would not visit to even view, can you really afford a boat in this price bracket. It is very likely that any boat in this price range could have issues needing repairs costing much more than that. So perhaps cheaper in the end by paying 10-20% more for a better boat, than buying a cheaper one with big bills coming soon.
All IMHO of course.

 

[Povremeni pomorac]

I can see pitfalls but.....I am surprised there aren't agents one can go to saying, "My budget is £60k" , for example, "My requirements are x,y,z." "Please go and find me a boat if you think it's possible" and of course they are paid a suitable fee. How that could be worked out, I know not. Such people don't seem to exist.

 

[dunedin]

I can see pitfalls but.....I am surprised there aren't agents one can go to saying, "My budget is £60k" , for example, "My requirements are x,y,z." "Please go and find me a boat if you think it's possible" and of course they are paid a suitable fee. How that could be worked out, I know not. Such people don't seem to exist.

They do - as “boat finders” - but more often at a higher price point to make it worth their time for the commission.
For older and cheaper boats would likely be both uneconomic (due to the low commission value) and problematic (as there would be bound to be problems with any older boat, and the buyer may blame the “finder”).

 

[Dellquay13]

I walked away from a broker who never replied to my requests to view a low priced yacht on his books. When another broker listed it six months later I made a cheeky offer after a video call viewing and the despondent seller jumped at it