Credit where it's due - a broker. Yikes!

[asteven221]

Normally I have little good to say about brokers, as in my experience they are a lazy bunch that don't do very much for the seller or buyer. Walking 50 yards to show a potential buyer a boat is a problem for many brokers. Likewise many can't even be bothered to reply to emails.

Yikes, I have found a good one!

We have just become the owners of a new (to us) Sealine F44 and the broker we bought the boat through was dare I say it..... yup a damn fine yacht broker! After a few emails going back and fourth we settled on a price in principle, so it wouldn't be a waste of time viewing, as the boat was 500 miles away. Believe it or not, he actually drove a 400 mile round trip to show us the boat on a dreary dark Saturday afternoon! That's impressive.

Cutting to the chase, we agreed to purchase the boat, but being so far away it meant we had a heck of lot of arranging and orginising to deal with, given the nature the problems and hassles inherent in boat buying. The broker helped out all the way and took an active part in making sure that everything went as well as these things can go. Even the thorny subject of who to pay i.e. broker/client account/seller wasn't a problem as I just paid the seller. All in all I have to say that Adrian Smith from JD Yachts did a very, very good job and deserves to be given credit for doing so.

Given that we had to deal with all the problems from 500 miles away, we relied on others a lot. So now that I am in recommendation mode, let me say that Peter Saunders of Northgate Marine (Volvo Dealer) in Lowestoft was brilliant, trustworthy with very reasonable prices. Highly recommended.

Hainsworth Boat Transport were also very good. Delivered our new toy in perfect condition and on time. Good to deal with and appear to care about the boat, which is very comforting! Highly recommended to.

Okay I can't be totally happy and have to maon about something. Surveyors? Hmmmm sometimes I wonder - what's the point in using them. Our surveyor seemed to miss some obvious things! There were also inaccuracies which is a little worrying, such as his statement declaring that the Sealine F44 has a semi-displacement hull! He didn't notice if it had an auto-pliot fitted. I had to find out from the owner. Possibly of more concern, he didn't notice the significant wear in both cutlass bearings, which I would have expected to be a routine check. Most of the report was focused on what couldn't be tested or what he couldn't be held responsible for, although most surveys I guess have similar "outs" in them.

As of yesterday the boat was launched, in her berth with no nasty surprises thank goodness, and in about 3 hours I will be onboard opening a can of beer. Magic!

 

[crazy4557]

Good boat brokers

I too have just sold my boat this week and used Jaykay Marine near Port Solent and I can also recommend this firm. Brian worked tirelessly to ensure that both my buyer and myself were happy with the proceedings, helped me with a few issues post survey as I'm some way away and generally did a great job. The deal was good for everyone, and most importantly the money arrived in my account today exactly as promised. I have no commercial involvement with the company just a very satisfied customer

Now for the next purchase......watch this space!!

 

[DavidWhite]

Good Brokers

Agree that there are good brokers around - our experience in purchasing two Sealine boats has been with Phil Hutchins of Hutchins Marine and could'nt be bettered. He even flew from London to Scotland last year with us to check out a possible purchase and when the the deal fell through accepted it as part of the job and then refused our offer of expenses. We were pleased that the Owners Report in this months MBM also gave him credit where credit is due.
No connection other than satisfied customer

 

[kcrane]

This thread isn't going where they normally do.

Christian Moore handled the purchase of our V48 a few weeks ago. He did a sterling job, very professional. He attended the sea trial at the request of the owner despite the snow. On handover day he gave us well organised bound files with proof of ownership, all the old invoices and guides on how to re-register EPIRBs, Ofcom, Part 1 etc. He bought SWMBO a huge bunch of flowers with bottle of bubbly and finally texted us on our first night aboard to check everything was OK. Couldn't be faulted.

Christian also agreed to payment going direct to the vendor's bank account and the mortgage redemption direct to the lender.

 

[chrisharris]

Good brokers

Simon Walworth of boatmatch.com is also one of the good guys. He went way beyond what was expected during the purchase of our boat, including keeping us all in good spirits during a horrendous day for a sea trial (wind, torrential rain, etc.....but what should we have expected for mid July in the UK!) I would definitely use him again and recommend to others.

I think its also worth noting that the vendor of our boat is one of the testimonials on the boatmatch website. Must be doing the right things to get positive recommendations from both buyer and seller in the same transaction.....

Not connection other than satisfied customer etc etc....

 

[Renegade_Master]

Agree that there are good brokers around - our experience in purchasing two Sealine boats has been with Phil Hutchins of Hutchins Marine and could'nt be bettered. He even flew from London to Scotland last year with us to check out a possible purchase and when the the deal fell through accepted it as part of the job and then refused our offer of expenses. We were pleased that the Owners Report in this months MBM also gave him credit where credit is due.
No connection other than satisfied customer

Yup and our Phil's a pretty good drummer an all, not a lot of people know that, we often play together when he comes over to Spain .

 

[Renegade_Master]

Good to here some praise for us brokers at last, we are not all bad.

I just sold a large flybridge boat to a guy from Sweden, he never even got to see the boat, think he is a dealer. Anyway, yesterday his huge lorry arrived at our little marina, I had arranged in advance with the marina for lift and scrub, policia locale for coning off the car park, engineers to remove props and rudders, I and my assistant toiled for four hours in the wind and rain removing radar arch, flyscreen rails seats bimini console etc. Bloody big radar arch on a Fairline 50 too.

So we are not all lazy

 

[dombuckley]

From "the other side of the fence", I've always been impressed by Norfolk Yacht Agency in Brundall.

The very first time I surveyed a boat there, I found some recent major damage which had been covered up. When I told them what I had found, they were straight on the phone to the owner - and told him in no uncertain terms that he should fix it or they would not take any further part in the sale. I was impressed that they immediately took the word of a surveyor whom they didn't know from Adam, against their own client.

Apparently the owner turned up the following day and took it away, saying that he would just sell it privately to the first person who didn't want it surveyed.....!

Again, no connection, etc, but they do seem very keen that the buyer should feel he is getting a good deal. After all, it makes good business sense, as that is the route to repeat business when people upgrade. And in the case above, my client went on to buy another boat from them, so they didn't really lose any commission.

 

[rubberduck]

A vote for Inwards marine of Hamble, after the initial price negotiations during which we struggled to agree on anything They have been very good, & their after sales is as good as they said it would be, which is a very pleasant surprise. Makes a nice change to being ignored.

 

[Renegade_Master]

as in my experience they are a lazy bunch that don't do very much for the seller or buyer. Walking 50 yards to show a potential buyer a boat is a problem for many brokers. Likewise many can't even be bothered to reply to emails.

Its a shame that some broikers are as you decribe, I dont doubt it, tis the same in other similar businessess I imagine. I guess many folks have tales of estate agents not replying to enquiries, and being under par service wise.

At least you didnt have a pop at brokers commissions, which is often a hot disputed topic on here. Commissions do vary a lot, between 3 & 8% depending on the value of the vessel.

I can understand some folks thinking that say 5-6% on a boat that sells for £150k sounds a lot, but in reality such sales are quite rare, and the overheads of keeping a shop/office going are high and far from rare, in fact they are continuous.