I think I'll become a Yacht Broker

Judders

Judders

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I think I\'ll become a Yacht Broker

I went to look at another couple of boats on saturday, these two were on the hard standing of a broker. I told them when I was coming, as they had requested when I called to say I would be there sometime on saturday. The two boats in question were about mid-range price for the current market, but they were appallingly presented. The ladder available was half rotten and although they had obviously polished the hull, the presentation topsides and below decks was abysmal. Both had the masts down, both were filthy and both were untidy.

Surely if brokers behaived more like other firms attempting to sell items for thousands of pounds and put a wee bit of thought and effort in, they would get a far better deal for the vendor and less buyers would be put off?

I have probably viewed about half a dozen boats through brokers in the last twelve months. Only one was rigged and only one was cleaned. No prizes for guessing which one it was.

As part of my job requires me to have a pretty good idea what everything is worth, I view brokerage sites for hours on end and the quality of some of the photographs is appalling, whilst others post photograpsh of boats that are not just filthy, but messy too.

I almost wonder whether the dirt and order of the vessels is deliberately left like that so as to hide bigger problems?

Anyway, if anyone is aware of an area of hard standing for sail somewhere coastal, where they might chuck in a crane and a caravan (for an office) then let me know, because I reckon I could seriously increase the prices these brokers are getting with just a little elbow grease and imagination.
 
Re: I think I\'ll become a Yacht Broker

I agree, but is it really their job to ensure that the boat is nicely presented? An estate agent may well advise a householder that s/he is living in a pigsty and nobody will want to buy it until it's been cleaned up, but it's the owner's responsibility, isn't it?

Not disagreeing with you that a nicely presented boat will sell quicker, but unlike the used car trade, I think most brokers don't regard it as their problem (unless they've taken the boat as a p/ex on something new and they actually own it).

Any way, if they were all sparkling and shiny, no-one would be able to pick up low-cost "previously enjoyed" bargains by citing condition as a reason for a price reduction, shurley? /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Re: I think I\'ll become a Yacht Broker

I agree, we have come up with a better idea, you can see a video of the boat beofre you get there, at least you know if these guys are serious or not, even the one man and a boat can use this way to sell his own boat
 
Re: I think I\'ll become a Yacht Broker

When we sold our last boat I took photos and put together an 4 page A4 brochure, OK its easy for me with a design and print company. The cost was relatively small, but helped any prospective buyer get a good chance to understand what he was looking at. The people in the office of the brokers loved it. However their head office, insisted they still produced two A4 sheets of 80 gram stapled in the corner!

Presentation is everything, you may have missed a good boat, but been put off by poor preparation. That may well be down to the owner.

There are some good brokers around, not many, these few really work hard to sell boats.
 
Re: I think I\'ll become a Yacht Broker

Well said Judders!

We have been searching for the ideal liveaboard for about two years now and are appalled at the commission that brokers charge their clients versus the amount of effort that they appear to be prepared to put into securing a sale. (Forgive the contradiction)

Recently we contacted a well known brokerage firm to enquire about a steel ketch that they were offering in Gibraltar. Their boast is that "every boat is visited by the broker" suggesting that a full description is compiled, and that they take "at least 64 digital photographs" to show the vessel in all it's glory. The resident broker had taken such wonderfully informative shots of "Hull close up" (a patch of painted steel) and "Base of mast" (exactly what it's title said). However, there was not one meaningful shot of the below decks accommodation.

In order to view this boat we would have needed to travel the length of Spain, so not unreasonably, I thought, we requested more information in the forms of additional (meaningful) photos and a below decks layout plan/sketch. In short the broker could not be ars*d! Ask a question that takes them 'off piste' from the pre-prepared script and they appear to flounder.

This is by no means typical, nor is it restricted to Spain, we have searched the UK, a fair part of the Med coast and Florida to find an almost universal attitude to the job. The diligent and conscientious brokers do exist, but are, sadly, very much a minority. We are about to scour the Caribbean for our boat, and hope to have better luck there.

During this process I too have become convinced that anyone with a whit of sense, some imagination, an idea of what customer service is about all coupled with a willingness to work for your shilling could lead to a successful venture.

I am not the right age or build nor do I have the trendy good looks to do the 'posing' with shades on the top of my head (I have very little hair, which also doesn't help!) that the current incumbents seem to think are the primary qualifications for the job, so I would have to work extremely hard to compensate!!

Jockeying for position now! I will take the Spanish/Western Med end whilst you clean up in the boating Mecca around Hayling Island!!!!!

Good luck!
 
Re: I think I\'ll become a Yacht Broker

Do any of these small firms ever actually make any money? Or are they like many marine businesses, run on dwindling fortunes, hand-outs and credit?
 
Re: I think I\'ll become a Yacht Broker

Why are you thinking of a new boat already? Didn't you buy one a few months ago after a pretty exhaustive search? What are your requirements this time?
 
Re: I think I\'ll become a Yacht Broker

I've had similiar experiences and held very jaundiced views of brokers.


BUT

I have a friend who works for a broker, who is otherwise a very nice person.
Her view of the "punters" is also very critical. She refers to them a "sticky beakers" who mainly want a day out crawling over other peoples yachts and trying to impress anyone with how much they know about boats.
She reckons less than 5% are genuine buyers, the trick is to spot them from the time wasters.
Many sellers also seem to have an inflated idea of the value of their pride & joy. Some just want the free storage offered by a few brokerages and don't care if they sell or not.
It must be depressing trying to flog overpriced tat to disinterested punters.
Do agree about the ladders though, that should be easy to sort out.
 
Re: I think I\'ll become a Yacht Broker

[ QUOTE ]
Why are you thinking of a new boat already? Didn't you buy one a few months ago after a pretty exhaustive search? What are your requirements this time?

[/ QUOTE ]

I did indeed buy Merit in December. The purpose being to learn on in a way that one simply can not learn as part of a crew. The plan was always to keep her one season or possibly two and then trade up to something that suited my requirements. I figure that having owned a boat for a season I'll develop a much better sense of what those requirements really are. My brother has now developed an interest and secured (he thinks) a deep water mooring at a very good rate, so we are thinking of going halves on something that we can race with our mates but still cruise with our girlfriends. This, of course, could be a whole other thread.
 
Re: I think I\'ll become a Yacht Broker

Dan,

It seems everyone is in agreement here, or had similar experiences.

I fully understand what your friend the broker says, but surely, isn't that part of cleaning up their act?

My somewhat simple view is that all viewers should be regarded as potential buyers, however, with a few simple questions it should be fairly easy to spot the 'tyre kickers' and they can be cotrolled by the buyer registration type procedures adopted by the likes of Berthon.

With regard to sellers, the brokers must be businesslike with the owners! If they have overvalued their pride and joy, they must be told of the realism of the situation. Every marketing operation has a cost, and if you are unlikely to recoup costs, or better still, make a sale, do not accept the commission!

Surely it is only common sense? I have worked in several fields of business and the only aim must be to make a profit, every other goal is secondary.
 
Re: I think I\'ll become a Yacht Broker

Well their assessment at how serious a buyer my brother and I were must have been on the basis of two phone calls, because nobody even came out to see us (and I couldn't find anyone either, even though they were expecting us).

I would love to think that from the look of me they thought I was too young to have the money, but sadly it seems somewhat fanciful.
 
Re: I think I\'ll become a Yacht Broker

James you have taken the words right off my keyboard, at the moment unless agreed with the broker the condition and presentation of the boat is down to the owner / seller. The comparision you draw with estate agents is very valid and it is down to the seller to get best value if he wants his boat to sell. I know of a brokerage atatched to a well known builder that makes it clear to the client that they will charge for valleting and presentation on a regular basis if the client does not keep the boat in presentable condition. The argument of what do they do for their money is a different matter and again applies to estate agents, we as buyers can only educate them by asking for detailed and current photographs by e mail and if they can't / won't comply draw your own conclusions and go elswear I think they will soon get the message.
 
Re: I think I\'ll become a Yacht Broker

Has anyone any experience of the Boatshed.com empire, good or bad? thinking of using them to sell a boat in the UK.

Pete
 
Re: I think I\'ll become a Yacht Broker

[ QUOTE ]
Has anyone any experience of the Boatshed.com empire, good or bad? thinking of using them to sell a boat in the UK.

Pete

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, I bought Merit through Boatshed Hamble. I like to think that she was the right boat and that is why I bought her, but the fact that she was spotlessly clean, uncluttered and fully rigged when I went to view her, undoubtedly must have helped.

I believe that experiences vary depending on the franchisee.
 
Re: I think I\'ll become a Yacht Broker

Did the broker clean her up or did the owner? My theory is that boats that have been loved and cherished probably sell PDQ but many boats are sold by people who have run out of time or inclination. It doesn't take long for an unloved boat to become damp mouldy and pretty horrible. You can't blame the brokers for not wanting to get too involved.

When looking to buy a Sonata a few years back I remember seeing a boat which had been laid up for over a year - without the last lot of washing up being done. Probably still for sale now.
 
Re: I think I\'ll become a Yacht Broker

[ QUOTE ]
Has anyone any experience of the Boatshed.com empire, good or bad? thinking of using them to sell a boat in the UK.

Pete

[/ QUOTE ]

We bought our boat through Boatshed Plymouth - an excellent experience. Total enthusiasm and available on the 'phone pretty much 24-7. I think the Boatshed business model is effectively a franchising setup so YMMV from region to region.

Had a similar experience to Judders when viewing a boat at a brokers (not Boatshed) yard, the boat was in a very neglected and uncared for state but not the brokers fault - the broker was clearly feeling some despair about how hard it can be to get some owners to understand how much more easily their boats will sell if they are looked after a bit.

Mike
 
Re: I think I\'ll become a Yacht Broker

You are preaching to the converted here. I have generally had poor service from brokers when trying to buy.
I was just trying to put the other sides point of view.
I don't believe brokers go into business expressly to annoy potential customers.
Although that often appears to be the case.
 
Re: I think I\'ll become a Yacht Broker

[ QUOTE ]
Has anyone any experience of the Boatshed.com empire, good or bad? thinking of using them to sell a boat in the UK.

Pete

[/ QUOTE ]

I believe Thaumaturge's post was about Boatshed.com (Gibraltar), so it looks like it does depend on which Franchise you're dealing with...

Marc.
 
Re: I think I\'ll become a Yacht Broker

In my experience over the last 2 years looking, it is better to pay a little more and get one where the money has been already spent. We looked at 8 oceanlords, and got one that had had £64K spent on it in the last 4 years. We made a couple of low offers on another 2, which would reflect the amount of work to be done and the risk of a poorly maintained boat, but they were rejected. - we ended up paying on the one we bought, the same price as the advertised price of the worst one we saw.

Owners seem to have no idea of the cost of accumulated lack of maintenance and replacement.
 
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