I tried to buy a boat today, failed.

Tranona said:
There is nothing in the ABYA code of conduct that says this.

In law, if the broker has received an offer, and his client has accepted it then a contract exists, so he is unable to consider another offer without breaking his contract. If the offer had no conditions such as subject to survey then both parties are bound by the offer.

How could it be otherwise? If accepted offers can then be rejected for no reason of failure of the purchaser there would be anarchy - never knowing whether you have bought something or not. Remember purchasers have rights in the same way as sellers. If a seller accepts an unconditional offer he is bound by it.
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I had an appointment to view the boat tomorrow. At the time of our conversation the vendor was considering the offer. To my knowledge he wasn't even aware there was another interested party.
Read the OP carefully, he told me if I was to offer the asking price the other bidder would probably match it, as he was keen to buy the boat.
From that statement I can deduce the owner is not getting the best price.
 
Bad luck...

...on losing the boat, the broker from the sounds of it could maybe have handled it better. Also one thing I don't think has been mentioned so far is that brokers (at least some in my own experience) can barely be a***d picking up the phone they make so little (to them) money on boats with such low value, let alone getting involved in what could turn out to be a bidding war...

David
 
KREW2 said:
I am now beginning to smell a rat, and getting frustrated, so I became a bit irrational, okay I will pay full asking price, no survey, I can send you a deposit by chaps, now will you put my offer to the owner.
Well! he says I don't want to get into a dutch auction. Needless to say I told him he had got that wrong, what we were in was an auction, surely this was good for the owner. After another excuse, which I do not want to go into detail about, I realised I was getting nowhere. So, if you know the owner of this boat get in touch, and tell him there may be a better offer on the table.
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Sounds like an honest broker who keeps his word to sellers and doesn't approve of gazumping. Sound chap.
 
I can't seem to make the link using Explorer, Firefox or Safari! Maybe someone could fill me in on the details? Thanks.
 
orbister said:
Sounds like an honest broker who keeps his word to sellers and doesn't approve of gazumping. Sound chap.
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I'm not questioning their honesty, the more they sell it for the more commission they make.
I'm just expressing my dissapointment at being dissuaded from going to pre-arranged viewing because an offer had been put in the day before.
I realise a seller does not have to take the highest bid, all I wanted was my offer to be put forward, and let them make a descision.
 
Perhaps he's realised that he's talked the seller into dropping the price too far but doesn't want this to become obvious.
 
Bosun Higgs said:
Estate agents most certainly don't do that.
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Is that a good or bad thing, in your opinion?
I don't approve of gazumping. Unlike buying a house before you can have a boat surveyed you have to pay a deposit. This locks the vendor into the deal at an agreed price. I think the way house sales are done is wrong, where after a large outlay involving solicitors and surveyors you still have no binding contract from the seller.
 
DJE said:
Perhaps he's realised that he's talked the seller into dropping the price too far but doesn't want this to become obvious.
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Maybe, I'm just confused, anyway I am going to keep my eye on it, just incase it doesn't go through. After my talk with the broker last Friday I had provisionally booked a local boatyard, and made enquiries about transportation. Just to cheer myself up I'm going to look at a Sadler 34 shortly.
I may have more success if I don't dress too spivvy and get mistaken for a money launderer.
 
As a broker I am a bit confused by the actions you have described, they do not add up. Not that I think there anything dodgy about the boat or the broker, just that there is probably a piece of the puzzle missing.

My advice is to call the broker every other day and try to track down the seller as well.
 
Ah, here is where "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything", Chapter 2 How Is the Ku Klux Klan Like a Group of Real-Estate Agents?, by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, comes in.

Say the broker works on 5% Commission. If he makes the sale at 14.000, he gets 700£. If he closes the deal with Krew2 at 15.000, he nets 750£. So in his calculations, he gets 50£ more for:
-tidying up the boat
-standing in the rain in a cold boat yard, waiting for a customer who comes from far so will be late or may not show up at all
- spend two hours going over the boat
- dealing with the guy who made the first offer (complaints, litigation)

So, sorry, from the brokers point of view, you're just not worth it.

Instead of going to the original owner, why not offer a "bonus" to the broker?
 
LittleShip said:
I wonder what trading standards would have to say about the brokers attitude !!

Seems stupid to not pass on the offer and get a little more commission, unless........

Tom
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Nothing to do with Trading Standards. The Broker is agent for the vendor and is acting in the best interests of the vendor. He presumably believes that the current offer meets his client's requirements and it is not sensible to open negotiaitons with another party. Really cannot see a problem.

I think the broker is being fair - the new potential purchaser could be a no-show and the seller could lose his buyer. The OP could have turned up and wasted his time - the broker avoided this by saying it was not worth his coming. All straightforward.

The OP missed by being too late and somebody beat him to it. End of story.
 
kingfisher said:
Instead of going to the original owner, why not offer a "bonus" to the broker?
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Not sure if you are being tongue in cheek on this bit, but it is an interesting point anyway.

Most brokerage agreements are very clear in that the broker works for the seller and to the seller's benefit, this would preclude taking any payment from a potential buyer.

It is a difficult situation to manage at times, as the buyer is the one who must be happy when all is said and done but it is the seller who calls the shots. Sometimes the two are mutually exclusive.

Seller "The best way to sell my boat is to get someone in to spruce up the galley and redo the upholstery in bright green, damn fine colour green."

Buyer "I like the boat because the interior is a blank canvas, Mrs Buyer is really looking forward to putting her mark on it. I want to keep that old enamel cooker, I tried buying one a few years ago but they are like rocking horse poo nowadays."
 
Tranona said:
The OP missed by being too late and somebody beat him to it. End of story.
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The point is, I believe, that the OP has seen a bargain and he wants it.

Also bear in mind that he offered to send a deposit without seeing the boat, so the risk to the broker and therefor the seller was small.

The key phrase that seems to be missing from the broker is "the seller has accepted an offer." As I read it the seller was considering an offer which by the broker's own assessment would go up if any interest was received, surely it his job to get the best price even if that means from buyer no.1?

The idea of taking a boat off the market because there are two keen buyers is a bit alien.

If we advertise a boat for 15 and an offer comes in for 14 I would make it clear that until a deposit and paperwork are all in place an offer of 14+ would be considered.
 
Malthouse said:
The point is, I believe, that the OP has seen a bargain and he wants it.

Also bear in mind that he offered to send a deposit without seeing the boat, so the risk to the broker and therefor the seller was small.

The key phrase that seems to be missing from the broker is "the seller has accepted an offer." As I read it the seller was considering an offer which by the broker's own assessment would go up if any interest was received, surely it his job to get the best price even if that means from buyer no.1?

The idea of taking a boat off the market because there are two keen buyers is a bit alien.

If we advertise a boat for 15 and an offer comes in for 14 I would make it clear that until a deposit and paperwork are all in place an offer of 14+ would be considered.
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I think you have to make the assumption that the seller has accepted the offer - or the broker is certain he will and does not want the potential buyer to waste his time and money viewing the boat. He always has the option of going back to the potential if the sale does fall through. So unless you know the broker's side you can only guess
 
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