In Gib for Winter. Need to sell boat and get job...

[jonic]

Thanks every one,

Cariadco, just spoke to Flewy - it's his 25th birthday today (he's obviously got senile dyslexia!). Had a bit of rain the other night, washed the salt off the boat nicely...

I get the impression Gib is a Marmite place, and we love it.

Boat to sell is a Dufour 485 Grand' Large. One year old, MCA coded and fully kitted out. It's John at the Boat Shed that has quoted 8%, but £20ish k to sell a boat just seems a bit much. Will investigate your option Tommy, we're not in a rush to sell.

Thanks for the PMs regarding jobs, will reply now

Always up for a sundowner anyone, just say where and when

Hi Decadance

I have sent you an email and a voice message re brokerage.

We wintered in Gib and had a great time. It's place that you need to get under the skin of, but when you do its great fun. Some very interesting communities there, that may not be immediately apparent.

Have a chat with Vo5.

 

[SHUG]

Online is the way to go if you can personally show buyers around the boat.
Apollo Duck, Boats and Outboards and Yachtmarket are all good..... and cheap.

 

[Slow_boat]

I spent a year in Gib in three days. At least, it felt like a year. We sailed into the teeth of a gale just to get away. It was like Portsmouth with sun and I could never understand why anyone would take a holiday there. Except a lady of negotiable virtue, I suppose. However, that was a long time ago.

 

[jonic]

Online is the way to go if you can personally show buyers around the boat.
Apollo Duck, Boats and Outboards and Yachtmarket are all good..... and cheap.

Quite true, except this is a boat of substantial value. The sites you mention will not handle the legal transfer of ownership, hold the deposit in trust, administer the financial transfer of the balance with checks on the identity of the purchaser, produce a sale and purchase contract and administer it, re-negotiate after survey nor deal with any VAT implication at the point of sale. Let alone answer the phone or respond to emails and promote the boat outside of their own sphere....

Which is why they are cheap.

 

[Mr Cassandra]

Quite true, except this is a boat of substantial value. The sites you mention will not handle the legal transfer of ownership, hold the deposit in trust, administer the financial transfer of the balance with checks on the identity of the purchaser, produce a sale and purchase contract and administer it, re-negotiate after survey nor deal with any VAT implication at the point of sale. Let alone answer the phone or respond to emails and promote the boat outside of their own sphere....

Which is why they are cheap.

Now that's a well constructed answer.

 

[Thaumaturge]

Quite true, except this is a boat of substantial value. The sites you mention will not handle the legal transfer of ownership, hold the deposit in trust, administer the financial transfer of the balance with checks on the identity of the purchaser, produce a sale and purchase contract and administer it, re-negotiate after survey nor deal with any VAT implication at the point of sale. Let alone answer the phone or respond to emails and promote the boat outside of their own sphere....

Which is why they are cheap.

The following represent my own thoughts on this matter and in no way constitute advice that I am not qualified to give.

In my opinion one should not be frightened of taking those responsibilities on, it is far more likely that your level of diligence in dealing with them will be higher than those of the 'professional' brokers.

Remember that both you and the broker have vested interests in a completed sale, it just so happens that those interests do not necessarily coincide!

Legal transfer and sale contracts? Five minutes of internet searching and/or a few pounds spent will cover this. Transferring ownership is mainly a buyer's risk, why are you paying for that?

Escrow? Any good bank will arrange this for you at a relatively small charge.

Identity of Purchaser? As the seller, I'm struggling to understand the relevance, as long as they have the funds and the payment is made via a bank transfer or traceable source (cheque, money order etc) to your bank, and you do not part with the goods until the payment has cleared, no problem.
Any risk of identity again rests with the buyer, for example; do you own the boat you are selling? Why should you pay for clearance of that risk?

Renegotiation following survey? I submit that you will guard your interests far more vigorously than a broker would. It is at this point he sees his/her commission slipping away.

VAT implication: Unless you are a business this point is irrelevant. If you are, then you will be fully conversant with either the information or it's sources.

Promotion, Phone calls and emails?: No further comments required from me.

 

[SvenglishTommy]

In my opinion one should not be frightened of taking those responsibilities on, it is far more likely that your level of diligence in dealing with them will be higher than those of the 'professional' brokers.

Indeed, it should be easy to find a contract template online, which will be no different to a brokers (I have one you can copy if you want). The risk is going to be on behalf of the buyer when paying the deposit, and if they are really worried about it you could always get a broker to handle the transaction at a muh reduced rate. 20K is a good salary for 6 months full time work, so not quite sure where the money is going.

 

[jonic]

The following represent my own thoughts on this matter and in no way constitute advice that I am not qualified to give.

Having read it thank God for that.

 

[ccscott49]

Just as an aside, I enjoyed my month stay in Gib, but it's too expensive to winter there for me. Moorings wise. I like the place, a winter would be OK.

 

[maby]

Local agent wants 8% to sell boat - is this normal ????

Any ideas for earning money would be appreciated (apart from selling my body - it might have been worth a couple of groats before a year living aboard but not now )

Thanks in advance

8% seems quite cheap by UK standards...

Give English lessons - you may need to cross the border into Spain... I made a decent living years ago giving lessons to university students in Seville.

 

[Tranona]

The following represent my own thoughts on this matter and in no way constitute advice that I am not qualified to give.

Just wonder if it was all so easy, why brokers and other intermerdiaries should exist at all! But they do, which suggests that they provide for some people a valuable service, for which they are prepared to pay.

Equally if it was all so easy to make money being a broker, the price would come down or more people would enter the market - neither of which is the case.

This does not mean that it is not possible for individuals to sell their own boat, but they have to put the time and effort into it unless they are really lucky - or more likely have underpriced their boat.

It's easier if you have nothing else to do, live near the boat, can access a wide range of potential buyers, deal with the time wasters, have the skills to actually "sell" the boat and confident enough to deal with the sometimes complex paperwork. Many people are either not able, or do not want to do this, so will happily pay somebody else to do it.

 

[Nautorius]

Local agent wants 8% to sell boat - is this normal ????

Any ideas for earning money would be appreciated (apart from selling my body - it might have been worth a couple of groats before a year living aboard but not now )

Thanks in advance

John at Boatshed is the main guy, 8% is not bad and I am sure he will serve you well. Remember not VAT here. It is a difficult Market to sell in and hye works his socks off for you.

As for work, what is your experience/capabilities? Professional finance jobs and marketing jobs in the gaming industry always available!

Paul

 

[Thaumaturge]

Just wonder if it was all so easy, why brokers and other intermerdiaries should exist at all! But they do, which suggests that they provide for some people a valuable service, for which they are prepared to pay.........

........... to actually "sell" the boat and confident enough to deal with the sometimes complex paperwork. Many people are either not able, or do not want to do this, so will happily pay somebody else to do it.

I believe the case in question Tranona is based upon the commission on this particular sale being in the order of £20,000, and, if I gauge the questioner correctly this was considered a little steep!

Although I have no intention of selling my boat, I think I'd be motivated to get off my a**e to save £20k!

Just an opinion, nothing more.

Vince

 

[chinita]

Give English lessons - you may need to cross the border into Spain... I made a decent living years ago giving lessons to university students in Seville.

wye didnt I thik of that. Do you ned qalificashuns?

 

[chinita]

It's easier if you have nothing else to do, live near the boat, can access a wide range of potential buyers, deal with the time wasters, have the skills to actually "sell" the boat and confident enough to deal with the sometimes complex paperwork.

The OP has bought a boat for (I assume) in excess of £180k and appears to be in a practical position to show the boat in it's best light.

If he does not have the gumption to market and sell the boat privately then he deserves to pay the 8%.

'Deal with time wasters'? What special resources do brokers have to do this?

'Skills to actually "sell" the boat' - come on, a broker is not interested in selling 'your' boat, he will sell ANY boat.

'Complex paperwork'? IMO the paperwork is nowhere near as complex as it ought to be. I speak from the experience of having a boat with two outstanding mortgages on it sold to me by a reputable broker (as I have told you in the past).

 

[chinita]

Quite true, except this is a boat of substantial value. The sites you mention will not handle the legal transfer of ownership, hold the deposit in trust, administer the financial transfer of the balance with checks on the identity of the purchaser, produce a sale and purchase contract and administer it, re-negotiate after survey nor deal with any VAT implication at the point of sale. Let alone answer the phone or respond to emails and promote the boat outside of their own sphere....

I have done all of that.....and more, as a private seller.

 

[jonic]

I have done all of that.....and more, as a private seller.

congratulations.

I have also done my own plumbing, web design, wedding photography, car mechanics, book keeping and accounting. None of which I intend to do again.

I do this and this and people say this.

...and I regularly (with boring monotony) unravel the errors in paperwork and legal side from private sellers who were absolutely convinced it was correct.

I should stress most of my business is at the higher value end.

 

[jonic]

Now that's a well constructed answer.

Thank you.

 

[Tranona]

Although I have no intention of selling my boat, I think I'd be motivated to get off my a**e to save £20k!

Just an opinion, nothing more.

Vince

How do you know you are going to "save" £20k? Boats do not have a fixed price. The only thing that matters is the net receipts to you. It is a matter of judgement whether you can maximize your receipt from a sale by doing it yourself.

Suggest you have a look at brokerage listings where you will see a predominance of high value boats. Presumably people who currently own these boats have something about them to be able to amass that kind of wealth - and yet they are using brokers. I wonder why?

It is what markets are all about - if brokers did not perform a usueful function, they would not exist. Does not mean you have to use them - your choice, but other people faced with the same choice, do.

 

[SvenglishTommy]

congratulations.

I have also done my own plumbing, web design, wedding photography, car mechanics, book keeping and accounting. None of which I intend to do again.

Me too, and all of which I will do again and have made substantial savings in doing so, apart from the wedding photos - that I would never even attempt

As you are a broker, I'd be very interested in your thoughts on percentage based commission which seems to me to be a strange way to operate. I would not imagine that the costs inccured in selling a boat are so directly proportional to the value.

As our resident economist points out, there is obviously a market for brrkerage, but perhaps some clever so and so could clean up by operating on a cost-effort basis and change the market in a big way.

Often thought this about the property market in Sweden where they operate on the same basis.