Is this right?

KREW2

KREW2

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When selling a boat through a broker, I am told they advise you when they have received payment. So! do you let the new owner sail off into the sunset before cleared funds are in your bank?
 
check the terms and conditions...I believe that if you have signed to allow the broker to act as your agent, as is often the case, then once the broker has been paid the boat is no longer yours. See Peter's marine
 
Thanks, I have bought, but never sold through a broker, so, I do not know what the protocol is. My gut feeling is you don't part with the goods until you have been paid.
 
If you sell your boat when it is in the yard, you can always request the yard not to relaunch until you give approval. I am sure there are some legal issues involved here but the yard I use was very helpful in this respect.
 
Looking from the buyer's side

Looking from the buyer's side, he or she has parted with their cash and been given legal title to their new boat from the broker.

Who are you to try and stop them? Any further queries arise between you and your broker who has been acting as your lawful agent.

R
 
rr_123 said:
Looking from the buyer's side, he or she has parted with their cash and been given legal title to their new boat from the broker.

Who are you to try and stop them? Any further queries arise between you and your broker who has been acting as your lawful agent.

R
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I now realise that to be the case, and I can't say I like it very much. The broker has the cash, the buyer has the boat, I'm on a promise, Who am I to stop them? well, the survey is today and the only course of action open to me, should I want to do it, is to refuse any lesser offer, this may result in the buyer pulling out.
There must be folk on here who have sold through a broker, surely cleared funds should be in place before they take the boat away.
 
Broker

the survey is today and the only course of action open to me, should I want to do it, is to refuse any lesser offer
Click to expand...


Why would you want to pay a Broker for a boat BEFORE a survey .. Cannot see the point in that .. Wait till the survey is done .. Haggle .. Agree a price ..

Bit pointless .. Pay then try and get some BACK ..

Are you sure they have paid in FULL or just a deposit ..
 
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Your choice is reall either to use a broker and then once he has the cleared funds the boat is sold and the property of the buyer, or you conduct the sale yourself without the assistance of the broker. If you use a broker you have agreed to his Ts and Cs thus you are stuck with them. The buyers payment should go into a client account which tends to give you greater protection, but one would question why you accepted the services of a broker you do not trust.
 
KREW2 said:
When selling a boat through a broker, I am told they advise you when they have received payment. So! do you let the new owner sail off into the sunset before cleared funds are in your bank?
Click to expand...

When we recent sold our boat, we hung on to the keys until our bank assured us cleared funds were in our account, even though it was sold through a very reputable broker.

You really don't know what's going on behind their financial scenes, especially in time of a depression. I think the Peters debacle has changed many peoples mindset.

A friend recently sold his boat in France, accepted a Euro cheque, banked it in the UK and let the boat go. He was "reassured" by the fact that it's illegal in france to sign a cheque that you don't have the funds to cover......!

It took 6 weeks for that cheque to clear, and it was a very worrying 6 weeks to boot, especially as he did not get an address for the purchaser and had no idea where in France it had gone to!! Crazy.....
 
hi i have dealt with them . over here you both sign on the contracts on the day deal is done and broker gives you a copy the buyer a copy you a brokers cheque. and the buyer your keys to boat and you walk away .if anything go s wrong. broker is one who fixes it....
 
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I bought my Starlight through a broker last year. I spent the completion day with the vendor going through all the boat systems etc. During the day there was a direct bank transfer of my funds to the broker, then a direct transfer from broker to vendor. Vendor received a call from the broker to confirm all transfers, vendor called his bank to double check and then handed me the keys and said congratulations you now own the boat. All very straightforward and civilised. I certainly wouldn't hand over the keys without knowing the money was in my bank account and I would expect any reputable broker to act accordingly.
 
cliffordpope said:
Not until the cheque has cleared. Buying goods with a cheque that bounces does not give title.
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aha! I cunningly used the word cash (c;

I don't think that the broker would hand over bill of sale/title without cleared funds in their account. I bought my last boat with switch via a broker, and when the transaction was confirmed he completed the bill of sale and I footled off.

I was really just agreeing with some of the others on this thread that when you sign the brokerage agreement you are enabling the broker to act on your behalf, once the broker is satisfied that the deal is complete, title is transferred. The broker is then holding the "folding" on your behalf, and the new owner is the owner.

I believe that if the broker took a rubber cheque and handed over title and the keys then you are still entitled to your money from the broker, and they would have to recover it from the new owner. This is partly why we pay them...

R
 
Ramlock has it right. Do NOT use cheques, which can take up to 12 (I think) days to be fully cleared. Pay a little extra for the certainty of a wire transfer between the relevant banks, and completion is quick and definite.

Vendors should note also to get their full title paperwork (builders cert, bills of sale, proof of VAT paid) into the broker and checked before offering the boat to potential buyers. So many middle-aged boats have documentation gaps that must be sorted before good title can be passed.
 
maxi77 said:
Your choice is reall either to use a broker and then once he has the cleared funds the boat is sold and the property of the buyer, or you conduct the sale yourself without the assistance of the broker. If you use a broker you have agreed to his Ts and Cs thus you are stuck with them. The buyers payment should go into a client account which tends to give you greater protection, but one would question why you accepted the services of a broker you do not trust.
Click to expand...

Nowhere have I said I do not trust the broker, what I am saying it seems an odd way to conduct a sale. As I said in an earlier reply. The buyer has the boat, the broker has the cash, all I have is a promise. I can however see how it could work the other way. I have the cash in my bank, slip my moorings and sail away. I see no reason for not issuing a bank cheque to be handed over on the exchange day.
 
Its not really a matter of trusting the broker or not, as we all have to act 'on trust' at some stage. What is important is that if things go wrong you are not left without a seat in the game of musical chairs that is a financial transaction.

In terms of protecting your money I would ask a broker if they operate a client trust account where what is owed to you does not become part of the assets of the broker should they be suddenly be found insolvent. Once money is in that account with your name on it then that is legally as secure as you can get. The law will generally recognise that this money cannot be claimed by creditors. If the money does not appear in the brokers client account in the first place, you don't release the boat.

I don't think its a legal requirement for brokers to operate such an account (I could be wrong), but I believe it was one of the issues in the Peters Opal case.

Tim
 
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