Selling A Nauticat 38 Quick?

CaptainBob

CaptainBob

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Location
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www.yacht-forum.co.uk
We're (probably) going to sell our 1978 Nauticat 38 later this year as we're expecting another child and are having a change after living aboard (mostly) for about 5 years now, and frankly need any cash we can gather together to help with mortgage reduction in the short term.

As we're moving to North Yorkshire and the boat (I guess) will be in the South West the thought of having to commute down regularly to keep it shiny on the off-chance a buyer will appear doesn't seem like a good plan. And having it sat for long in a yard also will add up.

So perhaps we'd be way better off (or at least equal, all things considered) selling it quick and cheap in the first place? Perhaps doing so on the free listing websites also can save us from having to pay a few £k in broker fees.

Or do you think the broker adds more than their fee to the selling price anyway?

Thanks for any thoughts/experiences.
 
I would have a word with http://www.yachtsnet.co.uk/. The owner is also a poster on this forum. I have dealt with them as a potential buyer, but lost out to another buyer. They were very straight and knowledgeable to deal with. I also feel their web site has some of the best photographs and is easiest to use of any agent, plus is based in the West Country. A Nauticat would certainly be a boat of interest if it is in good overall condition. It is worth a phone call.
 
You're intending to sell it quick and cheap so advertise it yourself on a free listings website. Your cheap price will attract a buyer looking for a yacht like yours. There's no point involving a broker unless you are prepared to accept even less money in hand for your yacht. Your advert on this forum is a good start.
 
I sold my HR this year without involving a broker, using a simple website which I put together, full of pics and specs. This saved me about £8K. If you don't use a broker, you need to realise that you will have to travel down to the boat to meet every potential buyer. Ideally, you'll need to go the day before and clean the boat thoroughly - this is absolutely essential if you want to get a quick sale. Sadly, you'll discover that some people don't turn up to view (and don't have the courtesy of telling you). The paperwork side of things is fairly easy; you can download sample pre-sale and sale contracts from the RYA website (although you'll need to check them carefully as they contain errors!). PM me if you'd like a copy of the contracts I used.
 
The "easy" bit is the advert, the difficult bit is dealing with potential buyers and turning one of them into a real buyer. so, if you are in a position to handle enquiries and do the viewings, sort out the timewasters and pick out a buyer then try doing it yourself. You may, or may not get a better price than going through a broker. If you are not in a position to deal on site with potential buyers then your chances of selling by yourself are more limited.

It takes on average up to a year to sell a boat like yours, and price is not necessarily a barrier to a sale. When you think about it, only a handful of Nauticats change hands each year and the chances of a "qualified" buyer appearing at the same time as you want to sell is pretty small. You may get lucky - or you may have to wait months for a buyer to emerge.
 
Sound advice there. A well presented Nauticat is a thing of beauty, they have a loyal and knowledgable following but they are in a small niche of the market. In addition a low price will put some buyers off, they should be reassuringly expensive!
 
Well now that it has been advertised on here (for free) I dare say the OP will manage to flog it off pretty quickly. Would have been tempted myself however after last time I swore never again would I buy a boat until I had sold the present one
 
I sold a Nauticat 331 some years back. I never used a broker and only posted one ad on a boat site. I took loads of good quality photos and built a simple but quick website with detailed inventories and a simple contact procedure ie. an email address. I recall I used www.nauticat331forsale.co.uk or somesuch and sold the boat within 3 months. I think folk who go for Nauticats will do more research and poking about to find exactly what they want. Needless to say the boat I sold was in absolute perfect condition - everything working and as clean as humanly possible. Fabulous boat but I'm not really old enough to own one. Even now.
 
Thanks for the replies/thoughts. Much appreciated. If we decide to sell I'll set up a 'site' for it initially and if it doesn't lead to anything pretty quick, start thinking about using a broker.

Suspect we'll start it off at £50k or thereabouts. Cheap enough to attract interest but not _too_ cheap to put people off.

Thanks again.
 
CaptainBob said:
Thanks for the replies/thoughts. Much appreciated. If we decide to sell I'll set up a 'site' for it initially and if it doesn't lead to anything pretty quick, start thinking about using a broker.

Suspect we'll start it off at £50k or thereabouts. Cheap enough to attract interest but not _too_ cheap to put people off.

Thanks again.
Click to expand...

Of course, this is where the value of the broker comes in - if they're an acknowledged specialist in your boat, they'll have a very good idea of its current value.
 
CaptainBob said:
Thanks for the replies/thoughts. Much appreciated. If we decide to sell I'll set up a 'site' for it initially and if it doesn't lead to anything pretty quick, start thinking about using a broker.

Suspect we'll start it off at £50k or thereabouts. Cheap enough to attract interest but not _too_ cheap to put people off.

Thanks again.
Click to expand...
That sounds awfully cheap! What year is it?
 
Concerto said:
I would have a word with http://www.yachtsnet.co.uk/. The owner is also a poster on this forum. I have dealt with them as a potential buyer, but lost out to another buyer. They were very straight and knowledgeable to deal with. I also feel their web site has some of the best photographs and is easiest to use of any agent, plus is based in the West Country. A Nauticat would certainly be a boat of interest if it is in good overall condition. It is worth a phone call.
Click to expand...

I can second this recommendation ... he sold one for me to a particularly awkward foreign gentleman and sorted out all sorts of problems ... top man!
 
A good mate of mine who also write here had a Bav38 to sell ,he didn't want to sail it back to the UK. his first thought to ask us to sail it back , we would had but at the time we had a dog and cat so it wasn't practicable then he thought was to hire a skipper to sail it back , my suggest was to , knock of the cost of having the boat brought back to the UK ,skipper fees mooring fee fuel and brake down and so on then take off the brokers fee ,and put an advert on Apollo duck , within a few months he had a buyer for it , OK he may had be lucky but I think the boat was priced right considering the boat market , there so many over priced boats , owners get a finger in there head and refused to move on it two year down the line the price is readjusted for less then an offer they had some years back .
My mate was happy the buyer was happy so every ones a winner .

www.bluewatersailorcroatia.webs.com
 
Sold it. Thanks for all the help everyone. New owners took the helm today. Everyone seems happy.

We got a broker involved after the buyers offer was accepted. New owners agreed to go halves on that cost as it was of benefit to both of us to have our hands held a little - and the broker also provided what was effectively an escrow service.

Can't recommend Edd Jones at Barbican Yacht Agency (http://www.plymouthyachts.co.uk/) enough. Really sound chap.
 
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