Boat buying process through a broker

WOW! First query - NO! There are many "Standard" broker contracts. What you are seeing (if they gave you a copy) is a contract written in favor of an attorney's clent - AND THATS NOT YOU. If you want to make an offer take that contract and make any reasonabble changes by striking out and changing with pen and initial. What happens if certain contingences occur - your death or disablility, etc? put them all in; they can be taken out later. It is a negotiation! Second - Sure but are you going to chase them all down? Ask a couple of brokers in your area to share with you. Again, you have pen, use it. Third. Attorney? Maybe. If you remain uncomfortible. Check around. Fourth Price - Who knows. Look at the market - very broad view - yachts lag the real estate market by a considerable margin, both up and down. I think the yacht market has a lot of catching up left. So look at the line of buyers behind you. WHAT! Nobody there!!! Make an offer. What can the seller do! Worst - say "Go pound sand." So what. Move up or move on. Fifth: Ten days or who cares? They are trying to apply pressure. They can't unless they have leverage -like the boat is gold plated, etc.

Lastly, I am very familiar with that boat. It is a dandy aft cabin. Good Luck!

NYC, are you saying that when a prospect wants a third or fourth look the broker might ask for or insist on a contract first? Well maybe. I guess that would be a judgement call depending on the broker's evaluation of the prospect. I can imagine what an awful day a broker has when "entertaining" non-prospects - up and down the ladder ----.

As an aside; I try to find what I want direct - me and the seller. However, I always pay a broker to sell. Just me and my way; and the fact that I have no patience with tire kickers. That is NOT a knock on brokers. The good ones earn every nickel.

Typically, a buyer will look at at boat a couple of times before making a decision although it should be just fine to look at a boat 3 to 4 times before making an offer. It all comes down to how serious a buyer you look to the broker

You said "through a broker" but I m not sure whether you are talking about using your own buyers broker which is a good option, at no cost to you, at you have someone on your side representing you. When you are only dealing with the sellers broker, he is not representing you, but his client the seller. The only downside to using a buyers broker is that a few boats may not be available as sometimes some brokers do not want to split. It is pretty rare so usually not a real issue.

After you see the boat and decide to make an offer, you will sign a contract with a small deposit which will be presented to the seller for acceptance. The time frame is typically a couple of days during which the seller can reject, accept, counter offer, or just ignore. The contract will include a few important conditions incl. sea trial and survey, insurability and ability to get financing If applicable as well as closing date.

I always prefer to do a separate sea trial before survey. This is important to make sure the boat is worth surveying, performs as expected, etc. Some people just do one sea trial during survey which is ok if everything goes fine. But the boat doesn't run well, runs hot, has a vibration or has issue, you may be out a couple of thousand dollars for survey costs just to be told the obvious.

Survey should include both hull and machinery, which on a diesel will require two surveyors.

During survey and sea trial, the seller is responsible to run the boat, or provide a captain to run it, and will cover the fuel costs. You are responsible for paying the short haul at a yard for the surveyor to inspect the hull

If the offer is accepted, you give th full deposit, usually around 10% which is held by the broker. This is where having your own broker is a plus as he will hold the deposit which if something goes wrong may easier to recover than from the sellers broker. Obviosuly both brokers will follow the rules but a sellers broker may drag his feet a little...

Closing time frame is usually around a month with set dates for sea trial and survey acceptance.

If during the initial sea trial you are not satisfy with the boat performance, mechanical condition or handling, you will be able to back out. If survey turns out items which are serious enough to cause you to back out, you will be able to do so with no penalty.

After survey, you have the option to accept the boat as it is, request that the seller makes repairs or adjust the selling price. Surveys always turn up some minor issues and you re not going haggle over them... At that point you are already out the cost of the survey and have less leverage. More serious issues will be subject to negotiation and your surveyor s advice will be important at this point. If an issue is simple and clear cut, say a GPS not working, it may be easier to negotiate a price adjustment. If something is more complex then you may want to ask the seller to fix it and check the outcome before committing. For instance, if the boat doesn't turn rated rpm or runs not it may be hard to be sure of the cause and of th cost. In that case, have the seller do the repair to be sure a $1000 repair doesn't turn into $10 000 on your dime.

After surveys are done, you sign a letter of acceptance and move to closing

To answer your other questions, contracts are not always completely standard, read it carefully. Usually, for a boat that size you probably don't need an attorney but if you don't feel comfortable then yes seek advice. With a buyers broker you are less likely to need an attorney as again the buyers broker works for you, not the seller.

OlderB is right. Why say "No" when saying "5%". takes just about the same amount of breath. "Trust but verify". Who is this guy? Who knows him? Is he associated with quality people? Etc., etc. If he won't leave his agreement with you overnight WALK. Good luck!

Well th few deals I ve been involved with, my own boats and customers, doing a pre survey sea trial was not a problem. Owner/seller usually ran the boat and fuel costs are minimal, you re talking about a 10' on plane and whatever it takes to get out to an open area. On a 50 to 80 footer, you re talking 40 gallons of fuel at the most.

What I think is unfair is a seller hoping to sell a boat which has been sitting and hoping some sucker comes along and pay for short haul to clean the bottom... so yes, I expect to see a boat that s in working order before I spend $3 to $5k on survey and short haul.

Why is the boating industry some different from the real world... Imagine realtor telling sellers "don't cut the grass, the buyer will after closing"

Now, I guess when you get over 80' the costs of the short sea trial become higher but even then it would be like getting some engine work done and telling the mechanic there will be no sea trial to save a buck. Then on the bigger boat the crew is usually full time so crew cost and clean up isn't an issue

That's right on the money. A reputable broker will take a split commission on that kind of deal. Didn't have to list it, advertise it, show it 47 times, etc. Broker represents buyer, and seller takes the place of listing broker so he saves that portion of the commission.