How Sellers Turn Off Buyers

Hi,

Well put Loren.

While it might not make the happiest reading for some it is the cold hard truth, something that is sometimes a tad painful for those who prefer to deal in some other version of the facts.

Loren,

As a current owner (not actively looking for my next boat, yet) and recent buyer I think you are right on the money.

In the last year, I have recently hit a good number of the Sport Fish brokers in the North East.

I want to add the following:
I feel it is important to find a trustworthy, reliable, and prooven Broker.
Tell the broker what you want and what your expectations are.

I have passed on several boats because I didnt like or trust the broker for some reason or another. Mostly becuase of something that was overstated, misrepresented, or there was a perception of misrepresentation.

I have traveled great distances, at the advice of some brokers, to see perfect "bristol" low hour boats. Upon arrival I have found that the pic's were old, the boat was beat up in as a daily charter, smells like a family of cats live in the boat, and the engine rooms covered in oil and rust, and a number of systems are in need of repair....Those brokers make my "do not call" list.

Also, i have seen a number of boats that where nice, but the prices were not realistic with no movement by the owner. Those boats were nice to look at but the owners had no intention of accepting or neg reasonable offers.


The Broker needs to sell him/herself as well as the boat, but not be high pressure or over the top.

Oddly enough, when I was looking, I had a few brokers never return my calls or emails.

In this market, the buyer is in control.

Thanks again to Loren for the advice and info

RT

Agree with you Loren.
I was looking at one boat I had shortlisted. It belonged to a well known BROKER, he knew I was flying in from a long way off.
Dirty, messy. Clothes strewn all over. A large screw that was holding the fridge in place was just hangin' in there at eye level and the engine room was so bad that I didn't bother going further than sticking my head in. Yet on Yachtworld, this boat looked like a really good buy. Did not bother to negotiate etc. as the attitude is this: how the boat is presented is very often the way it has been taken care of.
The other common issue is flat batteries. It might not be a deal breaker but hell, would'nt you expect a seller or his agent to have these charged up?

I agree with all of these points. I just closed a deal on new, to me, boat. The clutter on some of these boats listed was unbelievable. My favorites are the nick-nack souvineers? from some cruise 20 years ago or the fake plants. Get that crap off the boat. I want to see the boat, not what the seller is not able to throw out.

Also with the amount of boats for sale now if a seller is not open to negotiation why list it? I found one that I liked a lot but the survey showed some serious problems. His broker stated the seller would not negotiate. I walked and the seller called my broker and said he was willing to talk. Too late. I found a better deal and a seller willinng to sell his boat.

All this reminds me of when I was looking to buy a house. Many were unbelievable messes but then the was one where, not only was the house a mess but the owner was asleep in the bed. Forget buying the house. That was the last time I considered anything from that broker.

Happened to me also, some years ago, flying out to Florida from Europe only to find a yacht completely misrepresented by one of the big names in the brokerage industry. The've since been on the top of my "never deal with ..." list.

Today, I always request written confirmation, that listing fotos are current, and the technical listing details are correct, before making any inspection arrangements. Most black sheep of the trade will not respond to a request for confirmation in a convincing manner.
Never had to - but probably could claim back travel expenses from the broker if the actual status of the yacht turns out to be much worse than previously confirmed.

Having recently embarked on a newer boat hunt, I have found few sellers of well equipped newer vessels ready to move down much from their asking price. Apparently the big discounting done in 2009 and 2010 has not carried over. This is for vessels that have been languishing on the market for + 6 months which seems puzzling. I am chasing vessels where the owners have kept up with maintenance and apparently with money to do that they don't need to sell. Brands I have seen this on are Ocean ALexander, Selene and Nordhavn. In most cases I have been dealing with the brokers from the original manufacturers who have a vested interest in keeping prices up. The other interesting thing is how few buyers are out there, at least in the PNW, while the prices stay up.

Don't cook in your boat a week before it's being shown.
We walked on a boat, mingled for a minute in the cockpit, did a quick walk around the outside, foredeck, etc. ending up back in the cockpit. Walked in the saloon and was nearly pushed back out by the stench of very ethnic food that had apparently been a favorite of the owners. My Wife looked at me and said "that smell is going to take months to get out"

Translation: Next boat please.

Make sure your boat has no smell other than what is to be expected by furnishings, *mild* cleaning agents, natural woods, finish, etc. Don't judge it by your nose. Ask a second, and third party.

As a buyer a year ago of our boat, and a boat shopper for two years before that, I agree with most of what Loren posted. I can overlook a lot of nick nacks and "art work" and owners' "stuff" on a boat that they are still using from time to time.

But one thing that really turned me off was the selling broker. I soon learned that if his lips were moving he was lying to me. My first hint of that came from the guy I had hired to do the hull and equipment survey. As soon as he found out who the selling broker was he cautioned me not to believe anything he said because he'd already established his reputation around that areas a being "like a schlock used car salesman in a pants suit."

When I first met him he tried to overwhelm me with his sauve and debonair attitude and how cool he was and how much he knew about boats, etc. His irridescent orange polo shirt and greased down hair spoke volumes.

I bought that boat in spite of him, but I told him up front that I would not deal with him on the phone. I wanted it all by snail mail or email so I had it in writing.

The biggest turn off I've seen is that when a seller decides to sell his yacht, they instantly want to stop maintaining the vessel properly and keeping the vessel clean and detailed. A boat should be sea-worthy enough to take a 50 mile trip without issues and clean and detailed if it's for sale.

GFC,

Good point about communicating with the Broker in writing...

Most repeated quote I have heard in my career "we don't want to fix that because the boat is for sale"
Then the surveyor reports the issue and the potential buyer reduces the asking price for what they think the repair is worth which is usually twice as much money lost had they just fixed it to begin with.

Hi,

The let's save the Owner money and show what a good job we are doing whilst letting the boat deteriorate is an unfortunate infection that is often present in Captains and Management alike. It is funny the excuses that come up when the million they saved the client causes 5 to be sliced off the price.

It pays to keep records of all this when sailing under one if these type if regimes as when the brown stuff huts the fan it tends to cover everyone in range who is not well prepared

You forgot the eating thing.

Aside from the obvious issues of hygiene, in wide sense, the "bigmouth" is definitely the most obvious problem.
Somewhy most selling brokers feel pressing need to behave themselves like buyer's best friends, or at least trusted advisers. That probably works on used cars, but hey, slightly different audience here, no?

It is also exceptionally surprising when sellers get dodgy about the history. Hey, it's understandable to avoid names, but # of previous owners and rough cruising regions/schedule is reasonably interesting. "Here's the survey, can't tell nothing more" is not a good way to sell.

I've seen four captain's lose their jobs because the owner listened to the selling broker. First is to remove all the "clutter" because it stops the boat from selling. Um- ok- but that clutter is what is used when the boat is being used. Remove "clutter" and then the owner uses the boat less. Then the broker tells the owner that their brokerage house has a in house mechanic and detailer- so you should move the boat to our place... plus we can show the boat easily to more buyers. Now the boat is harder to take out and the "clutter" being put away makes it even more of a chore to enjoy the boat. Next the broker asks why pay a captain when we can take care of the boat for you? Bingo- captain out and the house makes a $$$ on a contract.

If you want to sell the boat then sell the boat- if you cannot sell the boat because it's being used then that is your problem. I'm not advocating a "cluttered" boat, but we all should understand that in many cases it is in the brokers better interest to have no one between the owner and the boat- including the captain.

So very true Bamboo. First, a boat should never be "cluttered", but it's a waste to let a boat sit while waiting to sell. It could take multiple seasons. A few years ago a client was convinced to bring his boat to So, Florida where it would be easier to sell. The broker made good money. storing and maintaining and then doing the repairs from the neglect before I brought it back up after being shown once all winter. It sold up north. Only saving grace was that I made good money moving the boat and I convinced the owner to come along for the trip north so it wasn't a total waste.

Lazy yacht brokers

Twice I called yacht brokers about boats I wanted to see to make sure the boats had headroom for me (I am 6' 5" in shoes). Both times the brokers assured me, promised me the boats had headroom sufficient for basketball players.

I drove several hours to see the boats, and both times I couldn't even come close to standing up inside. In one case the broker's office was literally 30 feet from the boat -- all he had to do was walk down the dock with tape measure and he would have saved me five hours of wasted driving time. Needless to say I blistered the brokers, and have told the story about their incompetence to many yachting friends and acquaintances. I wonder how brokers like this can sell anything?

JS
Newport, RI