(initiator of thread) Again, thanks for your suggestions. I confess
that boat buying is an obsessive's dream-come-true. I fear that I've
ruined our printer printing all of the listings. Some of the boats that
I have been keeping my eye on are selling and I wish I was in a
position to act now, but I want to pay cash,so I have to wait until
late Summer/early Fall so as to avoid the lenders; perhaps necessarily
so because it is my understanding that lenders are reluctant to provide
loans for old boats. A Bristol 31.1 that I looked at and one that
looked like a good sweat equity boat has sold and another broker called
me a week ago to tell me that an offer is being made on a nicely
restored Allied Seabreeze that I looked at (not sure if this was a ploy
since I have yet to see a 'sale pending' note yet).
Should I use a buyer-broker? I can't see why a buyer-broker would be
willing to devote much attention to me, since if I buy a boat in the
25-45K range, their cut would be relatively small. I have not committed
to a broker yet and, frankly, it seems like it is much less of a hassle
to see a boat on my own, telling the seller's broker that I have nobody
representing me (more $$$ in their eyes, which is OK - we all have to
make money somehow). The boats are a hassle to get access to because
they are spread out between Annapolis and Oiental, NC. I do not want to
arrange all of these visits through a buyer-broker. It would be a
hassle for me and certainly for my broker.
Do I correctly understand how this business works? I met a guy at
Bristol Yacht, Annapolis, that I like - recommended by someone on this
forum, but he represents only one of the boats that I am interested in.
Did you use a buyer-broker? If so, did they have to coordinate the
visit with the seller-broker or be there physically when you inspected
the boat? When I asked the broker mentioned above this question I got
the sense that the the seller-broker, if he or she ended up doing the
leg work (take me to the boat, etc.), would resent it if the
buyer-broker was not present. Again, the question is, what is the
accepted protocol?
Of course my next question is, if I act on my own, is making an offer
at less than 80% of the asking price a reasonable approach, assuming
that I know what the NADA/BUC valuation is and I know the asking prices
of comparable boats of the same model? I am pricing boats based on the
assumption that I may get at least a 20% reduction off the asking
price. For example, if the asking price of a Bristol 35.5 is 60k, would
it be reasonable to assume that the boat may go for 45k. I realize that
there are many variables that influence the asking price and what the
seller may sell at.
This is a disadvantage of going it alone. I may not know what a
broker knows; what the boats have sold for (though my understanding is
that the BUC value is based on selling prices).
Let me also pose another question/issue. Florida boats are going for
much less. From this forum I have learned that there are many reasons
for this; greater wear and tear and lots of supply. But is there not
also a glut right now because of sky-rocketing insurance rates due to
recent hurricane activity? Its another incentive for Florida boat
owners to get the hell out of boating? Texas/LA boats also go for a lot
less.
I asume that it is still a buyer's market. Unlike the late 90's,
there are not a lot of people willing to undertake an expensive
discretionary purchase. Lots of the reviews and recommended purchase
prices reported in Practical Sailor and Good Old Boats are from the
late 90's when used sailboat prices actually rose. We are now in
different times.
Lots of questions and perhaps naive observatons, but this has been a
productive discussion. Again, many thanks, Brian, Havre de Grace