After having read the responses to date, I have some observations.

First is that the market may be soft on some models and hot on others. In
the case of the model we bought, it was stagnant until we got involved.
Then it got *very* hot. The only ones which are left are either *way* high,
very inaccessible geographically, or junk. Your choice of boat will
determine if the market is hot or cold and the available choices if the one
you're looking at doesn't work out.

Second is to read my post on Boat Buying Tips. If you wait until after a
survey to try to figure out what you'll pay, it will most likely be too
late.

Third is that 2/3 asking may be an insult and kill the deal - but it might
also be accepted. One of the brokers we worked with, a very knowledgeable
and long-time full-timer, indicated that the average (exceptions, of course,
abound in the tens of thousands of boat sales which occur each year) sale is
about 88-90% of asking. Our research supported that in our model, over more
than 5 years, varying only a couple of per cent from any year to the next.
OTOH, there were deals which went down in the 5 years I studied which were
66, 75, and 80%. They weren't frequent, but they happened.

Fourth is to recommend that you get sales history of that model boat for as
long as you can. If you're working through a broker, they'll have access to
"soldboats.com" - and can generate a list of all the boats brokers have
reported (that's voluntary, and not every brokerage boat sold gets reported)
as sold, which will include the asking and sales price, from January of '98.
If you're dealing with a substantial sum, it's worth calling the brokers of
the sold boats to confirm that info, as the 'ask' will be the 'ask' at the
time of sale. It won't reflect any reductions which have taken place before
that time, if there were any. Further, some of the reports will show a 100%
ask/sell. That's nearly unheard of. And finally, to that part of the
exercise, many times what gets reported is sloppily inaccurate. If it seems
unlikely, it probably is. And, of course, you can pull up all the currently
available brokerage boats by filling in the blanks on
http://tinyurl.com/d6s5, YachtWorld's advanced search page, to get an idea
of what the asking prices are for your boat around the world. If it happens
that the sample is huge (a great value to you, because you're not limited to
a few boats) you might want to limit the search a bit by only a couple of
years' range, or only a particular market.

Hope that helps :{))

L8R

Skip and Lydia

--
Morgan 461 #2
SV Flying Pig
http://tinyurl.com/384p2


"And then again, when you sit at the helm of your little ship on a
clear night, and gaze at the countless stars overhead, and realize
that you are quite alone on a great, wide sea, it is apt to occur to
you that in the general scheme of things you are merely an
insignificant speck on the surface of the ocean; and are not nearly
so important or as self-sufficient as you thought you were. Which is
an exceedingly wholesome thought, and one that may effect a
permanent change in your deportment that will be greatly appreciated
by your friends." - James S. Pitkin