Long Distance Boat Buying - Part 2

3/25/2008
3:40PM

Good afternoon all,

Some weeks ago I wrote about a man who found me on the Internet and wanted me to assist him in his boat buying search here in the States. Much has happened since then.

I'll call him Joe, flew over to the US from Singapore a few weeks back to look at about 10 boats I'd lined up for him to view. Being a power boater, he liked the Meridian 368, especially a 2006 model I had found in SC. Joe left the country after two days but instructed me to place an offer on the boat. The deposit money was wired in and the offer was made. Unfortunately, the seller would not take less than his asking price so we did not buy the boat.

Immediately I set out to find another one and did locate one in St. Petersburg, Florida. She was a year older, a 2005, but was in very good condition. Three weeks ago an offer was made and a price was agreed upon. Last week I represented Joe in her survey and sea trial; everything went smoothly with only a few things found needing attention. I received the survey report last Friday and I communicated the findings with Joe via email. Remember, he is about 12 hours ahead of us so we "talk" early in the mornings and at dark. I recommended about 10 items that we should have corrected before we took delivery and he agreed.

Today I got an acceptance from the seller as to the terms by which the sale would continue. He's agreed to correct those issues at hand for the buyer, before I take delivery next week. We'll likely close the deal late next week.

I've got a shipping date from Savannah Georgia to Singapore in May but am waiting to hear back on a shipping date for Miami. I'll probably run the boat around to Miami through the Keys but may truck it to Savannah, we'll see about that.

All in all, its been a very pleasant experience for me; lots of work but that's what I do. Joe will see his new boat for the first time in person when she's off-loaded in Singapore in early summer. He'll be very pleased I am certain. He's going to get a very good boat! You can see photos of her on my other website.

Now on to the next one for a customer in New Zealand.........all in a days work for this Yacht Broker...:)


Till next time,
Mike

Vessel Rating Guide

3/14/2008
10:16 AM

Good morning all,

Hope this week has been good for y' all; yep that was the southern accent in me you just read.

I've made yet, another improvement to help buyers find the perfect boat. I'm doing everything I can to take the guess work out of boat buying. This evolved from the Disclosure we discussed in the last posting. My intention is to accurately portray a boat to an interested buyer. I want to be sure he knows what he'll likely have to do if he buys the boat in order to cruise her.

When you visit my website, this is what you will find for each boat.

Vessel Rating Guide

A rating guide has been developed to give you an overall summary of the vessel’s condition as it relates to what you might need to do to prepare her for use. The rating guide is not to be confused with a rating given by a surveyor to establish value.

Each boat is rated based upon the owner’s certification of condition and the broker’s personal inspection of vessel.

BRISTOL CONDITION – is given to a vessel that has been maintained in mint or bristol condition, with many extras, the boat is better than factory new. All electronics and equipment are new, hull and interior is blemish free. Nothing needs to be done or added for immediate use. Turn key! This boat is rare.

ABOVE AVERAGE – is given to a vessel that has had above average care and is equipped with recent electronics, equipment and gear. Written maintenance records show continual upgrading and servicing by her owner. Everything works. Boat has no mechanical issues and few if any cosmetic issues. Exterior surfaces shine. Engine room is very clean and tidy. This boat is turn key, ready to cruise!

AVERAGE – is given to used boats that has have average type of care. Her electronics and equipment are dated but are usable. Most of equipment is original and boat shows normal wear. Canvas is functional but will need replacing soon. Exterior surfaces need attention to restore its shine. The boat will need some servicing, detailing and polishing before it is ready to cruise.

FAIR – is given to a boat that needs some significant attention to prepare her for use. Some equipment may not work. She needs a number of upgrades such as electronics, canvas, bottom work, and fiberglass repairs. She will require substantial yard work to allow worry-free cruising.

POOR – is given to a boat that is deemed a “project boat”. There is enough of the hull and machinery left to restore her to usable condition.

Mike

Boat Survey - Purchase Prequalification Disclosure

3/6/2008
1:35 PM


Howdy friends,

To start with let me tell you that the boating market is in high gear now with no let up in sight. Both buyers and sellers are abundant. Don't believe what you read in the paper; its only as good as you personally make it.

Week before last, two of my customers and I spent two days in South Florida surveying and sea trialing what we thought was to be their perfect trawler. Were we in for a shock.

The sea trial went fine but the survey exposed some significant issues with the boat; issues that would need many weeks and $$ to correct. We had no idea of these issues until the survey was complete. I suspect that the owner/seller knew of many of those issues but chose not to divulge them in hopes of making the sale.

My buyers were upset because they missed out on what they thought was the perfect boat, had been misled by the sellers and didn't want to buy a boat and have it sit in the yard for months. I felt that I had let them down by not picking up on the issues but that wasn't the case; the issues were not readily visible..

But as with everything that occurs there is always a silver lining.

1. We did avoid a bad boat after all so the survey served its purpose.
2. We have located another boat and when speaking to the other broker, I gave him a list of the items we had found on the previous survey and wanted those items checked out on the "new" boat.

What eventually evolved was the development of what I have termed, a Purchase Prequalification Disclosure. My buyer and I played around with it for several days until we got it right. I just sent the other broker a copy of it today for completion for the boat we are considering.

What we have now is a formal written document that asks a seller about 30 questions regarding his boat's systems and equipment. We want to know up front if there are issues with the boat that might prohibit a purchase. We make it clear that issues with the boat do not necessarily mean we will not purchase the boat. We state clearly on the document that a surveyor will validate the answers when and if a survey does occur if we choose to pursue the boat.

It requires the seller to certify in writing that his answers are truthful to the best of his knowledge. If a seller refuses to complete or sign the document, its a RED FLAG , so we move on to the next boat.

I have reason to believe that this next seller that we are approaching about his boat, will think long and hard about giving misleading information in writing.

We'll use the information provided to determine whether we wish to take the purchase to the next step.

I'll keep you posted on how it turns out.

Mike

***********************************************************************************

3/9/2008

7:00 AM

Well I used the new Purchase Prequalification Disclosure I prepared over the weekend and it did its job on the first pass.

My buyers and I had identified a boat in the Keys that had a possibility, it was hailed as being a #10. The listing broker completed the form and sent it back to me , even though I specifically said I wanted an owner's signature on it. I told him again, I wish for the owner to complete it and sign it.

He told me it was silly and unnecessary ; the shady workings typical of South Florida Yacht brokers, but finally relented. I told him that if he wanted to do business with me, he'd have his owner complete it; it was just that simple. It was finally done and guess what? The information was different; the owner's description of his boat was much more detailed to be exact. We finally have what we think is an honest description of the boat.

There are some red flags about the boat to be evaluated now but it appears that the simple disclosure form likely saved us about 24 hours driving time, the cost of several motel rooms, the cost of a survey and a dissatisfied buyer.

This new way of buying boats is going to probably piss off more brokers but what the hell, if it weeds out the liers, its worth the effort.

Mike

************************************************************************************

3/10/2008

4:50 PM

Well its seems that my idea continues to work to our advantage.

Today I had a seller contact me about his trawler he wants me to sell for him, and when I told him about the disclosure statement I was going to use for both sellers and buyers he was all for it. "I'll be glad to sign a disclosure to show how well I've maintained my boat"

I had another call from yet another trawler owner . I have been trying to get him to allow me to present his trawler to one of my customers. After talking a bit he immediately backed out saying, "After reading your disclosure, I've decided not to sell now". RED FLAG! There must be some issues with the boat he does not want to disclose to a buyer.

I got a lot of flack from one of the website forums for attempting to do this, but all I will say is it is already helping my buyers find the best boat and my sellers find a buyer .

Mike

**************************************************************************************

3/11/2008

2:34PM

More to come. It seems like more of you like this idea than not. I received an email earlier today from a gentleman that had his sailboat for sale; he wanted to know where to get a copy of my disclosure. He wanted to certify his boat so interested buyers knew he was truthful abut it. I told him he was at the right place and sent him back a copy.

I had many doubters on one of the boating websites to a point of getting nasty with me to attempt to do such a thing as require an owner to certify in writing that he was telling the truth about his boat. This thing has been a long time coming; I don't know how much time I spend with buyers attempting to interprete a listing ad.

My sellers are being asked to produce one as well as I am gong to use it as a positive marketing tool on their behalf to let buyers know, we don't play games here.

But the way I see it, if my small attempt to make the boat buying/selling business more user friendly, then its a good thing.

Mike