How to buy a boat using a broker?

[Ltfdrebbin]

Here's my 2 cents.
We bought a boat last year. I was looking at the same stuff you are looking at.
We searched for over a year. I looked at many boats and talked to many brokers. Several of them tried to say they were representing me, but I never signed any paperwork, and never met with any of them more than once.
Until I met Al. Al knew sailboats inside and out.

I could see the advantage of having a knowledgeable person in our corner. On a handshake Al started representing us. Instead of my looking everywhere for boats 3 times per week, Al was doing it. He sent me to different states to look at boats. He taught me lots of things about boats and boating (this is our first boat bigger than 19').

Eventually someone called Al and asked him to sell their boat. He asked them to show it to me first before listing it.

We loved it. We bought it. And we compensated Al fairly as if we had a contract.

Al is still a great resource. And I feel he worked hard to protect me from making stupid first time buyer mistakes.

I'm a fan of professionals. They get paid, but they are typically worth more than what you are paying.

[sail sfbay]

Originally Posted by richrd westin

Every contract will say the purchase is AS IS after all the puffery you were fed. You can start off by saying "NO AS IS CLAUSES"...............However, AS IS is a terrible burden for a buyer. Another one to ty is "TELLL ME WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE BOAT". Good luck get an straight answer.

That is why a Buyer signs a purchase agreement contingent on a sea trial and survey(s). As a Buyer do as many surveys (marine, engine, electrical, etc.) as you feel necessary to confirm the boat is acceptable to you. As a Seller, I would never agree to purchase agreement without "AS IS" in the contract as I would not want the Buyer to come back to me for repair remedies they could not discover from a good survey and my boats are sold in perfect condition with everything functional and generally new condition.

[Larryo]

Originally Posted by geozeck

BTW, if you need a buyers broker you may not know enough to buy a boat. Plan on NO ONE giving you unbiased advice. Do your own research.

This is GOOD advise. One needs to be reasonably educated about boats to buy one.


Re a buyers broker..... your agreement with them should be with YOU paying them. The brokers fiduciary responsibility is to the person that is paying him. You can write the contract to lower the selling commission to cover some of your brokers costs, but not always.



And, if you don't know much about buying boats, a GOOD buyers broker can be worth they're cost. Finding a good one is not easy.


However, generally, the broker looks after himself first and his seller, second. The buyer really needs to look out for himself.



And a good surveyor and mechanic can tell you much more about buying a boat than a broker can.

[clamshack]

Originally Posted by Larryo

The brokers fiduciary responsibility is to the person that is paying him.

Be careful with your wording. A yacht broker doesn't have a fiduciary responsibility to anyone. :-)