By: Barbara Tierney
Bradford Yacht Sales
When first presented with the question “WHY USE A BROKER?” my
knee-jerk response was "Of course you'd use a broker who knows the industry.
Florida Brokers are licensed and must abide by rules that protect your interest".
But that doesn’t really tell you the story of the "Added Value".
I'll let you be the judge of whether you have the time and desire to learn everything
that we do everyday.
When you're ready to shop, here are a few of the items that we stay on top of
daily.
Finding the Boat
-Know the yachts available on the market
-Real value of those yachts available
-History of the yachts
-Motivation of the seller
-Market indices and trends
-Resale values
-Provide referrals for insurance & financing
Making the Offer
-Purchase agreement with necessary elements to protect your interest
-Secure deposit in escrow account in accordance with state license requirements.
-Keep you appraised on tax issues, VAT or duties that may apply to a particular vessel.
During the Survey
-Experience with various items that may come up on survey, whereas your broker can help estimate time and cost of correcting these items.
-Translating 30 pages of written reports into easily understood language for the Accept or Reject paperwork.
Closing Paperwork
-Daily Coordination of all the players involved in a closing. Office staff; finance companies; insurance agents; selling agents; documentation companies; attorneys; offshore corporations; customs brokers; captains and overseeing any repair work being done prior to closing.
-Paperwork. Closing forms can have a very specific order whereas execution of a particular form may be necessary to trigger off the next sequence of events.
-Escrow your funds for transfer to seller pending final confirmation of all paperwork being in order.
After sale follow up
-A good broker will help coordinate any work to be done after the closing.
-Refer crew to hiring for the yacht and assist in arranging new dockage.
-Follow up with documentation company as the yacht is transferred to new ownership.
-Offer continued assistance. Always available to answer new questions!
At some point, you're going to want to sell that vessel. And once again that's where the broker enters. We have a saying in the industry…"If it was that easy, everyone would be doing it…" It's not that easy to sell a yacht. It takes time, commitment and a great deal of money.
Preparing to sell the boat
-Pricing the yacht.
-Knowing who your competitors are and where you fit into the market.
-Advising any improvements that should be made to compete within today's market.
-Marketing materials.
-Brokerage open houses
- Arrange showings
-Provide marketing materials to corresponding brokers
-Continual updates on price changes, location changes, and sales status
-Display in shows
-Ad placement in magazines
-Internet placement
-Multiple listing placement
-Responding and following up on inquires
A good broker provides you with one of the best negotiating tools you will
ever have, “I’ll have to discuss that with my client and we'll get
back to you." The element of time and the insulation from an immediate
answer is one of the single biggest leverage factors that you can bring into
any deal.
The commission doesn't change. Peace of mind at no extra charge. That commission
remains the same whether its being split two ways or ten ways. It doesn't cost
a penny more to have a broker representing your interests. And to the buyer,
who talks to every broker so they can be sure that they're dealing directly
with the listing broker (who by the way works for the seller as well), I would
ask you, “Would you use your wife's lawyer?"
Just as every person is different, so is each client-broker relationship. Each
client is important and a good broker will value that friendship.
Reprinted with Permission from the
Florida Yacht Brokers Association