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Broker Experiences as a Newbie


mrsmelly

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On 14/09/2020 at 20:00, Redacted By Request said:

Team,

 

My wife and I have just spent 3-solid weeks, 2,250 miles, 14-nights and a number of long journeys in our attempt to find the perfect boat.

 

Fortunately for us now the deal has been signed, deposit down, surveyor arranged and the boat lift is booked and in the diary....

 

............and what a really shitty experience it has been in terms of dealing with a number of these brokerages - I can say with some conviction that 70% have been about as effective as a chocolate fire guard around a burning coal fire.

 

I'll begin by saying that our best broker visit by far was with ABNB at Crick but other than that we've had a tough old time with some of the others.

 

Here are just a few of our recent experiences (no names mentioned though).

 

1.  (Broker-1):  We travel to one broker that had (and still has) c.20-25 boats for sale on its internet site and on arrival they tell us that all bar one is sold..........but they keep the adverts 'live' in an attempt to attract new punters.

 

2.  The same broker to the one above thought he was doing us a favour by answering the phone and gracing us with his time. (Sales tactics = how small to make the customer look and feel).

 

3.  (2nd Broker):  On arrival at another broker site we were greeted with "what's your budget" with not even a 'Hi' or good morning. We arrived when he was dealing with another customer and where the budget question was asled in her immediate presence - My wife and I were quite embarrassed to say the least.

 

4.  (3rd Broker): We phone one evening to arrange a viewing of a boat which was being advertised on the brokers web page. We then travel 3-hours the next morning to view said boat only to be told that it had been sold 4-weeks previous.  Guess what, I was fuming at this point!

 

5.  (4th Broker):  We missed out on one boat at this particular brockerage by only a few minutes but I left my details behind 'just in case' the buyers pulled out. This was our third visit to this Brockerage so I was silly enough to think that he and I were on good terms.  Well, as it turned out, the new purchasers withdrew their purchase offer after only hours of first submitting it and, to my astonishment the dealer never got back to me to offer us the boat. Shocking!!

 

6.  (Broker-5):  Now these guys were very special indeed and did a 'speculative sale' on a boat that, as it turned out, was never really for sale in the first instance. My wife and I even submitted a very healthy offer on said boat but the broker was unable to convince the owner to release his boat after they had sold the deal to me. It's probably due to the fact that he wanted to live on it next year when he returned to the UK - you can't fault a dealer for trying though, eh!

 

7.  (Broker-6):  This brockerage was selling a boat that was owned by one of the directors and, as it transpired during our visit, it was found to list heavily to one side.  We then discovered that the Brockerage boss had simply dumped the boat in a spare mooring for 4-years while it gathered moss and had to be subsequently 'pumped out' before it sank.

 

8.  (Broker-7):  On this particular brokers web page it states "All boats should have a survey" but in our chat with said broker he was adamant that a certain boat didn't really need a survey as the old one was only 2-years old.

 

9.  (Same broker as Serial-3): We phone about a boat, then travel 2-hours to get there, only to be told by the guy who took our phone call that they weren't selling it as it had paint problems and was potentially going back to the factory for a warranty claim.

 

Chaps, I could go on and on but I've lost the will to write more.

 

That all being said, I can honestly see why some newbie purchasers give up at the second or third hurdle as these so-called brockerages will test the patience of a saint.

 

In the meantime please accept my deepest apologies for such a long opening post.

 

Best Wishes to all,

 

 

I think that was a very pertinent first post. I think brokers might be an under discussed subject.

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Have not dealt with brokers for over 12 years, but ABNB were the best then, think they have changed hands a couple of times since.

But the big question....    is it a chocolate fireguard or a chocolate teapot ?

 

..............Dave

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I believe boats are selling like hotcakes just now so brokers can behave as badly as they want and still rake in the money. I hope the good ones get their reward next time times are hard.

 

.................Dave

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2 minutes ago, Blue Knight said:

 

Dave, I would say that the following situation(s) currently apply:

 

1.  Good boats are being sold either a.) before they even go to market or, b.) Within the first 24-hours of a sale article going live.

 

2.  Overpriced boats are hanging around while some owners are wanting more money for their boat than what they paid for it 2-4 years ago.

 

We saw one boat (a particular favourite of ours) which sold for £85K in 2016; £78K in 2018 and now the owner wants £85K in Sep-20. 

 

3.  And then there is the 'crappy boat category' which are selling because the good boats have all gone and the desperate punters have no other choice than to buy the chaff (or perhaps don't have the knowledge to understand that it's a poor standard boat etc). 

 

I appreciate that a number of other circumstances do exist but the above categories just about summarise the majority of recent transactions seen.

 

At this rate I'll be able to buy our new boat; then have a few months of CC'ing on the cut before selling it for a profit next year.

 

I best buy another one as I like to make money ?

 

All the best,

 

Andrew 

Don't even think about buying a boat to sell at a profit as you may well be disappointed, boats are things into which you sink time, emotion and money, but in return you get to live on a boat.  85k in 2016 and 85k now sounds about right as long as it has been looked after. You are buying at an artificial top of the market, but you only live once, don't worry about money, go boating.

 

...............Dave

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2 hours ago, Sir Nibble said:

I think that was a very pertinent first post. I think brokers might be an under discussed subject.

 I hope he names a few of these incompetent brokers, as I find a lot are basically “used car salesmen” and know little about the product their selling.

Edited by PD1964
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34 minutes ago, Blue Knight said:

 

I can categorically state now that I've not met a Chris amongst the dozens of broker staff met recently.

 

You're in the clear ?

That’s because their boats are way overpriced and mainly GRP’s ?

Edited by PD1964
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I think this'd be more fun naming the brokers (I'll join in with my own slightly less crazy experiences once I've actually got a deposit down). Will second the bit about ABNB at Crick coming across as a professional outfit, just a bit too efficient at selling their less expensive boats. :D 

 

I imagine the owner of the boat you wanted to buy would be very interested in learning about Broker 5!

 

 

I saw one boat on the market at 40k at the beginning of the summer and 45k at a different broker a little further south at the end.

Did wonder whether it was the existing owner getting fed up with his broker or someone who figured they'd make a profit on a boating holiday!

 

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2 hours ago, Nut said:

I think it would be good to name the brokers it will help others to avoid them as for being asked budget in such a rude fashion that broker would have had his lug holes pinned back there and then

There is though a drawback with that. Even terrible brokers get good boats and missing out the broker misses the boat. My boat was with a horrendous broker, I knew how bad they are but the boat is brilliant and I just took zero notice of the broker. Also some marinas insist on using a certain broker if you want to sell whilst moored there. The broker I bought through makes an eel seem dry skinned. 

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We had a similar experience to the above but also looked at quite a few private sales. We found dealing directly with owners refreshingly straightforward, although it was sometimes a bit awkward when they had a strong emotional investment in their boat and we were not quite 'sharing the love'.  I wish we could give all these shabby brokers a big kick up the arse but I guess while the market is still so hot they will continue to get away with providing such a poor service. Glad you found your boat Andrew.

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47 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

There is though a drawback with that. Even terrible brokers get good boats and missing out the broker misses the boat. My boat was with a horrendous broker, I knew how bad they are but the boat is brilliant and I just took zero notice of the broker. Also some marinas insist on using a certain broker if you want to sell whilst moored there. The broker I bought through makes an eel seem dry skinned. 

In a similar vein, in the estate agency business there is a tendency for buyers to buy the house, (whoever is selling it), and sellers buy the agency.

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I personally strongly disagree with "no names mentioned though".  We are the crossroads now - choosing between a ~10yo boat vs ordering a sailaway, and I for once would really like to hear names, as probably every other boat hunter here. If a brokerage is a good one - they deserve to be known for that, if they are complete s__te - same again, they deserve to be known for that. 

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19 minutes ago, MajorJones said:

I personally strongly disagree with "no names mentioned though".  We are the crossroads now - choosing between a ~10yo boat vs ordering a sailaway, and I for once would really like to hear names, as probably every other boat hunter here. If a brokerage is a good one - they deserve to be known for that, if they are complete s__te - same again, they deserve to be known for that. 

In this day and age all u need is Google. I have just looked myself as if I where a newbie and there are mountains of reviews on line for most brokers. 

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I can’t see what is wrong with naming the brokers, this buyer may of had a negative experience with one and there maybe 3 that have had good experiences, who could comment on there experiences. If the broker receives bad comments from everyone then a potential buyer will have an idea of what to expect. Same goes for a broker that receives all positive comments. It just gives potential buyers an idea of what to expect from certain Brokers. I can‘t see anything wrong with that.

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