Buying and Selling of Narrowboats

[bluegreencanal]

At some point soon I am going to have to sell my lovely narrowboat to become a landlubber once more...

 

When we bought her we trawled the boatyards, memorably Braunston Marina (where she came from to us), Whilton, and a couple of yards in Nottingham and Bedford...

 

We were not brave enough to go to look at boats privately...

 

However, I bulk at the thought of paying someone 5 or 6 % of my boat value which could be around 3,000 pounds just to sell her...

 

Where did you buy your boat and where would you go to look for one if you did it again...

[The Bagdad Boatman (waits)]

apoloduck worked for us. you need a snappy title, lots of pictures and price it so it stands out, or pay to keep it on the front page. Then spend a lot of time polishing and fixing those little jobs you have always meant to do.

[kiki]

I have just put mine on AD as well. Quite a mission to fill all the details in but for a small fee you get your own website - and you can alter and edit your add anytime you like. Looks pretty good too.

[MtB]

However, I bulk at the thought of paying someone 5 or 6 % of my boat value which could be around 3,000 pounds just to sell her...

Please don't underestimate the sheer volume of time it takes to prepare adverts, receive the calls, then make endless trips to the boat to show people around only for them to say, "we have 27 others to view too before we will decide..... and then we have to sell the house".

 

Selling with a broker relieves you of all this stress and time wasting. So it depends on your personal circumstances. If you have time on yer hands and no pressure to get it sold, then the £3k brokerage fee seems a waste of money.

 

If you have better things to do with your time (like earn money!) you may actually be better off selling via a carefully chosen and respected broker. A decent broker may well get you £3k more than you'd get on Apollo Duck or eBay too but that a whole nother subject for debate!

 

Bottom line is, do you want to do all the viewings yourself or pay someone else do do them?

 

Mike

 

Edited to add, some brokers will give you free moorings while they market your boat. Deduct a few months of your own mooring fees frem the £3k and the deal doesn't look quite so painful! Some peeps even let their licence lapse too when in a brokerage poontoon

Edited February 1, 2012 by Mike the Boilerman

[Secret Garden]

At some point soon I am going to have to sell my lovely narrowboat to become a landlubber once more...

 

When we bought her we trawled the boatyards, memorably Braunston Marina (where she came from to us), Whilton, and a couple of yards in Nottingham and Bedford...

 

We were not brave enough to go to look at boats privately...

 

However, I bulk at the thought of paying someone 5 or 6 % of my boat value which could be around 3,000 pounds just to sell her...

 

Where did you buy your boat and where would you go to look for one if you did it again...

 

I've just had to put my pride & joy on the market, AD I'm trying first as I think the broker fees are way too high.

I've made a brochure to bolster the advert which may not look as professional as the broker's version but it has more relevant detail (correct too) in my opinion.

I'm trying to include all the things I wanted when I was buying like personal viewings / demonstrations or trials, which I don't think the brokers offer even at their rates, could be wrong there though.

Have to wait & see what happens I guess but I am surprised how much interest there's been already.

Steve.

[Tiggers]

Apollo Duck is the way forward if you have the time. I sold my last boat on here as I was living aboard and so it actually made more sense for me to do it myself (which was pointed out to me by Dominic at Rugby Boat Sales).

 

I will add that I was berated for not putting more pictures on my ad (It's about £10 to add more than 1). It is worth shelling out for, as it does tend to get rid of the fender kickers. People have the misconception that boats arent selling at the moment, but if it priced right on the Duck, it will go.

 

Although not in the market for another boat, I regularly check Apollo Duck (just incase a rather nice butty at a knock down prices comes up for sale..) and most of the brokerages list their boats on there too.

 

Good luck with the sale

[Guest]

Where did you buy your boat.

 

Rugby Boats

 

and where would you go to look for one if you did it again...

 

Rugby Boats/ABNB/New and Used but we wouldn't rule the Duck out either.

[davey b]

Found on 'duck, bought through broker (Rugby), not sold one yet though.

 

Can you afford the time to go through the sales process? Add up the mooring, the days off to show, the possibility of 'trade plates' and the 6% or there abouts is probably well worth it. It may depend on how much you need to get out of the price you are asking.

[GSer]

My last boat was marketed via both the broker and my own ads, if i had an enquiry that i couldn't make time for I just passed it onto the broker, this worked well in the end, the sale came from my own advert, and I was available to do my own presentation, sure, it took a few hours but it was worth it. Once the sale was agreed i paid the broker and everybody was happy.

 

The broker's marketing was quite low key IMO, which was why i decided to get more involved, but his contribution during the sale was invaluable, add that to free moorings and it was well worth the extra cost.

 

Paul

[mrsmelly]

At some point soon I am going to have to sell my lovely narrowboat to become a landlubber once more...

 

When we bought her we trawled the boatyards, memorably Braunston Marina (where she came from to us), Whilton, and a couple of yards in Nottingham and Bedford...

 

We were not brave enough to go to look at boats privately...

 

However, I bulk at the thought of paying someone 5 or 6 % of my boat value which could be around 3,000 pounds just to sell her...

 

Where did you buy your boat and where would you go to look for one if you did it again...

 

I reckon Apollo Duck and ebay are worth a bet BUT....When I sold mine last year I couldnt be arsed with messing around with adverts or talking to loads of Gunna do types on the fone and waiting for tyre kickers to come along so I asked Dom at Rugby boats to offer it for sale. I priced it realisticaly and asked him to only send me people with money and weed tyre kickers out.

Within 3 weeks of the ad I had one guy drove to Yorkshire from London, loved the boat and the sale was done , no bullshit, no survey ( I never do either ) we went to the pub for beer job done. And not a cheap boat either. To sum up that was great for me and gave me cash quickly which enabled me to get a huge lump off the boat I fancied so well worth Doms commision. The commision was loads less than what the quick sale and cash meant I could negotiate with on my present boat

[Richard10002]

When looking for our first boat last year I was on Apollo Duck and eBay a few times a day as both were easy to search for latest listings. I think both send emails automatically with new listings, so it was almost effortless. I also trawler through brokers listings fairly regularly, but found it a bit irritating to have to trawl through all the listings to see if there was something new.

 

In the end we found the boat by accident. I saw a reference on here to Barton Marina and, thinking it was Barton near Manchester, I had a look. Turned out it was Barton Turns near Burton on Trent, and the web paged referred to boat sales? Only 2 boats for sale, so not a broker you might visit regularly, (even online), and Fevre Dream was there shouting "Buy Me Fast!!", so we did

 

If/when we sell, I'll be on Apollo Duck and eBay for a while. I'd also be more likely to drop the asking price rather than employ a broker. I guess it might depend where your boat is in relation to where you are as to how much it would impinge on your life.

 

Good Luck

 

Richard

[real_vibes]

What about value, there seems to be little rhym or reason when you find boats over 5 years old. They seem to sell entirely inconsistently!

[kiki]

Apollo Duck is the way forward if you have the time. I sold my last boat on here as I was living aboard and so it actually made more sense for me to do it myself (which was pointed out to me by Dominic at Rugby Boat Sales).

 

I will add that I was berated for not putting more pictures on my ad (It's about £10 to add more than 1). It is worth shelling out for, as it does tend to get rid of the fender kickers. People have the misconception that boats arent selling at the moment, but if it priced right on the Duck, it will go.

 

Although not in the market for another boat, I regularly check Apollo Duck (just incase a rather nice butty at a knock down prices comes up for sale..) and most of the brokerages list their boats on there too.

 

Good luck with the sale

 

This is exactly what I have done, we liveaboard so are able to show people around almost any time, and for about £9 odd for 3 months you get a very good exposure.

[Strads]

And i can confirm it works, we bought Lincoln fron an A D advert.

 

 

If you know who built her and where say so..

 

 

length, body style, condition, colour

 

ditto engine info,, age, hours, servising etc.

 

electrics.. 12/24/230 invertor

 

water - tank type, calorifier type/location

 

Loo type.

 

layout..

 

decorative style...

 

those essentials should help and after that your style/take on how good it all is,,,

 

some good pics always help show what you mean!!

[bluegreencanal]

Sad face, she is up on Polly Duck...

[Guest Phil Bassett]

There are lots of advantages to using a broker - and buying from a broker. (I admit I am one - so I would say that wouldn't I)There are lots of good brokers out there (and admittedly a few dodgy ones probably)

 

It is in our interest to market boats honestly with good information and pictures that reveal the true condition. There is nothing worse than meeting a prospective buyer and seeing the look on their face when they see the boat is not what they had expected from the details and photos. Itry not to let that happen - I show them warts and all.

 

We safeguard the financial interest of our clients through client accounts. We can advise new boaters. We can (and do) stress the importance of surveys and engine reports. We make sure that regulations are complied with. We have huge databases of customers waiting to buy boats, so the chances are we can cover our commission for doing all the work by achieving a higher price for the seller.

 

Sites like Apollo Duck have their advantages - we put all our boats for sale on AD and other sites as well as our own 50 odd sites. However as people often do not remove their ads from AD the information can be well out of date. We have direct data feeds to AD and others to keep our information up to date. When we sell a boat, or put one under offer, we update all our sites immediately

 

Phil

 

Boatshed Grand Union

[Guest]

Nothing against you Phil but one for the mods - I thought the loophole whereby guests can post on here had been closed...

[Dyad]

Sad face, she is up on Polly Duck...

 

There is the Sales/Wants bit on this site too of course.

 

As one of those "Gunna do types" as MrSmelly says, I look at AD and ebay and any broker that has nice piccies on their website. I scroll through very quickly any ads that have little info or poor pics, it's quite annoying when the "enlarged" pic in no bigger than the thumbnail after clicking on it.

When the time comes and I can actually buy I will be visiting brokers but only after shortlisting ones to look at via 'tinternet.

 

I wish you all the best of luck in selling your boat and I for one would like to know how you get on and which way it sold in the end.

[Phil Bassett]

Strange thing - when I posted the previous I had just joined. I was shown as a new member. I have just had to join for a second time. As you say, one for the mods.

 

Phil

[Jim Batty]

 

Where did you buy your boat and where would you go to look for one if you did it again...

 

We spent a lot of time looking at boats listed on AD and other sites. I'd say about 50% of SELLERS were a waste of time - not responding to emails, not really wanting to answer a few questions, wildly overpricing their boats. We covered a large area and spent many weekends visiting an advertised boat on an obscure stretch of canal only to find the boat to be really rubbish or poorly presented. Rotting meat in fridge was one highlight. Lack of simple cleaning, like hoovering the carpet or cleaning dirty dishes, wasn't unusual. Perhaps you are not bothered by these things, but to us how a boat has been treated over the years is reflected in how it looks on the day.

 

I wouldn't do the private listings circuit again. I'd go to a select number of brokers/marinas, make myself known and let them know what i was looking for and keep an eye on their website. Good brokers won't accept rubbish or overpriced boats - they want to sell them quickly and make room for others.

 

We bought our boat at Braunston, and I thought they were friendly and gave an excellent service. And I'd probably try and have it sold there. Whilton seemed good too. As did Penton Hook in Staines on the Thames.

[Geoff Taylor]

We spent a lot of time looking at boats listed on AD and other sites. I'd say about 50% of SELLERS were a waste of time - not responding to emails, not really wanting to answer a few questions, wildly overpricing their boats. We covered a large area and spent many weekends visiting an advertised boat on an obscure stretch of canal only to find the boat to be really rubbish or poorly presented. Rotting meat in fridge was one highlight. Lack of simple cleaning, like hoovering the carpet or cleaning dirty dishes, wasn't unusual. Perhaps you are not bothered by these things, but to us how a boat has been treated over the years is reflected in how it looks on the day.

 

I wouldn't do the private listings circuit again. I'd go to a select number of brokers/marinas, make myself known and let them know what i was looking for and keep an eye on their website. Good brokers won't accept rubbish or overpriced boats - they want to sell them quickly and make room for others.

 

We bought our boat at Braunston, and I thought they were friendly and gave an excellent service. And I'd probably try and have it sold there. Whilton seemed good too. As did Penton Hook in Staines on the Thames.

 

 

I also purchased our boat from Braunston and also received a first class excellent service there,purchasing from a marina for us was more convenient than running around the cuts as time did not permit in our case. Furthermore,for the survey etc,the dry dock was onsite and all the repair facilities should they be needed were in the immediate vicinity and obviously more choice of boats to view in one place.

[bluegreencanal]

It would be my preference to put my boat in at a marina to sell, but I live on my boat and work locally, so can't see that as an option until I can move out.

 

I have had a bit of interest already with AD and hope that people are going to take it at face value with all the documentation to show how it has been maintained in the last 4 years and before I owned it.

 

I am concerned that AD is not running correctly though as the counter said over 5,000 people had looked at the advert in two days. It just doesn't sound likely to me.

 

I will always clean reasonably before people visit, but I had one person ring me up and ask to come the next day which was midweek, with a hope to view...I was going to be at work all day and then onto my mother's birthday party and visiting someone in hospital, so had not a minute to show anyone round. But they seemed put out to move their visiting day even though I gave them three other dates in the immediate week to choose from. It isn't as if I could invite a friend to show people round, as most of my friends live on land and know very little about boats and systems. They would not be able to demonstrate the engines etc. Those who do know about boats live too far away.

 

Would anyone recommend putting a boat up with an estate agent? It is not the place I would look first if ever, but might give people a thought to living on a boat when they see they cannot afford a house?

[Chris Pink]

If you want to get far more than it's worth and it's reasonably middle class then I think it's an excellent idea.

[Secret Garden]

[i am concerned that AD is not running correctly though as the counter said over 5,000 people had looked at the advert in two days. It just doesn't sound likely to me.

 

I wouldn't worry about the counter, the same happened for my ad'

I think it's computer scanning of adverts for selling you selling services etc.

Regards

Steve

[geehils]

Having just gone through the boat buying process, the thing that amazed me most was that there is no HPI service for boats. This means that there is no sure fire way of checking the provenance and you could end up buying a boat with outstanding finance on it, which means that despite paying for it, you might not own it!

 

Going through a good broker, such as ABNB will minimise this risk and also provide photographs and details that are accurate, descriptive and of a quality whereby you can make a decision as to whether or not you wish to view it. I spent many hours going though AD and found hardly any advertisements that presented the owners boat well, and not one that attracted me enough to want to make a round trip in the 3.5 hour region to view on the offchance that it might be OK. This isn't to say that there were no good boats on there, just that I couldn't identify them particularly well.

 

For these reasons and those mentioned already, when it comes to the time to sell I would take a big gulp and pay to use a broker.