Great post. I'm a big believer in having a buyers broker.
I tried to buy a trawler without a buyers broker and it didn't go well. The listing broker didn't think I was a serious buyer (I was 24...) and told the client that. Despite a cash offer (subject only to sea trial and survey) 12% below asking price, they refused to negotiate. (Many months later, that boat eventually sold for less than I'd offered! Talk about a bad broker!)
After that experience I got my own broker. He vouched for me with other brokers and provided market insight. After a round of negotiations I was still pretty far from where the seller was. My broker wrote a letter to the seller explaining why my offer was reasonable, including lots of comps. The seller accepted the offer and I got the boat! I'm not sure, but I think having another broker (rather than me or the listing broker) explain to the seller why the boat was worth less than the seller thought was really helpful in making the deal happen.
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