NYCHAB III
Veteran Member
As some of you may recall, we joined Trawler Forum to bask in the collective warmth of all your knowledge and experience to assist us in our quest to purchase a Trawler and do "The Loop".
I have thoroughly read "Boat Search 101" and have done the steps that have narrowed down our search to a Trawler in the 36- to 42-foot range and preferably an aft-cabin. We now have run-aground on a problem I have not seen addressed here: How to get someone (Owner or Broker) to actually show you their boat which they have actually advertised for sale?
We are located in eastern Washington State and our current search area is Portland, OR and all of the Seattle, WA - Puget Sound area. This is a relatively small area with a LOT of boats allegedly for sale.
We will find a boat that we wish to visit, and either call or E-mail (their preference) to make an appointment. Of the seven boats we have (to date) made appointments to see, only three (two Owners and one Broker) have actually shown up. The rest? (Brokers)- were no-shows. One would not even answer his phone. One guy gave us a littany of excuses as to why he could not show us the boat - "Saturday is not good for me" (O.K. - What would be good? ) - "well, we're working on it now" - (O.K. - why is it still listed on Yachtworld for sale? ).
I guess my questions (finally) are - is there some kind of ceremony we must go through to get a showing? Do we have to make an offer first? Is there so many boat-buyers now that they are not interested in showing? Do they just hate to think of actually selling it?
This is getting VERY frustrating for both of us as we must invest in a 200- to 300-mile one-way trip to make these appointments and keep coming home disappointed.
Dave
I have thoroughly read "Boat Search 101" and have done the steps that have narrowed down our search to a Trawler in the 36- to 42-foot range and preferably an aft-cabin. We now have run-aground on a problem I have not seen addressed here: How to get someone (Owner or Broker) to actually show you their boat which they have actually advertised for sale?
We are located in eastern Washington State and our current search area is Portland, OR and all of the Seattle, WA - Puget Sound area. This is a relatively small area with a LOT of boats allegedly for sale.
We will find a boat that we wish to visit, and either call or E-mail (their preference) to make an appointment. Of the seven boats we have (to date) made appointments to see, only three (two Owners and one Broker) have actually shown up. The rest? (Brokers)- were no-shows. One would not even answer his phone. One guy gave us a littany of excuses as to why he could not show us the boat - "Saturday is not good for me" (O.K. - What would be good? ) - "well, we're working on it now" - (O.K. - why is it still listed on Yachtworld for sale? ).
I guess my questions (finally) are - is there some kind of ceremony we must go through to get a showing? Do we have to make an offer first? Is there so many boat-buyers now that they are not interested in showing? Do they just hate to think of actually selling it?
This is getting VERY frustrating for both of us as we must invest in a 200- to 300-mile one-way trip to make these appointments and keep coming home disappointed.
Dave