List vs Sale Price? / Buyer's Agent?

We are under contract. We offered $5k less than asking. After the survey the seller is fixing a few things but that’s it. I could t find a reason to ask for any more money back. The boat is priced to sell. They put a ton of money into it that they aren’t getting back. Also there is a list of people who want the boat that are hoping our deal falls through.

Thanks for the update - good luck with the boat. We are in a similar situation - offer has been accepted - but planned sea trial yesterday was postponed due to Tropical Storm Gordon

Finally my wife reminded me that a happy wife was worth more than $50,000

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It cost me 3 times that to get rid of an unhappy wife. I'd say you made the right decision.

Don't fall in love with it. It will break your heart

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Ain't that the truth!

If he isn't showing you competing vessels, he isn't worth much to you. If it were me, I would tell him that he can represent you in any opportunity he can find, and ask him if he thinks he can find something better / better value. That will align his interest with yours. If he can't, or doesn't want to try, don't use him, but submit your offer with a condition that, whatever it is you are offering, you also want credit for a buyer's side commission.

"Also there is a list of people who want the boat that are hoping our deal falls through."

If true why is the owner not conducting an auction?

He doesn't want the best price ?

FF said:

"Also there is a list of people who want the boat that are hoping our deal falls through."

If true why is the owner not conducting an auction?

He doesn't want the best price ?

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Yeah, that list is a BS list. doesnt exist. just pressure sales.


He has you hooked and he knows it. You are getting ready to pay too much.

jimisbell said:

Yeah, that list is a BS list. doesnt exist. just pressure sales.


He has you hooked and he knows it. You are getting ready to pay too much.

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What boat am I buying and how much am I paying?

Steve91T said:

What boat am I buying and how much am I paying?

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Dont you know?

jimisbell said:

Dont you know?

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Of course I do. But I’m wondering how you came to the conclusion that I’m getting ready to pay too much.

Steve91T said:

What boat am I buying and how much am I paying?

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What (I suspect) Jimisbell is saying is that typically the selling process is for the seller to take all offers, then enter an agreement with the buyer with the highest offering price.

A Broker will not typically enter into an agreement and hold the remaining buyers at bay. The exception might be if the seller accepted your offer, and then other offers came in after you were 'under contract'.

So if the broker is waving a list of buyers with offers over your head, then most commonly, either the buyers are fictitious or the offers are all lower than yours.

You might have entered into a contract before other offers were submitted. A seller will rarely bend over backward to satisfy your 'requests' for correction if there are higher offers on the table.

saying there were a list of people waiting in line.

Shrew said:

What (I suspect) Jimisbell is saying is that typically the selling process is for the seller to take all offers, then enter an agreement with the buyer with the highest offering price.

A Broker will not typically enter into an agreement and hold the remaining buyers at bay. The exception might be if the seller accepted your offer, and then other offers came in after you were 'under contract'.

So if the broker is waving a list of buyers with offers over your head, then most commonly, either the buyers are fictitious or the offers are all lower than yours.

You might have entered into a contract before other offers were submitted. A seller will rarely bend over backward to satisfy your 'requests' for correction if there are higher offers on the table.

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what he said.

I should have been more clear. The broker isn’t waiving a list of people that want the boat to keep me from negotiating but I do beleve there are people who are ready to jump if our deal doesn’t go through. We were the first to go under contract, so we are locked in.

When I sold my Mainship 31’ a month ago, we were in a similar situation. We had accepted an offer but we were still getting a phone call a day with people interested in the boat. After the survey the buyer wanted some money off for repairs but we held firm knowing if she walked we would have others ready to buy the boat. I feel that’s the same situation we are in now.

Steve91T said:

Of course I do. But I’m wondering how you came to the conclusion that I’m getting ready to pay too much.

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Wifey B: Because he's smarter than you. Or seems that's what he's implying even if not his intent. I've watched your boat buying before and this time. I doubt seriously you'll ever pay too much. It's not like you're some kid who doesn't know what to do. I'd think you far more use to being accused of being a cheapskate in deals than paying too much.

Just seems to me you take the steps to protect yourself. Hope it works out.

We recently bought a trawler and here are some things I found:

Several boats had past surveys and purchase paperwork just sitting and (seemingly available for perusing. Several (in the 50 to 80K listing range) had about 30% subtracted from the agreed upon price after the survey.

The agreed upon price (original) was around 10% less than asking / listing price.

Several had obvious errors in the yw ads. I was able to talk with the current owner of one boat about it and the brokers just ball parked the details of a lot of things - ages of batteries, number of batteries, number (not size) of various tanks (holding, freshwater, fuel) and age of props.

All of the brokers except one were super nice, personable, funny with lots of quips about boat life - and they all wanted their money as quickly and easily as they could get it.

The exception was nice and also very honest, pointed out problems and made a point of saying which details he was sure about and which details were just conveyed to him from a seller or other broker - this is incredibly important!

From what we experienced and from what I learned looking through piles of paperwork it seems that (in the 50 to 80k range at least) that offering 10% below list price at the very least won't be offensive.

Mechanical issues and things below the waterline seemed to be discounted 100% from the agreed upon price. The surveyor made a list, the boatyard gave an estimate, the estimate cost was completely subtracted from the agreed upon price. This did NOT include cosmetic things for the most part.

Yacht brokers are just like used car salesmen. Some are good and some are bad. But all of them have a purpose and that is to make money and that money comes from you and the seller. At best a good broker wants that money as quickly and easily as possible. A bad broker will flat out lie, either by omission or just plain not telling the truth.

Ask the broker what happens if you find the ad is incorrect. Beware a broker that says "Your surveyor will find if there are any problems so don't worry about it now". They know that after spending 2k on a survey and haul out you are not likely to back out. So be prepared for that and be prepared to get an estimate for everything the surveyor finds.

Kind of unrelated to this particular issue but I've found that paying someone by the hour gets the best service, even from a surveyor. The hard part in anything is finding a good person to help you out

And for us, once it was all said and done the main thing was to focus on enjoying the boat and not fretting over if we paid too much (though I did file a complaint about the broker who said we had a spare never-connected water tank that turned out to be full of water and diesel

Steve91T said:

I should have been more clear. The broker isn’t waiving a list of people that want the boat to keep me from negotiating but I do beleve there are people who are ready to jump if our deal doesn’t go through. We were the first to go under contract, so we are locked in.....

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The seller might be locked in,but often a sale agreement is little more than an option agreement in the buyers favour, exercised if he is happy with sea trial and survey, by electing to proceed. Perhaps after "price adjustment".