Offer required to SEE the boat?

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BDofMSP

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Joined
Sep 5, 2013
Messages
905
Location
USA
Vessel Name
Gopher Broke
Vessel Make
Silverton 410 Sport Bridge
Bear with the long description please. I'm wondering if this is "common".

I saw a boat on yachtworld that I was potentially interested in, but I couldn't really say for sure because there were only FIVE pictures. There were zero of the engine room, zero of the saloon, zero of the cockpit, zero of the flybridge, zero of the foredeck, and only one of the two heads. So I emailed the broker asking for more info and pictures.

He got back with info (but no pictures) and his sales pitch of "get down here immediately and see it because it will be gone soon!" (yeah, right). I replied that I was in no position to buy the boat because I'm still trying to sell mine, and that I was simply collecting information so that I'd be prepared should something fall into place. He asked for details on my boat (which I provided) and soon replied that the owner was interested in including my boat in trade as part of a deal.

Now my boat has been on the market awhile so that caught my attention. And we were willing to travel to see it because I've never been on this model boat before, and even if I don't buy this one, I'd like to see whether it really meets my needs at all. So I asked to set an appointment to see the boat, assuming that offers and surveys and sea trials and negotiations would follow should it prove to be "all that".

He replied that I couldn't see the boat unless I made a written offer first. :ermm:

I replied that I had no idea what to offer as I had no idea of the condition. Also all of the travel was at my expense, and the owner wasn't "holding the boat for me" or anything, so I couldn't imagine a reason why an offer would be required. He replied that it was "for my own protection - to keep the price from going up" and that it kept joyriders off the boat. Like I'm going to spend $1200 in airfare for my wife and I to tour his 25 year old boat (and we hadn't asked for a sea trial). He said that this is completely common and standard practice. He wouldn't provide any additional pictures to help fill in my knowledge gap however.

Now I completely understand that the offer is conditional and that it obligates me to nothing. But this high pressure tactic, along with the secrecy of the photos, just gave me a really bad feeling about this whole thing - enough that I was no longer willing to spend my money to travel there just to get disappointed and railroaded into a deal.

So - is that "common practice" to require a written offer for someone to even see a boat?

Thanks
BD
 
"So - is that "common practice" to require a written offer for someone to even see a boat?"

No - we have bought a dozen boats over the years and seen maybe 10X that many , never has this occurred.
 
Nope- not common at all.

The brokers I've dealt show the vessel to the prospective buyer, but the systems (engines, genset, etc) are not energized until after there is a contract in place.
 
Think I’d pass on that one, sounds way too shaky to me!
 
Definitely not common practice. The whole interaction you outlined smells a bit fishy. There are so many good boats out there, especially this time of year when people would rather sell than put up for the winter. Your gut instinct is telling you something is wrong. Listen to it and move on to the next candidate.

John
 
BDofMSP said:
Bear with the long description please. I'm wondering if this is "common".

I saw a boat on yachtworld that I was potentially interested in, but I couldn't really say for sure because there were only FIVE pictures. There were zero of the engine room, zero of the saloon, zero of the cockpit, zero of the flybridge, zero of the foredeck, and only one of the two heads. So I emailed the broker asking for more info and pictures.

He got back with info (but no pictures) and his sales pitch of "get down here immediately and see it because it will be gone soon!" (yeah, right). I replied that I was in no position to buy the boat because I'm still trying to sell mine, and that I was simply collecting information so that I'd be prepared should something fall into place. He asked for details on my boat (which I provided) and soon replied that the owner was interested in including my boat in trade as part of a deal.

Now my boat has been on the market awhile so that caught my attention. And we were willing to travel to see it because I've never been on this model boat before, and even if I don't buy this one, I'd like to see whether it really meets my needs at all. So I asked to set an appointment to see the boat, assuming that offers and surveys and sea trials and negotiations would follow should it prove to be "all that".

He replied that I couldn't see the boat unless I made a written offer first. :ermm:

I replied that I had no idea what to offer as I had no idea of the condition. Also all of the travel was at my expense, and the owner wasn't "holding the boat for me" or anything, so I couldn't imagine a reason why an offer would be required. He replied that it was "for my own protection - to keep the price from going up" and that it kept joyriders off the boat. Like I'm going to spend $1200 in airfare for my wife and I to tour his 25 year old boat (and we hadn't asked for a sea trial). He said that this is completely common and standard practice. He wouldn't provide any additional pictures to help fill in my knowledge gap however.

Now I completely understand that the offer is conditional and that it obligates me to nothing. But this high pressure tactic, along with the secrecy of the photos, just gave me a really bad feeling about this whole thing - enough that I was no longer willing to spend my money to travel there just to get disappointed and railroaded into a deal.

So - is that "common practice" to require a written offer for someone to even see a boat?

Thanks
BD
Click to expand...

I would not trust that broker at all. Something going on and whatever it is, I don't like it.
 
Not common practice, but I've seen it happen.

Last year we looked at a boat in Sausalito, CA. Broker said we had to make an offer before he would even allow starting the engine at the dock! Wouldn't have started anyway, the batteries were dead! And the boat was covered with gull poop, hadn't been cleaned in some time.

We walked away from that one for sure, broker had no clue. Recc you do the same.
 
GoneFarrell said:
Not common practice, but I've seen it happen.

Last year we looked at a boat in Sausalito, CA. Broker said we had to make an offer before he would even allow starting the engine at the dock! Wouldn't have started anyway, the batteries were dead! And the boat was covered with gull poop, hadn't been cleaned in some time.

We walked away from that one for sure, broker had no clue. Recc you do the same.
Click to expand...

There's a big difference in the two though. I can understand a broker not starting the engines. Often they are not authorized to do so. I cannot understand expecting an offer from someone who has only seen it online.
 
You have got your answer already from the others. Forget it and look for another with a reputable broker and happy hunting.
 
BandB said:
I would not trust that broker at all. Something going on and whatever it is, I don't like it.
Click to expand...

They want a written offer for a walk though? Just keep on walking but this time, away.
 
It's common on larger boats .
You have to get full pic's of the boat and descriptions before you even go this far .
You put down a deposit and then arrange sea trials with a surveyor .
If the boat s not as advertised the owner has to fix it.
or drop the price of the boat .
 
Thank you all for reinforcing my gut feelings on this. I really appreciated his initiative to talk to the owner about including my boat in the deal, but then he's taken this "close 'em" thing WAY too far to make me comfortable.

He says he has two other people looking this week (which means multiple offers?). My response was "well if they get it, then great for them. If not the boat will still be there next spring when I'm ready to move it".

The silver lining has been that it gave me the idea to reach out to the owner of another boat that I AM interested in to see if he might also be willing to include my boat as a trade. Turns out he is! Flying out Thursday night to look at it (without even making an offer!).

Thanks all.
BD
 
BDofMSP said:
Thank you all for reinforcing my gut feelings on this. I really appreciated his initiative to talk to the owner about including my boat in the deal, but then he's taken this "close 'em" thing WAY too far to make me comfortable.

He says he has two other people looking this week (which means multiple offers?). My response was "well if they get it, then great for them. If not the boat will still be there next spring when I'm ready to move it".

The silver lining has been that it gave me the idea to reach out to the owner of another boat that I AM interested in to see if he might also be willing to include my boat as a trade. Turns out he is! Flying out Thursday night to look at it (without even making an offer!).

Thanks all.
BD
Click to expand...

Good on ya!

Anytime the used car sales tactics come out, walk away.
 
I had a guy interested in my N46. His surveyor and potential buyer spent about an hour going through boat plus a significant time backing down the boat in circles. The only thing I charged him was the price of him hauling the boat and pressure washing for the out of water survey. He decided against the purchase.
No problem, it was a nice day on the water.
 
We are on our 23rd boat and have never run into anything like that, I would walk away as it seems you are. Good for you.
 
Personally, I don't think I would want to attempt to make a deal which included a trade. You KNOW you are going to get "beat up" on what they will offer you for the trade. Maybe an exception if your boat is really in Bristol condition, but if it is, selling should't be a problem.

I say "walk on it"

pete
 
Pete Meisinger said:
Personally, I don't think I would want to attempt to make a deal which included a trade. You KNOW you are going to get "beat up" on what they will offer you for the trade. Maybe an exception if your boat is really in Bristol condition, but if it is, selling should't be a problem.

I say "walk on it"

pete
Click to expand...
Likely true but I think I'd play his game...
Tell the broker you are ready to make an offer but need him to do the same on your trade. Written offer of how much they will take off the trade.
I'm sure your instincts are correct and not worth a flight but would be interesting to see what his offer would be... or more likely his story of why that's not possible.
 
In this case the target boats are worth 6x the value of my boat. If their boat has been on the market for a long time, an owner may decide that it's better to get 80% of their cash now plus an asset that they may be able to convert, instead of waiting who knows how long for an offer that may only be 80% of what they want anyway.

Speaking as someone who's had their boat on the market for two seasons now, you become highly motivated to move it.

In the case of my trip Thursday, the owner is a captain that does "party cruise" charters and bareboat rental for his smaller craft. My 29' cabin cruiser could fill a nice niche for him.
 
You may want to keep an eye on the boat. The current owner may see the broker's true colors and re-list it with another broker some time down the road.
 
Benthic2 said:
You may want to keep an eye on the boat. The current owner may see the broker's true colors and re-list it with another broker some time down the road.
Click to expand...

Good point and good advice. I wish I knew if I liked it! I mean, no ER pics? Could be a dumpster fire.
 
BDofMSP said:
Thank you all for reinforcing my gut feelings on this. I really appreciated his initiative to talk to the owner about including my boat in the deal, but then he's taken this "close 'em" thing WAY too far to make me comfortable.

He says he has two other people looking this week (which means multiple offers?). My response was "well if they get it, then great for them. If not the boat will still be there next spring when I'm ready to move it".

The silver lining has been that it gave me the idea to reach out to the owner of another boat that I AM interested in to see if he might also be willing to include my boat as a trade. Turns out he is! Flying out Thursday night to look at it (without even making an offer!).

Thanks all.
BD
Click to expand...

Don't believe the "other people". He fabricates one story, why not another. Also, this is an argument for having a buyer's broker so you don't have to deal with such brokers as this one.
 
Sea Q said:
It's common on larger boats .
You have to get full pic's of the boat and descriptions before you even go this far .
You put down a deposit and then arrange sea trials with a surveyor .
If the boat s not as advertised the owner has to fix it.
or drop the price of the boat .
Click to expand...

No, it is not common to have to make an offer to see the boat. It's common to have to make one for anything beyond seeing it, such as a sea trial, but I've never heard of a case of someone having to make an offer sight unseen.
 
I once dealt with a car dealership where the sales staff could not talk price until the buyer definitely wanted the car. I could not get across that price is a component of a decision to buy, and bought elsewhere.
This broker`s attitude is barking mad,it gives me the impression of being tricky and hard sell. In the car trade dealers rely on the accuracy of description unseen for trade sales, but that`s not the scene here. It`s a shame for a good owner to be represented that way. But remember the old adage: "Birds of a feather flock together".
 
Fine, give him a firm offer, $1.50.
If he argues about that, offer $1.25.
 
You're being generous! I was thinking $1.00,
just enough to make it a legal offer!
 
Ted said:
You're being generous! I was thinking $1.00,
just enough to make it a legal offer!
Click to expand...

Yup, dat's me, generous.

Personally, that broker sounds like a PIA
 
BandB said:
Don't believe the "other people". He fabricates one story, why not another. Also, this is an argument for having a buyer's broker so you don't have to deal with such brokers as this one.
Click to expand...

I'd consider a buyers broker if I was actually a buyer. Until last Friday I considered myself a "looker" until I sold my boat. Never expected to be considering buying at this moment.

Sometimes stuff just happens I guess. That's why I was asking about it in the first place - so I'd be ready in case something happened.
 
I actually have been down this road.
Made an offer thru a buyers broker on a boat 1500 mi plane flight away and paid a deposit to MY buyers broker held in escrow before going to inspect it.
I wanted to know my max price as I wasn't ready to pay full list price. Offer had all the usual and recommended contingencies.
Only difference is it wasn't a requirement to come look... it was in my favor with plenty of escape clauses and no fear of my deposit being held up by my buyers broker.
 
Never heard of it. You see the boat first, spend as much time as you want looking around for obvious problems. If you like the boat, make an offer and then all the rest, sea trials etc., if offer accepted. Would you make an offer on a house or a car you had never seen? No, nor would most.
 
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