The Offer...

I have my eye on a boat that is being offered at $249,500. It is in excellent condition, having been prepped by the Owner for a major trip. All new everything from tinned copper wiring to all new B&G instruments to a complete bottom job.

But: it’s above my price point. Had been on the market for almost a year. (It’s above market but probably should be)

Is $175,000 offensive? That’s about 30% off. The owner isn’t hurting for money - he owns a boat yard. He had a stroke and can no longer travel, thus the sale. Should I go really low? $160,000?

All he can do is say no. But the offer seems low. I would try to back it up with comparable boat sales if possible, so not to be blatantly offensive.

Offer what you can. Doesn’t matter if it’s offensive, it’s what you have to offer. If it’s rejected so what. You tried.

Do you know the man well enough to have a conversation with him?

Are you financing? If you were not is one option to pay the cash you were going to, and have him finance the rest - given that he has a marine business?

tiltrider1 said:

Offer what you can. Doesn’t matter if it’s offensive, it’s what you have to offer. If it’s rejected so what. You tried.

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Make your off and if he rejects it, start looking again.
There will always be another boat.

Absolutely make the offer.


But first do some ground work. You need to get friendly with him and plant the idea that it's a bit overpriced. This may take several steps.


I might first start out (after several talks about whatever)..... "even though the boat is a bit above my price point, can I come and see it?" If he says absolutely not, I'm firm....wait awhile, and call again, and perhaps a bit more gently work on the price.



Perhaps ask him about "holding costs".... storage, insurance, etc.


Now, as winter approaches, puts you in a better spot.


I have used the line, "what is your rock bottom cash price if I bought it today?".... gets them thinking.


Negotiating is an art and needs to be worked on.


There's TONS of reasons he should come down on his price, and sell to you.

You need to convince him of that.... AND you need to convince him to like you.



Be real careful NOT to offend him, and don't say anything bad about him.. like he did a lousy job of xxxx or he should have done xxxx.


And, often there is a sense of urgency.... "I can act fast.... be there in a few hours with my mechanic and if reasonable will transfer money this afternoon." sometimes work (but have to work the logistics). Could be.... "I be on a plane tomorrow, have a surveyor lined up and complete the sale in 3 days". Occasionally takes some leg work, but can get the job done.


BUT FIRST, spend a lot of time talking and getting to know him, and him getting to know you.



Now, a 30% drop is a bit, but certainly not heard of. I've done it MANY times with boats, houses, planes.

Make the offer.

pete

Pete Meisinger said:

Make the offer.

pete

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Pete,
Totally agree, but with that much difference, I could argue strongly to "set the stage".... if he wants to get it.


Oh, forgot to mention, with a broker, makes it MUCH harder. Really need to talk to the owner... and visit with him.

Our previous owner was asking $220,000. Private party sale. It had been listed with a broker for $280,000, then $260,000, then $240,000. He cut the broker loose. A year later I offered him $175,000. We met, talked, and settled on $180,000. The boat later surveyed for $220,000. Go ahead and make the offer.

I would certainly make the offer. I would set it as this is what I can afford, not that your boat isn’t worth the asking. What have you got to loose?

Older boats that have major refit are usually worth only a small percentage of the cost of the upgrades unless brand new and all warranties are transferable and labor intensive improvements are significant, not simple cosmetics.

Your seller has a lot invested, not just in the boat, but in his dreams and plans that involved this boat. He may agree to accept less than he thinks it's worth, but he'll have to feel comfortable that he's not selling to some random bottom-feeder. Convince him that you recognize the value, that the boat is what you really want, and that it is going to a responsible owner who will use it for what it's meant to do. Then let him know what you feel you can afford. Then listen.

By the way, owning a boat yard is no guarantee that someone has a boat load of money.

I've bought two boats where my initial offer was rejected. I resubmitted the same offer along with a letter explaining how nice his boat looks and you can appreciate what great care he has taken of it. I sent along some pictures of my current boat that showed I took the same great care of it as he had with his boat.

I then explained that his boat was priced above what I could afford and, while I'd like to have his boat, my offer was all I could afford to finance.

Both times the seller accepted my offer.

Old timers I hang out with that have lots of experience with buying and selling boats joke...always take the first offer you get if within 30% or so of your asking price.....why?

Because much of the time the seller accepts that original offer price or slightly lower a year or so later...and after paying all kinds of bills that year to store, clean, etc....

psneeld said:

Old timers I hang out with that have lots of experience with buying and selling boats joke...always take the first offer you get if within 30% or so of your asking price.....why?

Because much of the time the seller accepts that original offer price or slightly lower a year or so later...and after paying all kinds of bills that year to store, clean, etc....

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Good point!

Make the offer. My guess is that in this market, he's had other offers. Likely he will counter with maybe as low as the highest offer he has received or his bottom line minimum. Not sure how much you can go below market value without getting a simple no.

Ted

CDreamer said:

I have my eye on a boat that is being offered at $249,500. It is in excellent condition, having been prepped by the Owner for a major trip. All new everything from tinned copper wiring to all new B&G instruments to a complete bottom job.

But: it’s above my price point. Had been on the market for almost a year. (It’s above market but probably should be)

Is $175,000 offensive? That’s about 30% off. The owner isn’t hurting for money - he owns a boat yard. He had a stroke and can no longer travel, thus the sale. Should I go really low? $160,000?

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email me the model & year ... boatpoker@gmail.com
I'll respond with the soldboats.com data

Determine where the market is for that boat. Then determine what a reasonable offer should be. You can tweak based on condition, equipment, etc. "Because he doesn't need the money" is never a good basis for an offer. "Owner is in poor health" is another poor variable for making an offer. In fact, the latter is worse, you have no idea what his medical bills look like. Just because he owns a marina, doesn't mean he makes a huge salary. Marinas can be financial liabilities. There are farmers who own multi-million dollar farms, with millions in machinery and assets who are living at the poverty level.

A good deal is one in which both parties walk away happy. Be careful that you sound a little like an opportunist.

After the first offer that is rejected, it's just simple math problem, i.e what will I have to accept 90 days from now, rejected offer + Costs and it just keeps going up.

The Brockert

To me it depends on how badly you want this boat. If you really don't care if the offer is rejected and you have to go elsewhere, offer as low as you want. Who knows you may get it (or for close to your offer). However, if you would really be unhappy to lose this boat, then you want to be careful not to insult the seller at the start. In that case, like SeeVee (and others) have stated, some ground work is needed with the seller. Knowing comparable sales would help, and offering close to your top affordable price (and telling that info to seller) may help the seller "get there", again assuming the object is obtaining "this" boat. If the boat has been on the market for that long (it is supposedly a "hot market" with boats selling well) then the boat is currently not a good deal or the owner is not open to what may have been offered so far. Sometimes as time passes and the seller really wants to sell, he will become more motivated. Ongoing costs (for the seller) do add up. Eg. I spend almost $10,000 per year just on moorage and insurance, with maintenance and cleaning adding to the cost in both time and money.

Good luck whatever you decide.

I would frame your offer more as " I realize this is under your asking price but this is our budget" or similar. If he rejects it then tell him your offer stands and please keep you and the offer in mind. Reminding him of holding costs etc. will only annoy him - he's a boatyard owner so is well aware of his holding costs. I'd stay away from suggesting he's overpriced, he'll likely take that as an insult to his boat knowledge.

this is a very interesting scenario we have all been through.. some of us more than others (me) and on both sides of this deal.
one important consideration is how nice is the boat and how much would it cost to find another one that has not been cared for. around here it is very expensive to upgrade an old boat.
whatever you do, pls give us some followup on what happened.
cant wait to hear. good luck

LOW BALL or

CDreamer said:

I have my eye on a boat that is being offered at $249,500. It is in excellent condition, having been prepped by the Owner for a major trip. All new everything from tinned copper wiring to all new B&G instruments to a complete bottom job.

But: it’s above my price point. Had been on the market for almost a year. (It’s above market but probably should be)

Is $175,000 offensive? That’s about 30% off. The owner isn’t hurting for money - he owns a boat yard. He had a stroke and can no longer travel, thus the sale. Should I go really low? $160,000?

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How do you know, "isn't hurting for money"?

Why do you think you should pay the least amount of money for the best "your words" one out there?

Don't be surprised if he charges you for the haulout (where else would you go)?
If you find anything! Sorry "you can only dip into the well, one time"!

Make him an offer of what you WILL pay! No haggle, walk away or shake hands on a deal!

Good luck, Jim

“Mr. boat owner, I really feel bad about this, but I haven’t found anything worthy that’s in my price range. Yours is so amazing, that I just have to take a chance and hopefully you’ll be comfortable enough with how well I’ll take care of it, and have no plans of reselling. So here goes.... I can only offer you 175K”
Or similar to this. Don’t reference anything you’d ever change. It’s perfect for you and your family. “My wife will cry from happiness for hours and hours”

Yachtman said:

“Mr. boat owner, ........ hopefully you’ll be comfortable enough with how well I’ll take care of it, and have no plans of reselling.

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Why should a seller lose money to ensure that the buyer will take care of the boat the BUYER owns, or that the buyer will continue to own the boat in perpetuity? How are either a motivator for the seller??

I still care about my boats even after I sell them. I might be willing to take a bit less money if I thought that the new owner was going to take really good care of the boat. I usually stay in contact with the buyers sometimes for years. I am in contact with the second owner for a boat that I sold 5 years ago. He will contact me with questions about how I did this or that. It saves him time trying to figure out what/how I did something. He has said that if I put my current boat up for sale to contact him first because of how I refurbished the boat he bought from the guy that I sold it to. So it may not help to try to convince the seller that you will take good care of the boat, but it might.

I could literally care less if, once the check cleared, the buyer took a torch to the car, boat or house that they now legally own.

Well, I guess everyone is different. But I see no downside to telling the seller you are going to take good care of the boat. They may not care like you but they might care like me. Either way it isn’t going to hurt anything.

Comodave said:

Well, I guess everyone is different. But I see no downside to telling the seller you are going to take good care of the boat. They may not care like you but they might care like me. Either way it isn’t going to hurt anything.

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Well said, Dave. I totally agree. We will probably not go below our "must have" price if we like the perspective buyers, but if the buyer's are really jerks, it's pretty much a given that we won't budge much, if any, off of our published asking price either . . . like you said, everyone is different.

And besides, can't think of any down side thinking things will go more smoothly if you're nice to them, and let them know you will take good care of whatever they are selling.

Isn't that what you're supposed to do anyway? Take care of what you spend your money one?!? Don't see a down side of letting sellers know that . . . .

While I may not drop my price for a buyer with whom I sympathize, I would bend-over backwards to help them be in the best possible position at closing. Best case for a jerk would be he'd get a boat with exactly zero beyond what he contractually agreed to versus all sorts of goodies and instructions I might be inclined to leave behind for a grateful new owner. Figuring out the starting sequence? List of IP Addresses for the myriad of network gear? Mr. Jerk is on his own......

Peter