Using a Yacht Broker or Selling privately
Not too long ago buying or selling a boat was done through a local yacht broker. But times changed and nowadays most buying and selling is done by the use of the internet. Both private individuals and yacht brokers can advertise their boat on many websites. Buyers and sellers can find each other more easily.
Because of this development, a private seller excludes the yacht broker, who charges a commission around six to eight percent for his services. That saves him a lot of money, anyone would rather keep that money in their own pocket, so more and more boat owners choose to sell their boat themselves.
Private advertisements over the internet have increased considerably over the last couple of years compared to online offerings by yacht brokers. This development will continue increasingly. Selling a boat yourself without using a yacht broker is not without risk. There are many fac ets that need to be taken into consideration when either selling or buying a boat, like:
- Shipping registries - is ownership of the vessel still registered into the name of the former owner?
- Technical survey - does the boat have hidden defects?
- Mortgages - does your new boat still act as a security to the mortgage of the former owner?
- Legal - do you have a solid sales agreement that protects you against possible disaster scenarios?
- Safe payment - does one of the parties possess both the boat and the money at a certain stage? And so on.
This is all very important and can create nasty situations in case this is not properly taken care of. But you still may not feel like paying an expensive yacht broker. This is completely up to you. If you are confident that you can handle all the paperwork and can take care of all the aspects of the sale, then the only thing you have to do is get your boat listed on as many websites as possible and wait for the buyers to call. Our website is a great place to start!
