How to allay your biggest fears when selling your yacht
Posted on Nov 13, 2020
Posted on Nov 13, 2020
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So you're ready to sell your yacht, naturally you have some fears and concerns, so what to do?
1st Fear: Is it priced right so that it's not too high and not too low, priced to sell in a reasonable time?
2nd Fear: Will it survey well? Is there anything that can be found that will kill a deal?
3rd Fear: Will it get enough exposure and to the right prospects?
4th Fear: Will it take too long to sell?
5th Fear: Will there be hassle and inconvenience (prepping, staging, moving your stuff off prolonged loss of use, showing, surveying, sea trials, and closing)?
So What To Do?
Unless you sell it yourself you are best served to avoid a lot of hassles, time, and effort to engage the services of a professional yacht broker.
Your fear of pricing the boat wrong.
Get a valuation from a professional. I can do this for you or you can:
Compare your vessel to full specifications of others that are comparable listed on Yachtworld.com
Comparison shop by reviewing ads in magazines and trade publications where similar yachts are advertised. Call banks for loan values, check dealer prices, and with marine insurance agents.
Study pricing guides like ABOS, BUC, and NADA. These will give you retail or wholesale price estimates. Some of their info you will have to pay for. And remember they are not all the same. They use different methods and algorithms to estimate values.
Study the web.
Once you have determined a price "guesstimate add in" 10-15% for negotiations.
Remember that time on the market is money for payments, slip rent, insurance, maintenance, etc..
Your fear that your Yacht will not survey well or that there will be some finding that will kill your deal you should:
Repair all of the things on the yacht that are inoperative, broken, damaged, or deficient that you are aware of. Get my PREPARATION FOR YACHT PREPURCHASE SURVEY CHECK LIST of items to prepare for a successful survey and go thru it before you list the yacht or show it yourself.
Remove as many of your personal things that will not be included with the boat as you can. This will help the surveyor have good access so that there will not be ambiguities in his reports like: such and such an area could not be accessed due to so and so and therefore the condition in that area is unknown. Also you will not want any implications that items on the boat that are not intended to be part of a sale will convey.
Engage the services of a marine surveyor to conduct a premarket condition survey to see what he finds before you list or show the yacht. Be prepared to share that survey report with potential buyers to give them a high comfort level and encourage good offers. In due prudence they may still wish to have their own survey done.
Prior to the day of survey make ready. Test everything again, take a ride and make sure there will be no surprises (bottom is clean, batteries are up, sufficient fuel is on board, water is in tanks, and systems can be tested).
The fear that your yacht will not get enough exposure and to the right buyers you should:
Determine the market for your kind of yacht and how to place your yacht sales offering where that market will see it. You can try print advertising but in my experience print advertising is not that effective. A sign on the yacht visible to passersby will usually bring more calls than print ads. Leading yacht brokerages have a presence in print media because their competition does, not so much because it is effective. Most yacht sales are generated from internet sites, brokerage email broadcasts, displays in boat shows, and targeted brokerage networking. These options are mostly available only to professional yacht brokers.
There are some internet sites like Boattrader.com etc. that are available for private individuals to post their own listings. However, the quality of the presentation of the yacht is crucial. Accurate and complete information to answer potential buyers' questions must be in the listings. Buyers are often looking for a specific specification or characteristic that is not included in a listing. Bridge clearance, shallowest draft, hours on machinery, the presence or absence of air conditioning, and many other common pieces of important information are often omitted and can result in a potential buyer moving on. Photos must be clear, properly exposed with true color, thorough, and accurately represent the vessel.
Bad photos can drive away a potential buyer. Overall photos of interior spaces that give the "feel" of the yacht are more important that close ups of single pieces of equipment. Distant views of the yacht in some exotic anchorage are almost worthless. Photos of engine condition and cleanliness (or not) of machinery spaces are important. Photos that are not included often tell as much as those that are. A quality video walk through will also help to give better exposure.
Response to inquiries is critical. Calls and emails need to be answered as soon as possible in a timely manner. Availability and ease of showing is paramount. The vessel needs to be readily accessible and easy to board, comfortable to view, and free of any unpleasant smells or other negative environmental effects.
Your yacht needs to be offered for sale with courtesy to brokers other than just the listing broker (available for co-brokerage to leverage the size of the market). Private (for sale by owner) postings on web sites do not offer this kind of exposure through brokerage networks.
Your fear that it will take too long to sell you should:
For this one the right asking price is the key. A part of this is separating yourself from the yacht emotionally. Everyone feels their yacht is the greatest most valuable one in the world. YOU have a lot of control here.
Settle on a realistic asking price up front coupled with a target duration period on the market within which you wish to sell.
Determine your absolute bottom line.
Enter the market with a planned schedule of price reductions based on the market feedback you get. Execute your plan, monitor the feedback, and respond to it.
Prep the yacht for the market, stage it for showing, and keep it in a staged condition.
Your fear that there will be hassle and inconvenience prepping, staging, moving your stuff off, prolonged loss of use, showing, surveying, sea trials, and closing you should:
Face the fact that if you really want to sell that some concessions on your part will be required.
You can minimize your inconvenience by prepping, staging, and removing your personal gear well before you list and show. Last minute prepping for survey is always a hassle. Use my Yacht Pre-Market Prepping and Staging Guide.
Some use of the yacht while it is for sale is good to keep everything in efficient working order and to stay on top of the current operating condition of systems and equipment. You may need to change your use plans from time to time to accommodate a showing for a "hot prospect" with little notice. After every outing be sure to leave the yacht in showing condition.
A professional yacht broker can handle the showings. Otherwise you will need to be prepared to be on call to do them yourself, often on weekends.
It will be your responsibility to operate the yacht or provide someone to do so for the survey and sea trial. A yacht broker can assist you in engaging a professional captain to do this for you if you are busy. However it is best for the owner to be present for the survey and sea trial to answer any questions about idiosyncrasies of the yacht or its operation that could otherwise be misinterpreted as negative due to operator unfamiliarity with the systems or equipment. So if at all possible plan to be available when survey and sea trial time comes.
For the best due prudence, the closing should be handled by a professional yacht broker. Today there are many scams out there involving bogus cashier's checks and other schemes. A professional brokerage with an escrow account can protect the seller from inadvertently being swindled. All funds should be exchanged via wire and according to accepted industry guidelines and ethical practices.
Suffice it to say that the most hassle-free way to allay all your fears is to engage the services of a professional yacht broker to market and handle the sale of your yacht for you.
Craig Starns
1-813-340-0227