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Let’s discuss the process of the sale from this point.  Your broker will present you with an offer and it should be on a proper offer form and not just a verbal offer, an e-mail offer or a simple paragraph and price.  A proper offer form should include; who is the buying party, the description of the vessel, the price being offered, what the initial deposit is, any contingencies to the offer, and have a duration period of time specified for a reply.  Proper offers should also include details of when the contingencies will be removed or satisfied and when and how final payment will be made.  In addition understandable statements should be included to deal with the operation of the boat and what will occur if either of the parties fails in their promises according to the offer to purchase agreement. 

You will be given an opportunity to accept the offer or make a counter offer to the prospective buyers.  They in turn can accept, reject or make another counter offer. 

 Once an agreement has been reached, the time period for accepting the vessel and dealing with the contingencies begins.  The buyer’s initial deposit should, by this time, be deposited and cleared into the selling broker’s trust account.  This bank trust account is a separate account controlled by each broker but has very strict State prohibitions on any co-mingling or use by the broker other than those outlined in the purchase agreement.  Standard contingencies include financing, sea trial and survey.  The financing contingency should be dealt with first before any of the others are performed.  This may include the buyer securing an approval for a boat loan or accumulating the necessary funds.  The sea trial is usually performed next because it does not incur any expense on the part of the buyer and it will be obvious if there are problems with the boat.  Naturally, as a seller you will want to be very sure your boat will perform as is was designed to during a sea trial.  If the sea trial is satisfactory, the survey will begin and usually include hauling the boat out of the water at a local boatyard in order to have the bottom and props inspected.  The charges for the surveyor and the boatyard haul out are usually paid for by the potential buyer.   These inspections may result in problems being found that may cause the buyer to cancel the purchase at this time and have his deposit returned or the buyer may request a repair  be made by the seller or a repair concession to the purchase price be accepted by the seller to offset the problem issue.  This request for a concession may open up some negotiations between the buyer and seller, but does not void the initial purchase agreement and therefore does not open up the listing for another potential buyer unless the active buyer determines that he will not accept the boat and cancels the purchase.  Your professional Yacht Broker will guide you through some of these tricky aspects of a sale and purchase. 

Once all the contingencies have been satisfied and the vessel has been accepted by the buyer, final payment will need to be made according to the time line of the purchase agreement.  These funds may be coming directly from the buyer or from a loan company they have worked with for financing.  Either way, the balance of the funds will be deposited into the selling broker’s trust account and closing statements for the buyer and the seller will be prepared and agreed to.  Sometime before this all happens or at this time your broker will have you sign the release of ownership or Coast Guard Bill of Sale so the transfer of ownership can occur.  The selling broker will then disburse the funds held to the parties indicated on the closing statements.  Normally this will include the proceeds to the seller of the boat and the commissions due to the brokers involved in the purchase.  There may also be payments to vendors and possibly the state board of equalization for any sales taxes collected in the purchase. 

So there you have it, step by step, a well orchestrated set of events for the sale and purchase of a vessel in California.  Having a professional yacht broker and following their advice will go a long way to making the sale of your boat a pleasurable experience.

In this market a seller should do all he can to be noticed by the limited number of buyers out there looking to purchase boats. Most important is that the seller should find a broker that he likes and is professional, and give that broker an exclusive listing to sell his boat. A broker with an exclusive listing will work harder and promote the boat to other brokers for possible cooperation than he will with a non exclusive listing. Some sellers in the past went with non exclusive listing with a few brokers around the state or country in an effort to increase the exposure of their boat, but in this age of internet advertising, a seller’s boat will be exposed and promoted all over the world and information about the boat along with pictures and videos will be available to brokers and potential buyers right in their homes and offices. Give your loyalty to one broker and let them do their job of selling your boat. Remember finding a buyer is only a small part of the job a broker will do for a seller. The deal still needs to be negotiated and the sea trial and surveys performed. Selling and assisting are still a large part of this process and thousands of dollars can be lost by not having a broker to watch over the rest of the steps in the purchase process. Helping the buyer find suitable financing and insurance as will as making the purchase of their new boat a pleasurable experience is very important to helping your boat get sold.

A seller can also increase his chances for a quick sale at a good price by cleaning and fixing at least the minor problems with their boat. Cleaning is a very good investment of time and some money to help present your boat to prospective buyers in the best light possible. No one will be impressed with a dirty and moldy refrigerator or smelly heads and bilges. Clean out the clutter and make the boat as “like new” as possible. Remember those boats in the boat show? Empty cabinets, closets and drawers, beds made and the table set. Navigation stations cleaned out and a fresh chart ready to go. Check the small items you have been putting off, like the burned out bulbs and broken door knob. Have the sails washed and the carpets cleaned. Clean out the bilges and make them as dry as possible. Let the broker know about any system or equipment that does not work so that he can help you get it fixed or at least inform the buyer upfront so that it does not become a problem at survey and result in you having to accept a repair concession. Any boat will sell and it is only price and condition that will cause it to sit on the market. Have your broker provide you with recent “sold boat” information and price your boat accordingly and with additional adjustments up or down depending on an honest determination of its condition. Selling prices of boats are less that they were a few years ago and there is no guaranty that they will rebound in the future. We are all experiencing a new “normal” now. The value of your boat has nothing to do with how much you owe on it or how much you love it, and very little to do with how much you have spent on it in the last few years. Market value is what the next buyer is willing to pay. Supply and demand is very much at work in the yachting industry. So, do the most you can with what you have and you will be boatless sooner than you think. The best part selling your boat is, then you can be the buyer on your next boat.

2) Fix or remove inoperative equipment. Items that need repair will not be a plus in the buyers mind.

3) Remove personal possessions as much as possible. A boat for sale should allow the buyer to imagine their own personal possessions aboard. If the boat is cluttered, he buyer is less likely able to do so. It will also make the boat look smaller if it is too full of “stuff.”

4) Clean your engine room and bilges. A boat appears neglected if the engine room has not been kept in a clean and orderly manner.

5) Put it to the nose test… if your boat has odors, it is not likely to make that crucial good first impression. Keep the holding tank empty. If your heads use salt water, flush them with fresh water before you leave the boat so the organisms in the salt water don’t die in the bowl and lines and create that horrible smell. Find and fix the source of any odors.

6) Price according to the market. Your broker can give you information on what the competition is priced at as well as what similar boats have sold for in the recent past. Keep in mind the monthly cost of maintaining your boat when an offer is made. Many people have made the mistake of rejecting an offer made soon after the boat is listed for sale, only to later be forced to accept a lower offer after having paid for months of keeping the boat which results in a lower net than the original offer would have.

7) Level with your broker on everything about your boat. If you work as a team, your chances of success increase greatly. Let your broker know what defects you know the boat has so they are not surprises later which would cost a sale from completing.