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From: Baumgart, James (no email)
Date: Thu Jul 10 2003 - 14:07:36 EDT
Hi, here are my opinions. I am only familiar with the under $100K sailboat
market in Southern CA.
What is the current market like. Are sailing boats selling fast or slow.
It is a buyers market. There are boats for sale everywhere here in Southern
California. Boats are generally selling slowly, however good boats in decent
condition at a good price sell very fast. I bought my boat and it had never
even been listed, offered for sale, or put a for sale sign on it. That is
because it was in very good condition at the right price. A broker I had
seen about another vessel called me on this one before it was ever on the
market and I made an offer after my first inspection.
How close is the asking price to the actual price accepted in general terms.
While it is a buyers market, and there are lots of boat for sale, most (in
this price range) are in deplorable condition or with serious flaws. I had
to look at over 25 vessels to find one gem. The sellers are generally aware
of the depressed market, and this is reflected in lower asking prices. Thus
I offered the asking price - less the cost of repairs that we negotiated
after survey. You have got to research the market and know exactly what the
boat you are offering is worth. The seller offered the boat at about 10%
under market value because he wanted to get out right away. That was fair
and I said OK.
Is there any particular etiquette when dealing with Brokers and sellers.
If you know boats, I don't think you need a broker to represent (you) the
buyer. Use Yachtworld.com and the local ads. Start calling around. Go and
look at as many boats as possible. You can probably do a quick walkthorugh
inspection of 3 or 4 per day. Look for serious flaws (delaminations,
cracks, holes, hull/deck leaks) and walk away quickly from boats that are
basically unrepairable. Don't waste your time on boats from builders with
poor reputations (stick with respected, blue water, well known builders).
If you don't know boats, and perhaps since you're from out of the country
and don't have lots of time, find a broker who will LISTEN to what you
want, and will SHOW you vessels that meet your requirements. Find someone
you can feel comfortable with. This is not easy. Walk away from any broker
that treats you like he just wants to take your money.
This is a great time to buy. Interest rates are at a 40 year low. The US
dollar has declined in value making your foreign currency worth more here.
Unemployment is very high, stock market down, consumer confidence is low,
and lots of owners want to get out at any price. HOWEVER, I think all these
factors are turning around and these conditions won't hold for too much
longer.
I would mention that although boat prices may be down, marina prices are UP,
especially the lower priced marinas in this area. In my opinion, people are
leaving the $35/foot/month expensive marinas and moving to the $8/foot/month
places. This means that, due to supply and demand, the cheaper places are
full. So most rates in this area have climbed to the monthly rate of $10 or
$11 per foot. If you bought a 40 footer in San Diego right now you would
be very hard pressed to find an affordable place to keep it. Be prepared to
pay $1000/month.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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