We missed out on a boat that could have been a good fit for us and I wanted to get some advice on what happened. When I came to look for a second time with a more thorough eye, the broker told us they had a good offer in hand. I believed him, it was a desirable boat at a reasonable asking price.
After looking, I went home and put my list together of things the boat needed, it was about 10% of the asking price. Items like teak repairs, new batteries, new inverter, engine services, etc. I made a verbal offer to the seller's broker, which he said was solid but the one they had was very close to ask. We discussed his commission, the tender being excluded and not asking for anything on survey, but ultimately he didn't think the offer was strong enough to top the existing offer so we didn't submit it in writing. It seemed like they had an eager buyer who was willing to pay top dollar and overlook the things on my list. So be it.
Fast forward a few weeks later. I bump into a service guy I know who worked on the boat. I told him I looked at it and he goes on to tell me he just replaced the batteries, inverter, is working on teak, engines, etc after the trial. I was flummoxed, because I think my offer would have been a better net result for the owner after all the work they did. Furthermore, the broker would have represented both sides of the deal, netting himself a higher commission and a lower rate for the seller.
What went wrong here? I've bought and sold a few boats and have always felt you are in a weaker negotiating position once you've paid up for a sea trial. When selling, I'd rather cut the buyer a break then pump a bunch of money into items from the survey. Is this the wrong approach or maybe the broker made a miscalculation? I'd consider this a random deal that didn't go my way, but I had a similar situation occur a couple of months ago on another boat. There was a lot of work to be done which I was factoring into my offer and we never got past the verbal stage. Maybe I'm approaching the negotiations wrong? Any feedback appreciated. For context the boats I'm targeting are in the 50-60ft range and 8-12 years old.
After looking, I went home and put my list together of things the boat needed, it was about 10% of the asking price. Items like teak repairs, new batteries, new inverter, engine services, etc. I made a verbal offer to the seller's broker, which he said was solid but the one they had was very close to ask. We discussed his commission, the tender being excluded and not asking for anything on survey, but ultimately he didn't think the offer was strong enough to top the existing offer so we didn't submit it in writing. It seemed like they had an eager buyer who was willing to pay top dollar and overlook the things on my list. So be it.
Fast forward a few weeks later. I bump into a service guy I know who worked on the boat. I told him I looked at it and he goes on to tell me he just replaced the batteries, inverter, is working on teak, engines, etc after the trial. I was flummoxed, because I think my offer would have been a better net result for the owner after all the work they did. Furthermore, the broker would have represented both sides of the deal, netting himself a higher commission and a lower rate for the seller.
What went wrong here? I've bought and sold a few boats and have always felt you are in a weaker negotiating position once you've paid up for a sea trial. When selling, I'd rather cut the buyer a break then pump a bunch of money into items from the survey. Is this the wrong approach or maybe the broker made a miscalculation? I'd consider this a random deal that didn't go my way, but I had a similar situation occur a couple of months ago on another boat. There was a lot of work to be done which I was factoring into my offer and we never got past the verbal stage. Maybe I'm approaching the negotiations wrong? Any feedback appreciated. For context the boats I'm targeting are in the 50-60ft range and 8-12 years old.