How to choose a listing agent - or sell myself?

[Foster Nordic]

Hi all;

I have a mint condition 2003 Nordic Tug that I have loved - taken the inside passage to Alaska twice. But the stage of life has come to let her go. Living in the Pacific Northwest selling a NT37 shouldn't be too tough as they perfectly fit the crusing climate for this region and the whole inside passage up to Alaska.

So here's my question for the forum: how do any of you suggest choosing from among the eager listing agents? Or - is it reasonable to think about listing and selling it myself and saving the 10% brokerage fees?

Do people post and sell on forums like this or is Yachtworld the only way to get enough exposure?

Thanks in advance for any replies.

Don
Seattle, WA.

 

[Portage_Bay]

Hi all;

I have a mint condition 2003 Nordic Tug that I have loved - taken the inside passage to Alaska twice. But the stage of life has come to let her go. Living in the Pacific Northwest selling a NT37 shouldn't be too tough as they perfectly fit the crusing climate for this region and the whole inside passage up to Alaska.

So here's my question for the forum: how do any of you suggest choosing from among the eager listing agents? Or - is it reasonable to think about listing and selling it myself and saving the 10% brokerage fees?

Do people post and sell on forums like this or is Yachtworld the only way to get enough exposure?

Thanks in advance for any replies.

Don
Seattle, WA.

I am in the process of selling without a broker. It is a LOT of work. Very disruptive to my personal schedule. Yes, brokers are expensive. I'm beginning to see that the good ones are worth the $$$.

How to choose? That's another question. Can you find one that specializes in Nordic Tugs? Or at least has a lot of Nordic Tug listings. I have bought two through Banana Belt Boats in Anacortes. Yes, kind of a goofy name, but I find them to be a very good brokerage.

 

[cfr]

i live in germany and sold bought 2 boats and a house without any broker, too much money for some hours of work. you might need a surveyor but def not a broker. maybe they protect you from some unserious buyers but normally after one telcon i also got the feeling if this is an idiot or serious. def i would try myself.....10 pct is a lot which you can share with the buyer.....

 

[twistedtree]

As mentioned above, your time is definitely a consideration. That said, it would seem that you would have little to lose by posting it here and see what happens

 

[Sababa]

I recently sold my (also Bristol) 2001 Nordic Tug 37 without a broker. These boats are so sought after that you will have no trouble finding a buyer. I had a serious inquiry immediately after mentioning in a thread about buying our new boat that we would be putting our tug up for sale. He was willing to get on a plane the next day to see it so I was sure he wasn’t just a looky loo. Buyer hired a lawyer to paper the transaction. He got a great price and I got what would have been my high ask net of broker’s fees. I spent half a day with him for the initial showing, and a second full day for the sea trial. It was really fun to show off all the care I had put in to upkeep and improvements. YMMV, but the whole thing was easy peasy and pleasant for me.

 

[tiltrider1]

To sell your Nordic you should first shop for a Nordic. Which brokers grab your attention as a buyer? Some brokers really know how to present a boat on yachtworld others do lousy pictures, lousy write ups and hope the boat sells its self. While Seattle Yachts has a Nordic specialist on staff if you choose them make sure you list with the specialist not one of the many wannabe brokers hanging out in the office.

 

[DDW]

I think you will have very little difficulty in your situation. The boat is well known in the area and desirable. You are near it and if you have the time to show it to a few buyers, it will sell. For that boat, in that area, you don't need a Yachtworld listing.

 

[Larry M]

We bought and sold our 42 Krogen without a broker. We partially used what we would have paid a broker to lower our asking price. We used a marine title company in the PNW to collect, hold and do the final disburesment when we bought her since the seller had a loan. When we sold Hobo, Boat Trader and the Classifieds here were the 2 advertising medias we used.

Good luck on your sale!

 

[Comodave]

I have done it both ways. Our last boat we did list with a broker but since we live a long ways from any brokers we negotiated a discount with the broker since I would be doing all the showings. He put it on Yachtworld. I have sold several boats by listing them on BoatTrader.

First thing to do is clear out ALL the personal stuff on the boat. Detail the boat completely. Then if you are going to sell it yourself take photos of everything and every angle possible. Get good lighting in all the photos. I take so many photos so buyers can see that I am not trying to hide anything. Do a walkthrough video.

 

[Larry M]

What Comodave said plus I might add a disclosure section in the boat’s description. It helps that the buyer goes in with both eyes open and since it’s disclosed up front the buyer can’t come back and say, “I want to negotiate the price”. Here’s the disclosure from when we sold our Krogen. We closed in 34 days from listing till we had the money. One of the hold ups was getting a survey.

Disclosure

This is a 34-year old boat; she's been very well maintained, but she's still a 34 year old boat. Hobo has acne, or in boat parlance, blisters. The hull blisters were there when we bought her and have not changed (quarter-sized or smaller). New blisters have appeared on the fashion plates. Thinking the fashion plates would be full of water, I took one apart and found it to be completely dry. Go figure.

The starboard deck outside the pilot house doors is soft. I blame the deck prism in the guest stateroom, heating and expanding in the sun. I planned to repair the area, but the aftermath of two knee replacements leaves that project undone.

The propane locker is original from the manufacturer. It does does not meet current ABYC guidelines.

Despite our best cleaning efforts, dog hair may be found. As they say, there's always something.

 

[Don L]

I sold my boat myself in 4 days on Boat Trader. Cost of the ad was around $200.

Not a lot to lose by trying

 

[tiltrider1]

I sold my boat myself in 4 days on Boat Trader. Cost of the ad was around $200.

Not a lot to lose by trying

While I agree there is nothing to loose by trying, how many of these sell it yourself did it during COVID when everything was selling for top dollar and over night. The market is not as favorable right now.

However, the market is still good for good boats. If you want to sell it your self, acquire a good offer form that includes conditions for deposit return and length of time to close. Have this at the ready before the lookers show up. Understand, you will get a lot of attention, most of it will be bottom feeders and looky loos, not to mention scammers. You will need to sort through them so you aren’t wasting your time waiting to showing your boat to people who can’t afford to buy it.

 

[Sababa]

I sold mine in January. The market for Nordic Tugs on the West Coast seems still to be strong.

 

[Comodave]

The Boat/US website has a sales contract that you can download.

 

[drewc]

What Comodave said plus I might add a disclosure section in the boat’s description. It helps that the buyer goes in with both eyes open and since it’s disclosed up front the buyer can’t come back and say, “I want to negotiate the price”. Here’s the disclosure from when we sold our Krogen. We closed in 34 days from listing till we had the money. One of the hold ups was getting a survey.

Disclosure

This is a 34-year old boat; she's been very well maintained, but she's still a 34 year old boat. Hobo has acne, or in boat parlance, blisters. The hull blisters were there when we bought her and have not changed (quarter-sized or smaller). New blisters have appeared on the fashion plates. Thinking the fashion plates would be full of water, I took one apart and found it to be completely dry. Go figure.

The starboard deck outside the pilot house doors is soft. I blame the deck prism in the guest stateroom, heating and expanding in the sun. I planned to repair the area, but the aftermath of two knee replacements leaves that project undone.

The propane locker is original from the manufacturer. It does does not meet current ABYC guidelines.

Despite our best cleaning efforts, dog hair may be found. As they say, there's always something.

Excellent disclosure. My GB 36 is 46 years old and in many respects is in great shape for her age. Engines, tanks, hull, electronics are all in great shape. Alas, time has taken its toll with some aspects (like some soft decks as you mention) and it's important to remember when shopping for a 46 year old boat to set expectations accordingly. Sure, there are exceptions (apparently many on this forum!) but for many boats of this age it's reasonable that not everything will be "Bristol"... don't dismiss the opportunity to buy, just adjust your offer accordingly.

 

[O C Diver]

I would encourage you to try a listing on TF and see what response you get. I listed mine on TF and was under contract 5 days later.

2002 Cherubini Independence 45, Fort Myers, FL $350K

Slow Hand, a 2002 Cherubini Independence 45, is offered for sale by owner (Ted Green). Purchased in 2014, she was refitted, repowered and painted in 2014 & 2015. Slow Hand refit She was extensively cruised from 2016 through 2023, including the Great Loop, Rideau canal, Trent Severn canal, Erie...

www.trawlerforum.com

You will see some listings on the forum that are poorly done. Lots of details are important with as much information on age of equipment as possible. Pictures, pictures, and more pictures? Remove everything from the boat so that it looks like a boat on the showroom floor. Detail the boat inside and out. Be realistic about the market value of your boat.

You can always get a listing broker later or expand your potential lookers with an ad online. My plan was to wait about a month before listing it with a broker if the TF ad wasn't getting results.

Ted

 

[long-cours.62]

We had 14 different boats during the last 46 year all was sold by ourself , exept a Cheoy Lee 53.
And only because the customer who came directly to us had is ...car stolen in the night and all his document ( including professional pilot license was stolen also), in reality we had two customer who want bought this Cheoy Lee.
It means all our ex boat could be sold by ourself.
With the actual , we tried to put her on broker, even some said "we are specialist in trawler"...and no news . Got 2 visit by broker and 4 by direct advertising. 2 want buy, but the first one said he hesitate between 2 boat our's and a Moonen and want make charter, I said to him : buy the Moonen because the fly is bigger and the kitchen is apart. The second one want the boat, phone at night : don't sell the boat I want her ! His brother became badly seek, he delay his decision, and finally bought something totally different . (but you can thank him : he made the videos you can see on our advertising).

72' Alloy trawler is back in the market

 

[Don L]

While I agree there is nothing to loose by trying, how many of these sell it yourself did it during COVID when everything was selling for top dollar and over night. The market is not as favorable right now.

However, the market is still good for good boats. If you want to sell it your self, acquire a good offer form that includes conditions for deposit return and length of time to close. Have this at the ready before the lookers show up. Understand, you will get a lot of attention, most of it will be bottom feeders and looky loos, not to mention scammers. You will need to sort through them so you aren’t wasting your time waiting to showing your boat to people who can’t afford to buy it.

It was 6 weeks ago

 

[Stevecman]

Hi all;

I have a mint condition 2003 Nordic Tug that I have loved - taken the inside passage to Alaska twice. But the stage of life has come to let her go. Living in the Pacific Northwest selling a NT37 shouldn't be too tough as they perfectly fit the crusing climate for this region and the whole inside passage up to Alaska.

So here's my question for the forum: how do any of you suggest choosing from among the eager listing agents? Or - is it reasonable to think about listing and selling it myself and saving the 10% brokerage fees?

Do people post and sell on forums like this or is Yachtworld the only way to get enough exposure?

Thanks in advance for any replies.

Don
Seattle, WA.

As others have commented, there is strong demand for NTs in the PNW, so if priced to the market, yours should sell promptly regardless of whether you DIY or retain a broker.

Depending on how you value your time and privacy, there are significant advantages to retaining a professional to market and sell the boat and isolate you from a lot of the stress and hassle of the process.

IMO,Jeff Gleckler, the NT brand specialist at Seattle Yachts and based in Anacortes, is likely the most knowledgeable NT broker in the PNW, and heartily recommend him. Jeff is first and foremost a boater and a great person to work with.

 

[Nepidae]

Your question can only be answered by what you believe are your capabilities with selling anything. Have you ever done that? IF so what was the most expensive thing you sold?

I like some have bought & sold real estate which I think qualified me to buy a boat without a broker. My broker experience was not a good 1 before i bought so i thought I could handle it myself, which in retrospect I did better than with a broker involved.

This could get long winded so if you want to discuss your situation, PM me.

 

[slowgoesit]

We have bought and sold houses without brokers, multiple boats without brokers, as well as motor vehicles. It's not difficult. We have also bought and sold houses WITH agents/brokers. It depends on your individual circumstances.
I recommend you do as above, empty the boat of ALL personal items, take lots of pics, and DON'T have animal/ash trays/people visible in the pics. Post on Trawler Forum Classifieds, as well as Cruisersforum.com. It's free, and if fairly priced, I'd be really surprised if the boat isn't under contract in less than 30 days.
I DO recommend you retain the services of a good marine escrow/title company to handle the funds and insure that the title or documentation is properly transferred. If the buyer balks at this, find another buyer.

Just for information, below is the title company that handled the sale/purchase of our current boat. They were easy to work with, handled the coast guard documentation, as well as the dingy title transfer, and are in your neck of the woods. No relation, just satisfied customers. They are many others in the PNW area, the PMT is one I can personally recommend. Whomever you decide to go with, get with them BEFORE you have a contract and advertise the boat. They may be able to help you decide how to proceed. Don't be afraid to sell it yourself. That's 10% of the sale price that stays in YOUR pocket!

Kim George, Co-Manager
Pacific Maritime Title
655 NE Northlake Way, Seattle, WA 98105
Tel: 206.632.4668
www.pmtitle.com
kim@pmtitle.com

Best of luck with your sale, however you decide to proceed!