Working with marinemax

I guess it's partially a function of some brokers not caring, and the current very high demand. I guess some brokers think that a buyer will overlook deficiencies once they invest in a trip. It can certainly be hit or miss.

I looked at a boat 2 years ago. My broker had sold it to the owner and had the listing. It was several hours away and he hadn't seen it recently. It turns out the owner really hadn't taken care of it; the boat was generally grimy it had several obvious problems the owner had neglected. The broker was majorly PO'd for wasting my time, his time, and that the owner had been less than truthful about the condition.

For the one I'm buying, I got several comments from people that had dealt with the dealer. All were glowing. Still leery of putting a deposit on a boat unseen, or flying to see a potentially bad boat, I was able to have a friend look at it for me. He sent me a bunch of photos and gave it a thumbs-up. This was a huge help.
 
I had a MM broker do a facetime call to do an initial look at a boat. Overall it went well. But he missed a few small things that I saw right away. Not deal killers, but nice to know items. My eye is generally a little more perfectionist, so I gave him the benefit of doubt. Now the survey, that was a different issue -- lots of deferred maintenance.
 
Okay, I moved on from the marinemax boat. I found a 38 da, Called the marina and got ahold of the broker for the boat. He has been completely unresponsive. I’ve requested certain photos and silence. I call him and he responds with a text, saying “please text me”, and then never acknowledges my questions in text.

The boat is listed with very few photos. I sent a friend to look at it and the boat has been neglected, which probably explains the lack of photos. Standing water from the last rain, water in the bilge, Algea growth on the hull, etc.

I have to wonder if the owner knows the broker is doing this type of job trying to sell the boat.

Do brokers really dislike dealing with buyers that aren’t using a buyers broker?

if you’re a 38DA owner with your boat listed, you may want to check on it..
 
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Okay, I moved on from the marinemax boat. I found a 38 da, Called the marina and got ahold of the broker for the boat. He has been completely unresponsive. I’ve requested certain photos and silence. I call him and he responds with a text, saying “please text me”, and then never acknowledges my questions in text.

The boat is listed with very few photos. I sent a friend to look at it and the boat has been neglected, which probably explains the lack of photos. Standing water from the last rain, water in the bilge, Algea growth on the hull, etc.

I have to wonder if the owner knows the broker is doing this type of job trying to sell the boat.

Do brokers really dislike dealing with buyers that aren’t using a buyers broker?

if you’re a 38DA owner with your boat listed, you may want to check on it..
Brokers I have dealt with run the gamut — good, bad and ugly. I tried for a year to contact one on a boat — yachtworld click thru, boattrader click thru, phone, web site email, Craigslist, personal email from web site, text. Zero response even as the price reduced over the year. Pathetic.

On a smallish boat no need for a buyers broker. I would imagine they would t want to split the commission.
 
How many times have we heard this from everyone on this forum?

It's a sellers market. I recently dealt with all of this buyer rejection and had to get my boots on the ground and bust my a$$ to make my purchase happen. In the end I managed to get my seller to do minimal efforts to close the deal.

A seller thinks: Why jump through all of the hoops a discerning buyer puts up, when another buyer makes a full price offer with no contingencies. Minimal effort, maximum gain. -Kirk Out
 
These guys are pulling 10% off of each deal. They can get off their lazy ass and take a few photos. Funny thing is this boat has been posted for quite a while. He’s costing his client sales. I’ve got the owners name at this point. Thinking about contacting him directly.
 
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How many times have we heard this from everyone on this forum?

It's a sellers market. I recently dealt with all of this buyer rejection and had to get my boots on the ground and bust my a$$ to make my purchase happen. In the end I managed to get my seller to do minimal efforts to close the deal.

A seller thinks: Why jump through all of the hoops a discerning buyer puts up, when another buyer makes a full price offer with no contingencies. Minimal effort, maximum gain. -Kirk Out
What were you expecting?... you can’t arm chair quarterback a purchase or a sale ..if you do you get ripped off. - Blueone out :)
 
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What were you expecting?... you can’t arm chair quarterback a purchase or a sale ..if you do you get ripped off. - Blueone out :)
Lack of photos and details in a listing should be a red flag. I went through this last August when shopping for my 380. Like Blue said you can’t do this from the comfort of you arm chair and he’s right. I must have called on a half dozen boats listed through brokers. Many never called back, some called days later stating the boat was pending sale or was sold. The reality is, in a sellers market, as Kirk said you have to change your strategy and bust your A$$ to make a deal happen. After losing out on a few, I switched gears and made an offer on my now new to me 380 based on my visual inspection, survey and sea trial. The boat was four hours away, so we made the trip to see her the next day. After ten minutes on the boat I knew paying for the survey was a no brainer. Before I made the offer (and get it in writing), the broker told me two other potential buyers were scheduled to view the boat and that I would be third in line. Made the offer and moved to the front of the line. I am pretty confident the boat would have sold before I could even see it. So stay diligent and work it until you find what you want and can live with. Good luck!
 
You say “visual inspection” do you mean virtually? If so was your offer contingent on seeing the boat in person? The boat above is 7 hours away from me, so not a bad drive really, but I’m not going to go knock on the door without even seeing any real photos of it.

I did pay a friend local to the area to view it and found out that there is a large crack in the arch. (I’m not sure why he failed to grab a photo of the crack) I may still go view the boat but only after I have made contact with two other boat brokers in the general area, so that I can view those as well. I don’t think this particular one is worth the effort based on my friends feedback.

I’ve spent 12 hours on the road this past week and have viewed four boats. I’m willing to make the drive for something if I can get some response from the broker.
 
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But I get the point you guys are trying to make. It’s just extremely frustrating dealing with people that seem to have no interest in taking your money.
 
You say “visual inspection” do you mean virtually? If so was your offer contingent on seeing the boat in person? The boat above is 7 hours away from me, so not a bad drive really, but I’m not going to go knock on the door without even seeing any real photos of it.

I did pay a friend local to the area to view it and found out that there is a large crack in the arch. (I’m not sure why he failed to grab a photo of the crack) I may still go view the boat but only after I have made contact with two other boat brokers in the general area, so that I can view those as well. I don’t think this particular one is worth the effort based on my friends feedback.

You guys assume that I’ve done nothing but sit on the couch. I’ve spent 12 hours on the road this past week and have viewed four boats. I’m willing to make the drive for something if I can get some response from the broker.
The boat I purchased had upwards of 30+ photos and an informative write up on the vessel so it was easier to make a gut decision on moving forward. My offer was contingent on my visual inspection in person. My point was if the listing is vague and broker unresponsive then it may be time to move on. You pretty much have to start on the couch until you narrow it down and understand how frustrating this can be in a sellers market. Hope you find what you’re after.
 
The boat I purchased had upwards of 30+ photos and an informative write up on the vessel so it was easier to make a gut decision on moving forward. My offer was contingent on my visual inspection in person. My point was if the listing is vague and broker unresponsive then it may be time to move on. You pretty much have to start on the couch until you narrow it down and understand how frustrating this can be in a sellers market. Hope you find what you’re after.
This boat has 20+ photos on the listing. But not a single photo showing the helm or cockpit area. All are 20-50’ away from the boat or interior photos.
 
I really hate to see interested buyers turned off by less than professional brokers or sales people.

I have a boat that is for sale and thus far I have avoided doing more than just listing it in the classified section because soliciting directly here might be considered something like "shooting fish in a barrel". But if you can stretch your criteria a bit, here is the nicest 450DA on the market:

https://www.boattrader.com/boat/1996-sea-ray-450-sundancer-7628533/

This boat is not listed with a broker......you found out why. I can promise you I only know how to shoot straight and will tell you like it is. The 450DA is a very docile boat and is just as economical as a 380DA with Cat Diesel engines she is as easy to handle as a 380. The 450 has essentially the same components as the 380 so the maintenance cost is the same even thought it is substantially bigger. I maintain this boat to the highest standards and she needs nothing. If direct answers to your questions and the truth offends you, well, you can keep trying to find a broker who will tell you the truth and respond to your questions.

The Boat Trader folks will not market anything to you and all my contact information is in the ad..........just click the "more information button", of you can send me a PM here on CSR. If you want complete information beyond what is in the ad. If you want references, ask just about anyone on CSR about me.
 
Thanks but I have a hard limit of 42’ and finding new docks in our area is extremely difficult due to recent hurricane damage taking down about 100 docks in September.

and I agree with you, I would MUCH rather deal with an owner at this point.
 
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I’ve spent 12 hours on the road this past week and have viewed four boats. I’m willing to make the drive for something if I can get some response from the broker.

Oh Man! 12 hrs! I understand your frustration. I got shut down on 2 deals before I scored on the boat I'm sitting in right now. Each deal required 8hrs round trip for inspection (although I really enjoyed the trips to camp in the desert there). The local surveyor in Page AZ didn't return my calls.

I had to take a deep breath and not get too obsessed, knowing that there would be another opportunity. That opportunity came and I'm so pleased with the outcome.

There will soon be a new thread from me in the Sport Cruisers forum detailing my new obsession...

Kirk Out ;)
 
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What were you expecting?... you can’t arm chair quarterback a purchase or a sale ..if you do you get ripped off. - Blueone out :)

That's correct. However, considering the cost, you could expect a decent amount of communication from the broker/seller for a committed buyer,

Kirk, oh forget it...:)
 
we are currently selling a boat and the broker I hired communicates with me very well. Its been listed
approx 2 weeks and has drawn 2 hard hits. Is it possible that the hot boat market is going to carry over into 2021?
 
we are currently selling a boat and the broker I hired communicates with me very well. Its been listed
approx 2 weeks and has drawn 2 hard hits. Is it possible that the hot boat market is going to carry over into 2021?

I hope so because mine will hit the market after bottom paint and wax. :)
 
I just don't want to own 2 big boats , already have put a deposit down on another boat.
Should have not went and looked. Oh well.
 
I have a “verbal contract” on a sundancer. Top of my budget, but Im tired of looking, and this boat is several years newer than what I was looking at before. Now if I can just get a signature from the seller, I can’t start the next steps.
 

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