Spent 4 hours showing the boat yesterday

Surveys should not be negotiating tools. There should be an agreement between the buyer and seller on the price before permission is given to survey the boat. Finding serious deficiencies or safety issues is a reason to kill the deal; rejecting a boat because a trim tab 1/4" out of alignment is laughable.

Todd's situation was different. His surveyor found a severely corroded B-III, obviously needing replacement and Todd took the option of telling the seller he was going to kill the deal and walk away or seller could replace the $7500 outdrive and keep the deal alive.......his brokerage listing said the boat had a v-8 and a Bravo III outdrive. Had it said "v-8 w/ a Bravo-III in need of replacement", Todd could not have backed out without the risk of being sued for specific perormance on the contract.

In you example, if the surveyor/buy finds a trim tab 1/4" out of alignment as a reason to Greg should just laugh at him.
 
Well said and I agree. I presented the boat as turn key, no known mechanical or systems issues and feel very confident stating that.
 
So why kill the deal with the guy? By putting the buyer on the defensive, you killed any chance you had of him coming back to you, or at least made it very hard. Say he does get financing in 2 months, your boat is still not sold... I would have left the door wide open for him to come back in.

What I would have done, not saying this is right or wise, I would have called 10 finance companies and requested a brochure from each of them. Put everything in a package along with a bottle of champagne with a custom label on it with the name of your boat and something along the lines of "I put this package together for you to help in your quest for financing. Also here's a bottle of champagne that I hope you will enjoy breaking on the bow of your boat in the near future. Call me if you have any questions or would like to see the boat again."

Leave it on a positive, door is open note. towards yes, not leaving it at no.
 
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"I would have left the door wide open for him to come back in."

I did, I told him we would honor the agreed price we reached Friday with him until the boat was sold. I was going to counter but he gave me enough information to realize there were no more funds on his end.

It's pretty clear at this point he does not have the funds for more than what he re-offered me yesterday. Yesterday's offer is not acceptable, he has no additional funds, so now what? I am not going to negotiate with myself...it makes no sense.
 
mrsrobinson said:
So, how can I find out if someone really has the money/finances to buy our boat when they say they do? I am thinking next time, once we reach an agreed price make it contingent on them providing bank documentation that they have been approved or they have the funds available.
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You can't. And by the way, it's none of your business. Your only concern is that you have the secured funds or cash in hand before handing over the boat. No different than selling a car or motorcycle. You'll just have to deal with the lookers and talkers.
 
I agree with you....but why is it different then buying house? The buyer has to get pre-approved when buying a home...why are buyers not pre-approved when buying a boat? Not disagreeing or arguing with you, just thinking out loud.

.
 
I guess - at least at this juncture - Gary was right.

Greg, you had way way way too much emotional investment in this deal. Step back and look at it as a business transaction. If it is priced correctly, the right buyer will come along.
 
mrsrobinson said:
"I would have left the door wide open for him to come back in."

I did, I told him we would honor the agreed price we reached Friday with him until the boat was sold. I was going to counter but he gave me enough information to realize there were no more funds on his end.

It's pretty clear at this point he does not have the funds for more than what he re-offered me yesterday. Yesterday's offer is not acceptable, he has no additional funds, so now what? I am not going to negotiate with myself...it makes no sense.
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Greg--->:smt021 <--- Me
 
Hampton said:
When I sold my 250, I spent a lot of time with the couple and their friend (a former Sea Ray saleperson) showing them all about the boat, presenting stacks of maintenance records, and taking a nice, calm, relaxing cruise around the bay showing each one of them how to trim it out, how to find the best cruise speed...

When we got it back on the trailer, they handed me a cashier's check for the asking price (reduced a couple of times, but reasonable). I signed over the title and we were done. I had previously spent time with the man on the boat in a parking lot. I think it was all time well spent, but it could have been wasted too, I guess - if they hadn't bought it, that would get real old after a few days of training newbies.

Hopefully, at my next sale, it won't be a newbie.
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Holy cow Hampton, You have more balls than Frank W. Ooopps, Sorry Greg. I say stick with your price keep the boat and if it doesn't sell, enjoy it for another year. Good luck, Brian
 
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Mrs. Robinson,
Sorry that didn't work out, sounded like someone didn't have their "ducks in a row" and took up far too much of your time. Hope there is a quick sale with a qualified buyer in the near future!
 
mrsrobinson said:
I agree with you....but why is it different then buying house? The buyer has to get pre-approved when buying a home...why are buyers not pre-approved when buying a boat? Not disagreeing or arguing with you, just thinking out loud.

.
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A seller may specify pre-approval before showing his house/boat but that is his option. If you want to prevent tire kickers then specify that in your add and ask the question when they first call you. Your buyer should have been upfront with you about his situation and committed subject to financing. I think it would have saved you both some stress as it appears he likely has as many questions about buying as you do about selling..
 
Its different because houses generally don't cost 64 k.

less 20% 51 k.....take the money and run.
 
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Reviewing all this reminds me that there is a reason people pay brokers to sell boats.... especially when the economy sucks as bad as it does right now.
 
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Well, I'm sorry the deal did not worked.

The fact that you had agreed on a price with the buyer and then he called to change that shows he is not serious or cannot make his mind with such an important transaction. But this is a buyer market and he has the advantage.

Believe it or not, when I sold my first boat the broker and myself spent hours answering questions and providing information to a "fake" potential buyer. This person was alone had a lot of time to spend and only wanted to talk to somebody. He admitted it after a while......

I hope you will sell it soon.
 
I agree on the broker. I tried selling a 99k boat by myself, the broker had it sold to the first and only call on the boat.
 
Dancin Dave said:
Its different because houses generally don't cost 64 k.

less 20% 51 k.....take the money and run.
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Thats kinda what I've been thinking too, except maybe tell him 15% less. Boats are a hard sell now and with winter around the corner, theres not a whole lot of serious lookers. Things won't pick up again till March/April and who knows where gas prices and the economy in general will be at that time which of course influence boat sales. My guess is that it won't be any better than now. Plus, you may only get 55k for it next april/may since it will essentially be one year older then. If thats the case, is it worth sitting on it till then? Plus, it will put you in the buyers seat over winter which IMO, is a time for better deals as a buyer. Most sellers have not had any activity in quite some time in the dead of winter so they are a little more prone to take a lower offer, it worked in my case or so it seemed. It may be a good idea to rethink :huh: SB
 
I respectfully disagree with some points, and agree with others.

If the buyer only had 20% less than the agreed price. . .why did he offer the agreed price? That is not negotiating in good faith.

You don't need to have a pre-approved mortgage to buy a house. It just makes you *more likely* to get the buyer to accept your bid if you have a mortgage contingency clause. I have been house shopping in the last year. . .pre-approval did not come up, and it was pretty clear that it was not going to come up until an actual purchase offer was prepared.

Buying a boat is like buying a house in many regards.

Money talks.

You don't need a "pre-approved" boat loan to buy a boat. What you need is money. I was not pre-approved for my boat. . . .and I don't even remember if anyone even asked. I provided a depo$it, and then Balance on Delivery.

Did I make an verbal offer then lower it? NO. I even told the seller a day in advance what I was going to offer. (it was a fair offer) Made the process of signing the purchase agreement much easier.

But the purcha$e agreement should be clear: If the buyer fails to produce the funds. .then the depo$it goes to the $eller. If the buyer requests a "financing contingency" as part of the contract. . .then THAT would be the time to ask about pre-approval and appropriate documentation before YOUR signature goes on the purcha$e aggrement.
 
Off topic warning:

Dang Greg; I just looked at your add in some detail.

That is a sweet sounding boat. $65K does not sound unreasonable to my ears at all. And the Admiral calls me cheap! especially considering the repower with FWC. (caution: I know nothing about current boat values); In my mind, for 10 year old boats the "book" means practically nothing. Mechanical and Cosmetic condition is the entire game at this point.
 
I am not following why I made a "mistake" by walking away. The guy did not have any money, not even enough for his last offer. So, like I said, why would I negotiate with myself? Take what money and run....he did not have any. In fact, he told me enough to make me realize he probably did not even have the cash to pay for the survey and haul out, $700.

A little more info....he called, made an offer. I called back the next day and tried to meet him half way. He said no with no counter. So I came down a little more, he said no with no counter (Yeah, negotiating w/myself, wrong thing to do I know). So I finally agreed to his price.

He calls back and tells me he forgot about taxes and that he needs to reduce his price to include the taxes since XX.XX is all the bank will give him. I was not happy about but I agreed. He then tells me he is not leaving a deposit. I resist, he says he will walk, so I agree. Two days later he calls and drops his price 20%. I asked him for a deadline to counter, which we agreed to, this Friday. He calls me yesterday to tell me his bank will not give him a loan for his last offer. All the while he told me he had been approved and was ready to go.

So I ask you, where did I make a mistake here? The man made the first offer with money he did not have. He reduced his offer by 20%, still with money. he did not have. I should have taken what money and run?
 
Sea Gull said:
I guess - at least at this juncture - Gary was right.

Greg, you had way way way too much emotional investment in this deal. Step back and look at it as a business transaction. If it is priced correctly, the right buyer will come along.
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Agree to disagree. We are ready to sell, but we need cash, not talk. The Mrs and I were considering taking his last offer, or trying to counter again, but I asked enough questions to realize this guy was not in a position to buy a boat.
 
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