Selling your boat is a big decision. Some owners take months – even years – to finally pull the trigger. When the time comes to sell, you don’t want it to spend months on the market. You want to get money for your boat so that you can purchase a different model or use your funds for another hobby. There is more involved with selling a boat than just setting a listing price and taking a few pictures. While you could handle things by yourself, there is plenty of room for error. When a boat spends a long time on the market, it will start to become less attractive to potential buyers. As a result, this lower perceived value of the boat leads to fewer chances for a sale, and could end up costing you more unnecessary time and money spent trying to sell your boat.
You can avoid all of those issues by getting some professional sales help to sell your yacht. A yacht broker has the expertise to get your boat ready for sale and quickly find an interested party for it. Here is how you can improve your chances of selling your boat with the help of a yacht broker.
Get It Ready for the Sale
When you are ready to sell your boat, you need to do a little maintenance to get it ready for potential buyers. You should perform a thorough cleaning of the boat from top to bottom. This is your chance to make your boat shine and impress buyers. Take the time to fully clean your boat, both on the outside and the inside. Wax the hull and be sure the bottom paint is in good condition. Pump out your holding tanks and deodorize if necessary. Buyers will look everywhere when inspecting the boat, so don’t forget to clean bilges, organize storage lockers and inspect engine compartments.
You want to have your yacht look as good as it did when you first purchased it. Do whatever it takes to have the yacht look and smell its best. If you don’t have the time to clean and prepare the boat yourself, hire a professional to handle the job. This goes such a long way with buyers and is worth every dollar spent. If you have a larger yacht, consider staging it as you would a home before you take the listing photos. A nicely made bed and a few throw pillows can go a long way towards making your boat appear well kept. When you work with a broker, they can tell you what needs to be spruced up for a faster sale and have the resources to help you get these things done.
Find the Right Listing Price
Setting the right price from the start is crucial in the success of selling your boat. A yacht broker can give an honest opinion as to what they think your boat is worth in the current market space. They use an arsenal of information to help determine the right price for your boat including recently sold comps, current boats on the market, the value of equipment and upgrades, and the overall demand of a particular model.
Once you have all of the data, take some time to analyze it. Be honest with yourself. Price your boat to sell. When it is priced too high, it can sit on the market for a long time without any potential buyers. A broker will monitor market activity to ensure the price is competitive based on interest and feedback from buyers and will consult you accordingly to be sure your boat is in the best position to sell.
Gather Your Paperwork
When you work with a yacht broker, they want all the necessary paperwork for your boat, including copies of the boat title and registration, and titles for the tender or trailer, upfront. You will need that paperwork to complete the sale and transfer ownership of the boat. Don’t wait until the last minute to gather all of your important papers.
Along with that, this is the time to find your boat’s maintenance records and other papers to show that you have been maintaining the vessel. Buyers will ask about the maintenance history of the boat and providing this information upfront often goes a long way in the sale of a vessel. It also helps the broker provide accurate information and highlight recent maintenance and upgrades in the listing. By providing this information, you can ensure a seamless closing on the yacht when the time comes.
Marketing Your Boat
You don’t have to worry about marketing with the right brokerage team. A yacht broker will prepare a high-quality listing for your boat including accurate boat information, special features that make your boat unique, upgrades, equipment, and quality photos. This listing will be published not only on their company website, but also on the top sites such as YachtWorld.com, BoatTrader.com, and Boats.com that buyers frequently go to when they are looking for a boat to buy. 99% of buyers do their research online first, so having your boat featured on these top nation sites is crucial and allows your boat to be seen by potential buyers all over the world.
There are some other simple ways you as a seller can help get exposure to your boat locally. If you have time, take your boat to a location where potential buyers can see it. Because there is limited inventory on the market, many buyers will travel from thousands of miles away to see your boat. Make it easy for them to get to it by relocating it to an area that’s easy to travel to.
Have your broker put their listing sign on your boat, so when you go out on the water for the weekend, others will see it and know that its for sale. Also, talking to other boaters and letting them know your boat is for sale and who it is listed with gets the word out amongst your friends circle that your boat is available.
Find the Right Broker
If you don’t want to deal with the hassles of selling a boat, enlist the help of a yacht broker. These brokers can handle all of the hard work, like advertising and marketing, negotiating with potential buyers, and handling all of the logistics of showings, surveys, and inspections. They also handle all of the closing paperwork so that your boat is transitioned properly to the new owner at closing.
These professionals are the best option when you want to get a quick sale for your boat. Make sure to find someone with years of experience. While you will have to pay for the service, you never have to deal with those little time-consuming activities. For that reason, many people are turning to yacht brokers to sell their boats.
Sell Your Boat With Yacht Brokers of Annapolis
For a hassle-free way to sell your boat, reach out to Yacht Brokers of Annapolis. Our team has the experience to sell your yacht quickly. You never have to deal with the problems of placing it on the market by yourself. Let us handle all of those little details. You can schedule a consultation by calling 410-206-2755.
