From: Wayne Gilham
Sent: Tuesday, December 07, 2004 10:30 AM
To: Pacific Northwest
Subject: RE: [pacnorthwest] was browsers/now looking for next boat

Since you asked.......some input from one in the industry (yacht brokerage): Yes, in many ways, it's a similar "protocol" to real-estate shopping ---

You have two distinct directions, choose which-ever makes the most sense for you --

1. Find a broker you like to work with, and allow him to "open the door" to each boat you have interest in. As long as your broker -- rather than you -- makes the first contact to the boat-of-interest's listing brokerage, your broker can establish a "co-brokerage" arrangement, will assist you in preparing your offer, will hold your hand during sea-trial and survey, and will share in the commission. There MAY be an advantage to you, in having such continuity -- by using one broker, he is a second (possibly more experienced) set of eyes that have viewed all the boats with you, and can thereby offer solid comments on relative suitability/value of the various boats... Usually, if the boat is moored near to the listing brokerage's office, the listing broker will be willing do a "courtesy showing" to you (without your broker attending) according to an appointment your own broker has arranged... but if the boat is far away or the listing brokerage is understaffed on your desired showing-day, your own broker MAY have to come with you to the boat. If you choose this path, then be sure to "feed" your broker with any and all leads you discover, such as listings on YachtWorld.com (the de-facto "multiple listing service")
2. Go out and contact each brokerage house directly, by e-mail, by phone and in-person, where-ever you find a boat-of-interest. Once you have contacted a brokerage in any of the above ways, they will consider you "their" client, and will NOT be interested to share commission with your favorite broker brought into the negotiation later. It is considered un-ethical and actually against the published co-brokering "manual" of the Northwest Yacht Broker's Association (NYBA), for a buyer to him(her)self contact a brokerage about a particular boat and then only later drag in their own broker to complete the deal. The particular advantage with this direct-contact approach, is that you can be more "spontaneous" in your search, just dropping in whenever you hear of another boat of interest. The distinct dis-advantage, is that you'll be stuck with whichever broker is next "up" when you walk/call/e-mail in... luck of the draw whether the broker is even a sailor!!

As seller pays the brokerage commission, you don't see this expense (hey, it's buried in the cost you finally pay, of course) -- and commission cost total is the same in either direction described above.

By the way, NYBA, a voluntary organization of most NW brokers, has a website with a fair bit of info on the role of brokers for buyers and sellers, their code-of-ethics, elements of a good purchase survey, etc... worth snooping: and hey, if you're curious who is writing all this, I'm the guy with the fu-manchu moustache second-from-the-left in the front-row of the Christmas-Party group-shot on their home page, at: http://www.nwyachtbrokers.com/

Some brokers only care about the boats they have listed, and have NO interest to help you find (and complete the deal on) other broker's boats... other brokers take a personal interest in the needs of their buyers and will go ANYWHERE to find them the "right" boat, even if it isn't in their own inventory. (obviously, when you find one of the latter type brokers, you've got a "keeper"!) Sometimes, your chosen broker can also assist in purchase of a "For Sale By Owner" boat -- that's negotiable in each case. There ARE significant legal and financial "safeguards" built into brokerage sales, not always in-place with "For Sale By Owner" transactions... But it seems the thresh-hold for a broker's involvement in any boat-transaction is around $15,000 to $20,000 selling-price; below that, the time and cost of the brokerage process cannot be justified.

There now is a certification process for Yacht Brokers -- quite a bit of study, a comprehensive test, 3-years experience in brokerage -- the Pacific NW leads the nation in percentage of brokers who have elected to "become certified", about 90 of us locally by now (out of several hundred brokers in the NW)... if these sort of extra qualifications appeal to you, look for the initials "CPYB" after your broker's name...

Regards,
Wayne Gilham
Gig Harbor Yacht Sales
Office: 253 851 2674
Cell: 253 318 9873
Member, "growing sailing" committee at NYBA (did you know there are fewer sailors in Puget Sound now than in 1980???) Gig Harbor Yacht Sales Owner, s/v "Hakuna Matata", Irwin 43 hull #3, lying Foss Waterway, Tacoma WA

----- Original Message -----
From: bob.gwinn
Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 9:30 PM
To: Pacific Northwest
Subject: RE: [pacnorthwest] was browsers/now looking for next boat

When browsing for boats and making contact with many brokers, what is the protocol? Should each broker know that you are working with other brokers too? Is boat shopping similar to house shopping with a real estate agent. Real Estate agents find x number of houses to show then let you drive by to see which ones are appealing. However, when searching for the "right" boat, it may be a national or international search. I am reluctant to strike up a conversation with a broker. I don't necessarily want to be tied to the first broker I meet. Is this an unusual perspective or have others encountered the same?

I am enjoying looking online but it isn't the same as banging my head on the companionway cover or stretching out to see if the v-berth is large enough.

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