When buying or selling a house or yacht one is faced with the decision of whether or not to use a broker. On one hand, you might be tempted to try to save money by avoiding the commissions paid to a real estate agent or broker. On the other hand, if you don’t have a lot of experience in this area, it is not wise to make a large purchase alone. In this article, I will review some of the pros and cons of for sale by owner and share some of my personal experiences. I have bought and sold both yachts and homes without an agent. When buying a yacht, the salesperson is referred to as a broker. When buying a home, the salesperson is typically referred to as an agent. In this article, I will use the terms agent and broker to refer to the salesperson.
Before sharing some of my personal experiences with for sale by owner I wanted to provide 10 reasons you might want to consider hiring a broker.
In a large transaction having an expert reduces your risk of a potentially painful mistake.
A broker can ensure you are paying or offering a fair price, make sure a title search is completed and hold money in escrow.
A broker likely has key relationships with mechanics, contractors, and boat yards.
A broker should be an expert on the local market.
You might miss one of your options without the help of an agent.
A broker should help you make decisions based on logic and deal with the emotions of a stressful negotiation.
Post survey/inspection a broker can help you negotiate.
A broker understands the laws that relate to selling disclosures in your state.
The showings will most likely be done by the broker.
A broker can help you with best practices for staging.
While it is important to hire the right agent, there are a few other professionals that a more important than the agent. When purchasing a home, the most important professional is the home inspector. When purchasing a yacht your most important professional is the surveyor (another name for inspector). Picking the right real estate attorney is also very important. I recommend that you do your homework on these professionals. Don’t just use the first person your agent recommends. If you are buying a home in Maryland, I recommend you talk to Rick Marlow from A Game home inspections. Check out his Facebook page to learn more about the things Rick does and others may not.
In May 2020 I sold my 2007 36 Silverton Convertible. My best response was from my listing in the Silverton Owners Club Web Site. This was because people that reached out were pretty sure they wanted to purchase a Silverton. I also made YouTube video. If this had failed I would have listed my boat in the local Chesapeake Bay Paper the Salty Dog. and in Boat Trader.
If you want to sell your own boat, be prepared to put in the time and to be patient. Selling a boat can take more than a year unless you are willing to sell it below market value. If you don’t use a broker expect it will take longer and you will likely sell your boat for less. To some people, it is worth not having to pay a broker 7-10% of the sales price.
In the case of my Silverton I listed the boat for $139,000 and sold it for $129,000. Similar boats had sold in the post two years from $120,000 to $150,000. After the survey I had four issues to fix. I was lucky that I had a good relationship with my mechanic and he fixed them quickly. I may have been able to sell the boat for more if I waited but it could have been a wash with the money I was spending to store the boat.
In 2013 I sold my 2006 Sea Ray 320 Sundancer without a broker. The hardest part about for sale by owner is getting found by the right people. Yachtworld is the best online search engine for boats. The problem is that if you don’t use a broker then you can’t list your boat on Yachtworld. The second problem is figuring out how to price your boat. Listing prices for boats are all over the map. When I sold my Sea Ray prices on the internet ranged from $99,000 to $140,000. I received many low-ball offers. I accepted an offer for $95,000 and ended up settling at $85,000 due to poor credit on the part of the buyer and his ability to qualify for the larger loan.
I also sold my Condo without an agent in 2000. This was before the internet, so I put up signs, put an advertisement in the Washinton Post, and conducted an open house. The top bid was from a woman with an agent. I agreed to pay the agent a reduced commission. In 2000 the reason to have an agent was to list on MLS. Today with Zillow this less important. I also saw adds to have your house on MLS for $99. Since the seller pays the commission, I recommend that the buyer (especially of a condo) have a great agent. The seller should be willing to pay a commission to the buyer’s agent.
Have you had success selling your home or yacht without a broker?