Why its a Good Idea to Have a Boat Broker When Buying a Cruising Boat

[@AJ-zn8fp]

We have purchased 10 catamarans over the past 26 years and sold 9. Out of the 10 we purchased 4 were through a broker and we sold all 9 for sale by owner. Good brokers are hard to find in my opinion. It took us 4 months to receive our $17,000 deposit back from a broker after we refused a boat we had a contract on. Turns out they had cashed the check and were covering their asses. The advantages of buying through an owner are you have a contact to the person that owned and maintained the boat for years, priceless information. We have made many friends with the people we sold boats to, and his dates back 20 years. The paperwork to buy or sell a documented or state registered boat is really easy, no broker or documentation company needed. Don't get me wrong, a good broker will help you through the process, especially if a first time buyer, but beware, most are out to only make a living and couldn't care about the outcome. They are salesmen!

[@jimmyz688]

A J Solid answer from experience. I personally would have walked from this broker after 3 min of him talking. After the series of videos they have made with him I'm 5000% sure I would have made the right choice. But hey...the couple who made this video seem to like him. That's all that matters

[@yanassi]

Seems that broker registered escrow account would have prevented that.

[@jandradventures]

We'll be back next week after the holidays with more "vloggy" videos but we wanted to get this out to share. We filmed this with Gary while in Florida to help share some info around boat brokers and what they do. Hope it helps some people! :)

[@KCautodoctor]

These videos with Gary have been great. This video has so much great info that many people never consider during a typical boat buying process, without a reputable boat broker to help them along when certain issues pop-up and could get very costly if you did not know any better.

[@TheToycloser]

Gary will be my broker when the time comes!

[@thomastaylor6991]

Fiduciary being the key word. I'm sold on Mr. Fretz.

[@james5460]

Gary is great, love his insights. Good job!

[@TODDFINK1]

Gary should do a youtube reality show. I bet it would be awesome!

[@rustybrindle3134]

Thank you for helping walk us through what you’ve learned! It’s always helpful.

[@OrvilleHarmison]

Thanks guys for the straight forward information. Big thumbs up.

[@edwardkeating4037]

Thanks for the highly informative video! Gary is extremely knowledgeable and experienced! I recently sold my boat, for sale by owner (FSBO) last fall. Even though it worked out in the end, I highly recommend using a broker to guide you through the highly complex process.

[@grifter7777]

Big fans, Thank you for the videos. We are planning on purchasing a Cat next year and heading out. I have a couple of questions. 1) I have noticed that you have had a few problems after purchasing your Cat would you still use the same broker and surveyor? 2) Would you mind sharing want the your boat was listed for and what you finally purchased it for? also about how much you have had to invest in it, so far? Thanks Again

[@onthebeaches]

As always...great information! THANKS!!! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and Jessica!! PEACE OUT!

[@bill4nier]

Thanks, guys! This was very informative. Thanks again for sharing. ⛵⛵⛵⛵⛵😊👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@GregFrucci]

Great video and thank you for creating it. I am on the hunt and have been in DIY mode, so I just emailed Gary. Peace to you on your path.

[@SV-DEDICATED]

Good vid and valid points. I think it's very, very, very, very difficult to find a broker that truly puts my interest first. That being said it's difficult to operate outside of the "system" without a broker.

[@onthebeaches]

Well said and I concur!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@clidiere]

I ♥ yachtworld.com!! Thanks for talking about the "buyer's agent" kind of broker. We don't have those were I live, so I knew nothing about them.

[@PackMuleMonday]

Very interesting - keep up the great work! One question - Gary mentions "It's better to have a US Broker represent you" and he gives several reasons that are applicable if you are a US citizen. By extension, wouldn't a Canadian buyer be better to use a Canadian broker for all the same reasons?

[@MsRandiCook]

Very good! I had no idea about split sales fees! Kinda like a home realtor.

[@justprocrastinate4664]

Thanks guys, I'm 6 months out and yes I will need a broker as I'm not a US Citizen. Ive learned a lot from your journey and your videos with Gary and to be honest It all seems a little daunting.. No Going Back.. See you out there.. Cheers

[@CatamaranChannel]

Nice info. Thanks for sharing. Keep sailing!

[@wincrasher2007]

buying the "right" boat, one that you keep for many years, is worth the expense of hiring an expert. but it doesn't end there - expect to pay for a couple surveys during your search - money well spent to avoid buying a money pit!

[@slandshark]

Interesting video. We are shopping right now for a 34' sailboat (monohull). We recently sold both our 1978 Catalina 25' and our 2007 Catalina 28' over the summer (sold both in the same month!). We didn't use a broker with any of the buying or selling of our boats. However, we did use the knowledge of a very hardcore sailor friend when looking at boats. The boat we are looking for now we will have survey'd prior to purchase. Still not sold on the idea of a broker though, since in our case they aren't really doing any work for us, just showing us boats that we found on our own already...which just inflates the price.

[@ceesklumper]

Very informative, thanks!

[@RaulMartinez-ln8zq]

GREAT video. Thank you!

[@SailingSisu]

Hey! You guys are such an inspiration! We started to follow you guys, because we are quitting the rat race too :-)

[@Nixontheman]

Gary’s like ‘ok ok it’s beer o’clock’

[@chiltonpr1]

Thanks to both ! Very informative conversation!

[@CaptR.B.]

Often wondered about this in detail... Good video...Thx!

[@josephhinton5489]

have you done a vid on how to prepare for the first walk through of a boat being considered for purchase?

[@MrRourk]

Thanks for this. Can we get a video on the benefits of buying a boat through a LLC, Trust, or Private Individual Sale?

[@bobbybaldeagle702]

Good INFO!!! Thank you for sharing it...

[@regressmenot]

Excellent video.

[@SawmillerSmith]

I've been looking at those free sailboats. Some look good.

[@jacksonms212]

haha old sailor's get things done !!! Nice vid and thank you !

[@robjones1772]

Great video!!! I’ll email you both as soon as I’m ready to go

[@hktmc300]

If you buy a new boat, is it better to have a broker?

[@UkeOrPuke]

I think I watched a video with Gary in it and a different couple before?

[@johnswanson6994]

Very informative. A couple questions. First the diff between a 5% and a 10% commission is huge. What determines the commission %age in most cases - size/price? I also understand there are Maritime escrow companies that scrutinize boat title before closing. Are they the same as a brokers escrow account? Thanks for the video. Cheers.

[@billregan1981]

The seller pays the commission on the sale of the yacht, typically 10%. The commission is then split between sellers and buyers broker. There is no cost to you for using the broker as a buyer other than an administration fee of a few hundred dollars. Very similar to the way Realtors work.

[@jfreeman020]

In the video you mentioned Brokers are licensed in Florida and California are brokers in Texas licensed?

[@SenatorPerry]

I liked it.

[@t147han]

How do you justify 10%.So if a boat is a million.It will cost you 100000.For the Broker.

[@travelright8150]

LOL, this guy is like every Yacht Broker i've ever met. They are worse than a used car salesmen. :D

[@andiharper4498]

Real Estate Agent, Taxi Driver, Second hand car salesman... Boat Broker, enough said.

[@slimshady8249]

Could someone answer how one might go about getting the proper sailing certifications? Do you guys recommend anyone in particular in florida? I have watched alot of sailing videos but never hear much talk about what exactly is required. Thanks

[@justwayne4785]

grimms bridge I’m sure that they have a playlist of their sailing qualification process, but in general seek out a industry standard training provider and then look for good reviews.

[@yankepilot]

I'm trying to listen to you, but I can't get past that your wearing an ear bud connected to your IPhone while you have a live human next to you. You may want to remove it next time. It looks like your not paying attention!

[@psychollek]

Uhm, I might be not up to date, but where is your dog ... nothing happened to her I hope ?