Jeff’s Advice to Boat Sellers

You’ve decided to sell your boat. Perhaps you want to upgrade to a larger boat or you may have developed other interests and want to move on, whatever the reason, you want to get top dollar for you boat in the least amount of time. Today’s boat market is very competitve and the WCYB Sellers Tips will help you to be successful in the boat selling process.

Here is a suggested list of selling tips
that you will want to know:

• Gather all of the information and documentation about your boat. You’ll want to put these in an orderly file that contains: Model Number, Hull Number, Manufacturer, Year Built, Length, Width (beam), Engine make, HP and hours, Generator info, Equipment and Features, Size of fuel tanks, water tanks, holding tanks, trailer if you have one and any manuals that belong with the boat. As you can see, its a lot of information and you want to present it to a potential buyer in the same attractive and concise format that manufacturers do.

• Get your boat thoroughly cleaned up. Use a professional service if need be. Go over everything, from stem to stern and don’t neglect the engine and bilge areas. A clean boat sells faster and for more. Be certain to remove the clutter. All that stuff laying around needs to go... buyers want to see a clean, well organized boat.

• Does it need any repairs? Nothing kills a sale faster than a boat that won't make it through sea trials. Think about it. Would you want to buy a boat that has gremlins or doesn’t function properly?

Have everything repaired professionally. Be certain that the engines, generators and pumps all perform to manufacturer’s specs. Have all of the electronics checked out, repair or replace anything that doesn't work right.

Invest in having a marine surveyor conduct a survey to ensure that there are no surprises when a buyer comes to look at your boat.

• Has your boat been regularly maintained? Be sure to have all of your maintenance records available in a neat orderly format that can be easily reviewed by a prospective buyer and their Marine Surveyor.

• Pricing your boat sensibly is clear a case where less is more. A properly priced boat sells faster in a competitive market. If your boat is priced higher than comparable boats on the market, be prepared to explain why your boat is worth more.

•Remember, that this is someone else’s dream and they aren’t looking for it to be a nightmare. In short, “ Do unto others…”

Good luck and good selling!

  Jeff Pierce, CPYB

Windy City Yacht Brokerage