Contacting owner
- Thread starter Tim R.
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If it was mine, i would accept the contact
My old boat is with a broker, and if someone called me, I would let them know about it. After all until the broker sells it is still my boat. After it is sold, it is your boat.
My old boat is with a broker, and if someone called me, I would let them know about it. After all until the broker sells it is still my boat. After it is sold, it is your boat.
Like selling a house
This is like talking to the owner of a house that has been listed with a Real Estate Agent. I don't think there is anything precluding the contact. The Agent definately wouldn't like it but he has nothing to say about it unless there is a clause in the sales agreement that states all contacts with potential buyers must be through the broker. In which case it would be up to the seller to put you off (because you wouldn't know what the sales agreement says). I have the same feeling as you about brokers, if it were me and I knew the sellers number, I'd give them a call.
This is like talking to the owner of a house that has been listed with a Real Estate Agent. I don't think there is anything precluding the contact. The Agent definately wouldn't like it but he has nothing to say about it unless there is a clause in the sales agreement that states all contacts with potential buyers must be through the broker. In which case it would be up to the seller to put you off (because you wouldn't know what the sales agreement says). I have the same feeling as you about brokers, if it were me and I knew the sellers number, I'd give them a call.
Contact the Owner
Contact the owner it will save you a ton of work later on...what does it matter to the broker - they are still getting their compensation. My boat was donated and then transferred to a broker who took ownership. I never got the chance to talk with the PO and I even tried to look him up a few times. I have so many questions that the broker didn't know the answers to. Good luck - Rob
Contact the owner it will save you a ton of work later on...what does it matter to the broker - they are still getting their compensation. My boat was donated and then transferred to a broker who took ownership. I never got the chance to talk with the PO and I even tried to look him up a few times. I have so many questions that the broker didn't know the answers to. Good luck - Rob
Contact the Owner . . .
Why not? You want all the information that you can get. I had the experience this weekend of looking at a boat where the broker had some of the specs wrong - and as one of those items was important to me - I am glad that I got the info from the owner. I'd like to feel better about Brokers - but the more shopping that I do, the more the errors and gloss overs of problems make me very wary. Get the info, look for inconsistencies, its your money, with it you can always buy another boat another day.
Why not? You want all the information that you can get. I had the experience this weekend of looking at a boat where the broker had some of the specs wrong - and as one of those items was important to me - I am glad that I got the info from the owner. I'd like to feel better about Brokers - but the more shopping that I do, the more the errors and gloss overs of problems make me very wary. Get the info, look for inconsistencies, its your money, with it you can always buy another boat another day.
How about a little courtesy....why not ask the
broker that you would like to talk to the owner directly before proceeding with the sale. It shows respect on your part. If he does not want you to contact the owner....go look for another boat. abe
broker that you would like to talk to the owner directly before proceeding with the sale. It shows respect on your part. If he does not want you to contact the owner....go look for another boat. abe
What Kind of Contact?
To ask questions about the boat the broker might not know? To buy directly from the owner, bypassing the broker? The question is so vague as to be difficult to respond to coherently. If the boat has a "For Sale" sign on it with, or you see an ad with, the owner's contact info., the owner is downright inviting you to call him. If the only info. is the broker, then the broker is representing the owner. Asking the broker for the owner's number when it is not offered elsewhere I believe is a bit gauche. The broker can forward any questions/requests for information to the owner (again, he is the owner's agent in any sale). That's why has engaged a broker in the first place: to earn a commission by exposing his boat to a large body of potential buyers, and to handle details the buyer doesn't want to bother with; in essence, to keep his phone quiet. The suspicion that you will try to talk the owner into bypassing the broker in a direct sale-by-owner might arise. Nothing illegal about that (taking Steve's comments about the seller's contract with the broker in to consideration), but you asked about appropriateness, and appropriateness is a matter of etiquette, not law.
To ask questions about the boat the broker might not know? To buy directly from the owner, bypassing the broker? The question is so vague as to be difficult to respond to coherently. If the boat has a "For Sale" sign on it with, or you see an ad with, the owner's contact info., the owner is downright inviting you to call him. If the only info. is the broker, then the broker is representing the owner. Asking the broker for the owner's number when it is not offered elsewhere I believe is a bit gauche. The broker can forward any questions/requests for information to the owner (again, he is the owner's agent in any sale). That's why has engaged a broker in the first place: to earn a commission by exposing his boat to a large body of potential buyers, and to handle details the buyer doesn't want to bother with; in essence, to keep his phone quiet. The suspicion that you will try to talk the owner into bypassing the broker in a direct sale-by-owner might arise. Nothing illegal about that (taking Steve's comments about the seller's contract with the broker in to consideration), but you asked about appropriateness, and appropriateness is a matter of etiquette, not law.
Having worked
... as a part time broker, I found that every seller I dealt with was delighted to provide his phone number to a serious prospective buyer. Most of the time, that would lead to the buyer, seller, and me meeting at the boat to discuss anything the buyer wanted to know and for the seller to show the prospective buyer all the little things/upgrades about his boat that may not have been obvious. Contacting a selling owner should be a "win-win" for all concerned.
... as a part time broker, I found that every seller I dealt with was delighted to provide his phone number to a serious prospective buyer. Most of the time, that would lead to the buyer, seller, and me meeting at the boat to discuss anything the buyer wanted to know and for the seller to show the prospective buyer all the little things/upgrades about his boat that may not have been obvious. Contacting a selling owner should be a "win-win" for all concerned.
And From the Seller . . .
And - from the seller - I found out that the broker's written info was WRONG. The item in question was important to me and became one of several reasons that I have rejected the last boat that I looked at. I surprises me how many times that even someone like me with little experience buying a larger boat has found broker info to be wrong. Verify everything, wherever you need to go to get the info.
And - from the seller - I found out that the broker's written info was WRONG. The item in question was important to me and became one of several reasons that I have rejected the last boat that I looked at. I surprises me how many times that even someone like me with little experience buying a larger boat has found broker info to be wrong. Verify everything, wherever you need to go to get the info.
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