Why Work with a Brokerage If you have never purchased or sold a sail boat or yacht in the past you may not realize exactly how big of a purchase or sale this can be. You can spend as much as or even more on a sail boat or yacht that you did on your home. Instead of going into this process not having all of the information you need to buy or sell the boat of your dreams for the right price, you might want to get some help. Just as you probably did not buy your home without a real estate agent you are well advised to use a sail broker or brokerage when you buy a sail boat or yacht. Finding a Boat Brokerage A sailboat brokerage can be found in your local area or on the Internet, whichever appeals to you more. A brokerage that is in your local area will generally give you more one on one attention, but this is not always the case. There are many online boat brokerages these days that will simply broker your boat deal from a distance as they have contacts in your region that will likely fit your need whether you are buying or selling. For more information about sail brokerages, visit: http://www.sailoft.com/broker.htm What is a Sail Boat Brokerage? A sailboat brokerage can be likened to a real estate agent for boats. Just as a real estate agent will do when you are shopping for a home, a sail broker will be able to give you specific information about each boat that you take a look at. For instance, if you are in the market to purchase a boat, a broker can help you get all of the true specifications on the boat before you buy it. In fact, the sail broker may actually have contacts with sellers that are selling high quality and fairly priced boats. If this isn’t the case, the sail broker can view boats with you that you choose to view. Taking the broker with you will help you find out more about the boat, to really determine the value of the boat, and will just ensure that you get the best possible price for the boat based on its age, condition, the bells and whistles on the boat, and the market. A sail broker basically brokers your deal, overseas all of the logistics and ensures that you get the best deal, whether you are the buyer or seller. If you do not have a lot of experience buying and selling sail boats and yachts you will find that the expertise offered by a sail or yacht brokerage is second to none. You can save a lot of money as a buyer and make a lot of money as a seller when you work with an experienced boat brokerage. What Exactly Does the Sail Boat Brokerage Do For You? The answer to this question varies from sailboat brokerage to sail boat brokerage. Many of the brokerages out there are offered online and the part of the brokerage is to actually find you boats that meet your need and then broker a deal between you and the seller. If you are selling, the boat brokerage will help you make a deal with the buyer. As you can see, the broker simply provides you with a contact to the type of boat that you are looking to buy or sell. Other boat brokerages have very personal relationships with their clients and will actually take them out and tour boats with them. This type of relationship works for a lot of people, especially when they are buying or selling their first boat. This type of sail boat brokerage isn’t as common anymore, but it still exists and can be a wonderful tool to utilize as a buyer or seller. Again, the job of the boat brokerage is to provide you with contacts to either buy or sell the boat of your dreams. Assistance With Buying and Selling The boat brokerage will often help you through the purchase or sale of your boat too, providing all of the paper work and such that you need. The sale of a boat is much like that of a home and it’s not uncommon for both the buyer and the seller to have a representative from their boat brokerage with them. This assistance through the process is very nice because if you haven’t done this or haven’t done it all that much you may need assistance on transfer of ownership and the like. Costs of Working with a Sail Boat Brokerage The costs of working with a brokerage vary from company to company, but luckily the fees are usually built into the purchase or sale price so that you do not have another bill to pay. Just as a real estate broker charges a percentage of the sales price, so too will the boat brokerage. You can usually bet on the fact that the brokerage will charge at least 3% of the sales price, though it may be quite a bit more dependent upon the market you are in and the extent of the services that you have required. Generally, the cost of a boat brokerage is more than worth it because of all of the assistance you received.