Buyer Info
Are You A Yacht Buyer?
First of all thank you for considering the 'Pleasure Boating' way of life. It will be part of you and your family's life that will be cherished forever.
Since there are many, many yachts on the market - try to focus on your boating requirements. The average boater in the Pacific Northwest has 2-3 hours per day of actual operational time, a little more for sailing. Combine this with 8 hours of sleep (hopefully) and you have 12+ hours of living on the yacht. Carefully choose the style for comfort, amenities, space and just plain hanging out and enjoying life.
Pick a broker who will give you quality time with quality yachts. Steele-A-Weigh Yacht Sales hand picks their listings. A good broker should be someone who earns your trust who will also bring years of experience, good listening skills and should help you through the decision making process.
Buying a yacht is similar to purchasing a home; there is a great deal of pre-sale activity from getting the spouses' approval, to writing an offer and negotiating a firm and final price. Once these are done the fun starts - sea-trials - getting to feel the yacht before you buy it. We do not expect problems but all pre-owned yachts are 'USED' and a buyer must do their due-diligence with a complete mechanical inspection, hull and deck survey, and if required do repairs and a complete title search before closing. The buying process should be a learning experience in getting to know your next yacht. Steele-A-Weigh will be with you during the entire purchasing process - we want you to be comfortable with your new yacht. There should be NO 'Grey Areas'.
Getting comfortable with your yacht takes time. If we can assist you in finding the right moorage, mechanic, insurance agent, boat detailers and parts suppliers, we would like to lend our experience. It will be our pleasure to accompany you as you take your first cruise.
Steele-A-Weigh Yachts WANTS to help you carefully choose your first or next yacht and with the proper diligence and preparations you can have many years of stress-free cruising.
KEEP IT SIMPLE!
When an 'Offer' is written, try to keep the Subjects and Conditions simple. The purchase is only a small part of your boating future, but you must do it right. Let the Broker earn his fee and spend time on the Mechanical Inspections, the Marine Survey, the Sail Inventory. All your due-diligense will be well worth the time and money. Don't get so caught up in trying to 'win' the deal that you fail to enjoy the purchase process that culminates in the ownership of your new boat. Remember if the Sellers are good people, a little goodwill will go a long way.
COMFORT & CONFIDENSE:
BOTTOM LINE - Steele-A-Weigh Yachts will not let you leave the dock until you are comfortable with your new yacht. If you have questions or need assistance in learning the vessel we WILL help. If we can pass on any bits of advice or experience, we want you to enjoy pleasure boating.
RESALE, RESALE, RESALE:
It is a fact that the average Pacific Northwest boater will own 4-5 boats in their lives. So think re-sale! There are two things Buyers should think about when considering resale. First, buy at the right price. Second, buy the right boat. Some boats do not hold a resale value as others do. Please be wary of any broker or Dealer predicting resale value. If we were this good we would not be selling boats!
Motor yachts with updated equipment, newer electronics, nice dinghy packages, diesel heaters and lower hours on the engines usually hold their values more. Likewise with sailing vessels, good suits of sails, colourful spinakers, furling systems, dinghy packages and comfort items also add to their re-sale attraction. A good Broker should also point out the current local market conditions on a selected yacht.
I wish the B.C. Government had listened when I spoke against the 'Fast Ferries'.
"Remember there is a Buyer for every Boat and there is a Boat for every Buyer! Putting them together is FUN!"
