Yacht salespersons and brokers in California are licensed and regulated by the California Department of Boating and Waterways http://dbw.ca.gov/.  We must take and pass a test to demonstrate a working knowledge of the industry. Our staff includes five full time licensed salespeople, our full time licensed broker, and our broker and I have put forth the effort to obtain the national title of "Certified Professional Yacht Broker" www.cpyb.net. Some salespersons are US Coast Guard Licensed Captains as well. As an organization and as individuals, some of us belong to the California Yacht Broker's Association www.cyba.info. We regularly attend industry training, California Yacht Broker's Association meetings and San Diego Yacht Broker's meetings.

When you first decide you would like to explore finding your “dream boat”, you may or may not know just what will suit your needs. Making the investment of purchasing a boat is a large consideration and deserves the attention and advice of a professional who works full time in the industry. All of our in-office sales staff are full time in yacht sales. We are willing to take the time to help you find the boat that will suit your needs within the parameters you want to work with. We have the resources to find virtually any boat that is already on the market that may be of interest to you. If the boat you want is not currently on the market, we can not only watch for it to be available, but take the time to contact owners of that model to identify boats that may be available even though they have not yet been officially listed for sale with a broker.

 

Off we go to take a look at potential candidates for the position of your “dream boat.” Occasionally, it is the first boat we see, but usually we end up looking at a few. Now that we've found you your "dream boat", how to make sure you are getting a good buy? We have the ability to check different valuation sources and to locate actual selling prices of same and similar boats.

Since we now have found a boat and an idea of what you'd like to pay for the boat, it's time to make an offer. We use an industry standard California Yacht Broker's Association "Purchase Agreement" which lists buyer and seller, identifies the boat, lists the price you are offering and specifies the terms and contingencies of the offer. The Purchase Agreement is accompanied by a deposit check typically in the amount of 10% of the offer. This check is held by your broker until the terms of the Purchase Agreement are agreed upon, then it is deposited in our Trust Account which is only used for client deposits on preowned boats. This money is used to pay for the expenses associated with purchasing a boat such as engine, rigging and/or hull surveyor’s fees, haulout, title search, etc.

 

Now it is time to begin clearing your contingencies. If financing is a contingency, it is the first contingency to be cleared, prior to doing a sea trial or survey. Once financing is out of the way, we will go out on a sea trial to see how the boat performs. If that is satisfactory, we proceed to the surveys which can include mechanical for the engines and generator, hull for the boat, and rigging for the sails and rigging on a sailboat. During the hull survey, the boat will go to a boatyard to be hauled out so the surveyor can inspect the areas of the boat that are normally underwater.

 

There are always deficiencies noted on surveys. Depending on the circumstances, the broker(s), buyer and seller negotiate who will be responsible for the correction of the deficiencies.

 

From here, generally, it is time to order an Abstract of Title (title search), draw up closing paperwork and arrange for slips and insurance. A good broker will help you with suggestions and assistance as needed in all these areas.

 

Now it is time to take possession of your “dream boat”. Congratulations!

 

If this description raises questions not answered here, please feel free to call me and ask.