Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Boat Evaluation - A Crucial Step for all Owners

By John Howard

From the viewpoint of the seller of a boat or yacht, but just as well for other involved people such as buyers, brokers, and marine surveyors, finding out the monetary worth of a marine vessel is one of the most crucial but also one of the most harrowing aspects of marine life.

As the potential seller of a boat or yacht, whether owned for pleasure or for fishing, and whether you plan to reinvest the proceeds of the sale into another boat or not, it is critical that you get the maximum used boat value from your vessel.

At first glance buyers may think that the subject is less crucial for them as there is a lot of choice of similar boats with clear prices, but make no mistake - don't become complacent and forget that not getting the best deal may mean losing tens of thousands of dollars.

But doing this is easier said than done. Without adequate knowledge of boat values, without knowing about the current market situation (often influenced by season and location), chances are that you will end up less well off than you thought. There are possibilities that you will do a deal which might seem to you very profitable in the beginning, but that a few days later you might realize that you could have got a much better deal in the nautical transaction.

To do the evaluation right, there are two principal routes: One is to employ a professional appraiser, the other one is to do it yourself. Hiring a broker is the easier and quicker solution, but it is not automatically the best option.

But then again, doing your own evaluation is a perfectly legitimate tactic, as long as you are willing to put in some work to educate yourself. And believe it or not, many people manage to do their evaluation better than the professionals.

To become your own appraiser for boat values, you need to look at as many resources as possible - and there are plenty of books and websites on the subject. Your aim should be to come up with realistic minimum and maximum process for the kind of boat you want or are about to sell.

For this, trade magazine classifieds (whether online or offline) are a fantastic place to start. Systematically collecting and comparing ads for similar boat classes over time will give you a very good idea of offer and demand, and therefore of current price levels.

Also good are boating festivals, which are usually organized by boating clubs and yachting marinas. These shows are excellent to pick up more info on boat values, plus people who come to the shows are experts in this industry and know what they are talking about. Don't underestimate the value of a chat with the right person to accurately pinpoint the possible value of a boat - and you may even find a buyer!

New boat exhibitions are good to gauge current fashions. Fashionable items demand a better price, and you can increase the value of your marine transaction by finding out what features and accessories are currently over- or undervalued.

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