Most boat sales involve two brokers. One is the seller's broker, who works with the owner, and the other is the buyer's broker, who stands with the buyer. The arrangement is called co-brokerage. It is the industry's usual way of bringing a buyer and a boat together when they are in different places.
What the seller's broker does
The seller's broker works under a listing agreement with the owner. They publish the listing, gather the boat's details and documents, and plan the viewings with the owner. They give the quickest answers to questions about the boat, because they know it and its owner best. They usually take the lead in preparing the sale agreement as well. In some deals the seller's broker also runs the client account in which the deposit is held. Their duty is to look after the owner's interests.
What the buyer's broker does
The buyer's broker starts from what you need. When we work with a buyer, this is the side we are on. We go through the market, speak to the brokers of suitable boats, verify what the listings say and take your questions to the other side. We prepare the offer, read the sale agreement on your behalf and follow the survey and the handover. The buyer's broker is also the one who explains the process to you in your own language. You decide which boat to see and what to offer. We prepare those decisions and carry them to the other side.
Registering the buyer
When the buyer's broker introduces you to a boat, they give your name to the seller's broker. That record makes clear which broker brought you to that boat. It also prevents the confusion that arises when the same buyer reaches the same boat by several routes. The registration is made in writing between the brokers, and all you do is tell us which boats interest you.
In practice it means this for you: once you have started on a boat with one broker, things stay orderly if you don't also discuss it with other intermediaries or with the seller directly.
How information travels
Communication runs mostly between the brokers. Your question comes to us, goes from us to the seller's broker and from there to the owner, and the answer comes back the same way. So you get your information without having to deal directly with an owner in another country. Where there is a difference of language or time zone, this arrangement keeps the conversation going without a break. When you go to see the boat, the two brokers are usually both there. The seller's broker presents the boat, and we get the answers to your questions.
Because the chain has more than one link, written confirmation is worth all the more. The offer, the counter-offer and the decisions taken are put in writing at every step.
Commission
The commission arrangement is set down in writing at the start. In the industry the seller usually pays the commission, and the two brokers share it according to their own agreement. In some deals the buyer's broker's fee is covered by a separate agreement with the buyer. Whichever arrangement applies, the parties know who pays the commission and how it is shared, and it is collected against an invoice.
What it means for you
Co-brokerage means that the boat is also assessed by someone on your side. It is the buyer's broker who questions the listing, asks about what is missing and builds the timetable around what is possible for you. All you need is to know in writing, from the start, which tasks your own broker takes on and how the commission is arranged.
When the two brokers work well together, you can look at a distant boat from your own side.
