Expert Real Estate Tips That Can Help You Sell Your Boat
Successful real estate agents know that to sell a high-ticket item like a home, it takes strategy, marketing, and the ability to develop a network of potential buyers. And there’s a lot that has to happen before the big announcement that the home is for sale. Bottom line, you only get one chance to make a good impression to catch a buyer’s eye whether it's to sell a home, or a boat.
Here are some tips used by these professionals that can help sell your boat in a timeframe and price that works best for you.
Improve Your Boat’s Dock Appeal
Curb appeal is making sure a home looks its best when first viewed, typically from the curb. So that could mean a fresh coat of paint, making sure the lawn is freshly mowed and the driveway is clear.
The same rules should apply to your boat’s dock appeal. Give your boat a good polish, and a new coat of paint for the bottom. Give the engine a good cleaning and tend to cosmetic issues like chips, cracks and rust. Make all necessary repairs as far as the operation of the boat. Empty and clean the interior to show how spacious it is. Imagine yourself as a buyer inspecting the boat from the inside out.
Create Your Marketing Materials
The best real estate agents hire photographers to take professional quality images of a home to make sure it looks just as good in online and in print as it does from the curb. It makes just as much sense to get the best photos of your boat. Take into consideration lighting and background. Show the boat in the water and with a background that’s clean and free of anything that might frame the boat in a negative light, like dark ominous clouds, or other boats in less than stellar shape, or building on land that look like they’ve been abandoned, etc. Also, when writing the description of your boat, go beyond the details by adding color and action in the words and make sure your copy is free of errors.
Price It Right
Being a market expert helps in pricing your boat. Online research should be able to tell you what buyers are seeing when they search for boats that are the same, make, model and year as the boat you’re trying to sell. To price higher than what is currently on the market, you’ll need to communicate your unique selling points (what makes your boat special). Pricing it right could lead to a quicker sale.
Get the Word Out
Select the right online sites and print publications to advertise your boat. Use the high-quality photographs and well-written boat description to create your ad. Once that happens get the word out to your network by posting a link to your ads on your social media platforms. Get higher results by adding a few personal notes to your post.
Plan Ahead for your Open Boat
For open houses, real estate pros ensure the interior is clean or and impressive, and everything is in order no matter where a potential buyer might wander. For potential buyers who are interested in taking your boat for a test run, go for a solo test run before the potential buyers arrive and make sure the interior is in ship shape.
Let them Sleep On It
One thing a real estate agent would never do, but we do is to let them sleep on it. Part of Marina 59’s boat brokerage services includes free six-month slip rentals for boats over 30 feet long. In addition to doing all of the work described above, we include the boats in our Boatel business and invite prospective buyers for overnight stays which includes concierge service. Our Boatel business attracts potential buyers from around the world who stay with us to experience a unique New York City vacation experience.
If you’re selling your boat and would like our assistance as brokers, let us know.
