BEFORE YOU SELL OR BUY A BOAT READ THIS!!!…read more
DO YOUR RESEARCH BEFORE YOU LIST OR BUY!!! Read at the bottom slimy sales tactics that cost a seller or buyer dearly.
BEFORE YOU LIST OR BUY: find the best 3 surveyors or highly reputable Marine mechanics. That is hard to do as well. There's probably only 1 in any given area that works for the client, not the broker. You can find one in another area and ask them for a referral.
Kells Surveyor (the Uncle or owner is apparently the best in San Diego) They know who the excellent trustworthy Boat agents and brokers are. I like to check my intuition and I was spot on about Doug.
ABOUT "DOUG VILLEPIQUE WITH YACHT FINDERS-Windseekers San Diego"
I don't write a review unless absolutely above and beyond service.
Have you ever felt you needed to take a shower after meeting a boat broker? Not only will you feel fresh after working with Doug Villepique at Yacht Finders-Windseakers, but you will also feel like you just came out of the spa. He sells like a Doctor, more concerned for the client. In every business, there are 2% that stand out among the others. DOUG STANDS OUT!!!! If you are selling your boat, get her down to San Diego. He's the type of agent you want even if it takes you a month to get your boat to him!
Doug Villepique
* fights for his clients on both ends (A TRUE PROFESSIONAL)!
* Returns calls, texts, and emails faster than any broker I have ever worked with. Sorry, that doesn't say much. His response time is usually less than an hour unless he's on a sea trial or with a client to which he let me know in advance.
* Represented his listing in the highest light. NO BS, no smoke blowing
* He produces trust.
* He was the first agent I felt good on every turn.
* Doug may be young but he's an old salty, with far more experience than one could most agents in the business, single-handed across oceans on a tiny boat, repaired in the worst conditions, he loves the sea!
* When I found something, Doug wouldn't do the common line, this is an old boat what do you expect trying to make me feel bad for asking? He had several ways to repair before replacing and acted like an encouraging mentor.
DO YOUR RESEARCH BEFORE YOU SELL OR BUY!!! SLIMEY SALES
x - Dock fees and repairs is a way listing agents make $$$. 1 agent complained I left 12 voicemails before returning my call. I left 1 per week for 3 months. I saw a Hans 44, wanted to offer, and was told they'd let me next week after repairs. 5 calls later, for a 1.5 months, I finally hired a buyer's agent to call, no returns, I gave up. She still sits costing the seller. Apparently, he makes more on dock fees and repairs. (he has a rep from agents) (SF Bay)
x - OOOH look at this drawer, or cooler or shiny BBQ! Seriously? What about the hole in the boat? (SD broker)
x - Recommends a bad surveyor to miss very important details. (SD broker) yes beware of surveyors.
x - The commissions are small so it is common to represent both sides, but one lied to me and was playing me against another buyer. (long beach broker) (broker hadn't even looked at his listing for 3 months, new nothing about the boat, and it was in the same marina.) I heard from a sd broker his reputation precedes him. Some agents won't work with him. So you lose potential buyers.
x - wanted to make an offer, broker didn't return calls. Boat sold 3 weeks later. SF
x- JUST MAKE SURE YOU RESEARCH YOUR SELLING BROKER AND BUYING BROKER. Ask surveyors or mechanics with excellent reputations. They know the good ones and slimy ones. Doug and broker yacht finders has a very good reputation for integrity.
x - as a realtor broker, the California government will close a brokerage, sue, and arrest if needed, licenses revoked. Boat brokers seemingly can get away with a lot before a license is removed. And when I say a lot, I mean way too much. It takes other brokers not the buyer or seller to remove a broker's license.
x - tell you what you want to hear your boat is worth, just to get the listing. Boats are rarely going to sell for what we sellers think they are worth and usually about 20% what we have put into them. Figure out how long you wish to take to sell your boat and what market you are in. A good broker is honest and a bad broker will tell you what you want to hear. While I have sold boats for more than I paid and cost to fix, that is rare. I sold one boat for a profit, but one market was offered 50% more but I wasn't ready to sell. When I was I, I had to price according to the market.
I know one owner who absolutely won't drop his price. His 44 foot boat hasn't sold for 13 years. A sitting boat is bad for the boat.
