Thursday, February 5, 2009

Boat Value Appraisal Strategies And Tips

By John Howard

Appraising a boat's value may look like a daunting task in the beginning, but it is possible to do it yourself. You just should be aware of the risks and of the things that could possibly go wrong if you fail to do your research and then also do not consult a professional.

Even more so if you have not appraised a boat's value before, either as a buyer or as someone who wants to sell, you should be aware that the lack of experience may let you make an error that will cost you a lot. The only workaround to this is that you inform yourself thoroughly before making an assessment.

Even when buying a vessel, it is not enough to just look at available listings on the Internet or at your local boat club and go for the one that seems best value for money. By knowing what to look for when evaluating a boat, your ability to negotiate will be increased and you may be able to reduce the original selling price by a quarter or more.

In fact studying boat evaluation has the great added advantage that it will make the kinds of features that you really need for the way that you are going to use the boat much clearer to your mind. By educating yourself about the options and their prices, you will end up with the vessel that suits you best.

Boat value appraisal research can come in many forms, but a good start is usually achieved by reading about it. Start with trade magazines, available at most well-equipped press shops, and you will find a wealth of information on current boating prices, trends and features at your fingertips.

Besides the general; trades, there are specialist magazines for different kinds of boats, such as fishing pontoons, sailing craft, or outboard motorboats. These ones are not only useful for the information, but also because toy will find a wealth of classifieds that are relevant to the kind of boat you want and that you can use for some first rough comparisons.

Thousands of boats are bought and sold through the trades and online listing sites, and so by reading through the appropriate listings and comparing the features to your own vessel you will get a fairly accurate idea of the price that you can ask. For leisure craft there are also in-depth pricing guides - most notably BUC and NADA - that give average prices per model and build year.

These guides give average prices, but they are more solid than listings. By combining the two, you will get a good idea of the value of features versus the basic price of a boat. BUC cover all kinds of pleasure boats, including sailing boats, while NADA is mainly concerned with motorboats and outboard motors.

However, while DIY evaluation is perfectly OK for small boats, if the ship or vessel that you are going to trade is expected to fetch more fifty thousand dollars, a professional appraisal will very probably be able to help you fetch you the best prices for your vessel, and the additional expense will well be worth it. - 16887

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