How to choose a yacht broker

Buying or selling a yacht is a major transaction most people make only a few times in their lives. The broker you choose shapes both the outcome and the experience. A good broker does far more than publish a listing: they read the market, match the right buyer to the right boat and take the paperwork off your desk.

What to look for

The first criterion is specialisation. A 12-metre motor yacht and a 40-metre superyacht are entirely different markets — buyer profile, pricing logic, even marketing channels differ. Ask how many transactions the broker has closed in your segment over the past two years. A broker reluctant to share numbers is probably not active in that segment.

The second is transparency. The asking price they propose should rest on market data, not on instinct. Ask to see recent sold prices of comparable boats, their days on market and any price-reduction history.

How commission works

In Turkey and the wider Mediterranean, brokerage commission typically runs between 5% and 10% of the sale price, with lower rates on larger yachts. It is paid by the seller and only on completion. The agreement should spell out exactly what the commission covers — photography, listing fees, survey coordination and so on.

Understand the difference between a central (sole) agency and an open listing. Under a central agreement one broker represents your boat exclusively and usually invests more in it; in an open listing several brokers market the same boat and motivation is diluted.

Questions to ask before signing

Where will you market my boat? Who shoots the photography and video? How do you qualify prospective buyers — is everyone who comes to view a genuine buyer? Who is responsible during survey and sea trial? How long does the agreement run and how is it terminated?

If you are dealing with a broker who answers these clearly and in writing, you are on the right track. Every company listed on Yacht44 commits to these standards — that is precisely what the 'Verified Broker' badge means.

Central agency or open listing?

Under a central (sole) agency the broker represents your boat exclusively and invests in photography, video, listings and international portals because they know the effort will be rewarded. In an open listing three or four brokers market the same boat at once; it looks like 'more eyes' but in practice each broker does the minimum, the boat appears at different prices on different sites and buyers read it as a problem boat. Serious boats in the Mediterranean are sold almost without exception under central agency.

Red flags

Avoid brokers who quote a price without showing market data, who postpone the agreement 'until later', who offer to list the boat without seeing it, who bring everyone to the boat without qualifying them, and who communicate only by voice note. A good broker's work is invisible: you show the boat once and they handle the rest.

A short checklist

How many transactions in your segment in the past two years? Is the price proposal written and data-based? Are agreement term, commission rate and scope clear? Where will they market, who shoots the photos? Who is responsible at survey and sea trial? If you can get these five answers in writing on one page, you are at the right desk.