Since we have never bought a boat before, we wanted to start with a broker, and we were hoping for someone that would help guide us through the process. So, we called, and called, and asked for referrals, and called some more... and finally got someone who called us back! They must be really busy...
So, we asked him if he would meet us for lunch, and allow us to pepper him with questions to learn all about this process. He graciously agreed, and we all sat down at Harrison's landing to find out how this boat buying process works.
I won't bore you will all the details, but suffice it to say, it is VERY much like buying a house. There are seller brokers and buyer brokers. You get a survey instead of a home inspection. There are banks that specialize in boat loans, and other banks that specialize in boat loans for older boats. So, we were off and running.
He started sending us listings, and we started looking at boats. Just a heads up for anyone looking to move and buy a boat - go to Florida! Prices in Texas are a little inflated (at least for sailboats). We learned this the hard way when starting to look, but still had fun - we got to step on the very first catamaran together (a Lagoon 38 in Kemah), and, after looking at several decided to throw an offer their way. Unfortunately, they wanted more for the boat than we were willing to pay at this point, so we will keep looking. Our boat is out there :-)
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