Buyer representation
A Broker Aboard, on Every Boat You See
Any yacht on the market, whoever holds the listing, and one of our brokers on her with you every time. Thirty years of being aboard these boats, spent on the one you are thinking about.
- Yachts we can show you
- 1,638
- Years on the water
- 32
- Closed by Aspire
- 30
- Google rating
- 5.0from 31
What representation actually gets you
Nobody Should Buy a Boat on Their Own
A yacht is the second largest thing most people ever buy, and the only one where the title can carry somebody else’s debt, the survey is yours to commission, and what comparable hulls actually closed at is not published anywhere you can look it up. A buyer needs representation for the same reason anybody needs it: the other side of the table does this every day.
Representation is only worth having from somebody who knows the boats. That is the whole of it. A broker who has been aboard hundreds of these hulls, knows which model has the soft transom and which yard did the good refits, knows what the market really paid, and carries the transaction properly from the first viewing to the closing. Every boat is different. How we work does not.
Boat people before brokers
Everybody here would be on the water on their day off, and mostly is. It is why we can tell you how a hull sits in a short chop off the Stream rather than read you the brochure, and why we would rather you bought the right boat this year and came back to us for the next one in five.
A broker aboard at every showing
One of our brokers is on the boat with you, every time, without exception. Not a set of keys and a lockbox code: somebody walking her with you who has thirty years of knowing where these boats go wrong, and who will point at it.
The whole market, not our shelf
Through the IYBA cooperative we can show you any yacht any member brokerage has listed, and we will tell you honestly when the right boat for you is somebody else's. A brokerage that only shows you its own listings is selling you what it has.
The boats that never list
A good number of the best boats change hands before a listing goes live. Owners we have sold for, captains we know, brokers who ring us first. Tell us what you are after and it goes on that list too.
Valued from closed sales
Before you offer, we pull what comparable hulls actually sold for on the IYBA MLS, not what similar boats are optimistically asking. Asking prices are public; closed prices are not, and they are the only ones that tell you what a boat is worth.
Survey and sea trial run for you
We book the surveyor, the yard and the haul-out, we are there for the trial, and we read the report with you. A survey finds something on every boat. What matters is which findings are ordinary and which are the ones you walk away from.
The paperwork handled
Offer and counter, escrow, USCG documentation or state registration, Florida sales and use tax, closing. An in-house closing department rather than a form emailed to you the week it is due.
Your current boat taken in trade
Where it makes sense we will take your existing yacht in trade against the next one. That unsticks the deal that would otherwise wait on selling this one first, and it is the fastest route from the boat you have to the boat you want.
One broker throughout
The person who takes your first call shows you the boats, negotiates for you and sees the closing through. Nothing is handed to a desk that has never been aboard, and you always know who to ring.
How we are paidA commission from the seller at closing, shared between the brokerages, and the same commission whether or not you have somebody with you, so there is no fee to you for having us there. We take nothing from the surveyor, the yard, the lender or the insurer, which is why we can tell you honestly what we think of any of them.
When the Boat Is One of Ours
Sometimes the right boat for you is one Aspire already represents, and then we are acting for both sides. We say so in writing before you offer, we deal straight with both of you, and neither side’s position is carried to the other. A broker who leans on one party to please the other gets one sale and no reputation, the work is finding the deal both people are content to sign. If you would rather have separate representation, ask, and we will arrange it.
Start here
Three Ways to Find Her
New to the market
Every yacht listed in Florida in the last thirty days, newest first. The good ones sell in their first weeks, which is the argument for seeing them early.
See what is new →Price reductions
Boats whose asking price has come down, with what the seller was asking before. A cut tells you the owner has decided to sell.
See what has come down →A saved search
Set your length, budget and type once and new boats matching it come to you by email as they list, before they have been shown to everybody.
Search and save →Straight answers
The Questions Buyers Actually Ask
Asked on the dock, mostly, and answered the same way here. If yours is not below, ring the office and ask it. Which boat to buy, size, pods or shafts, what she costs to run, all of that is answered in choosing the right yacht.
(954) 560-2811What if Aspire holds the listing on the boat I want?
Then we act for both sides, and we tell you so in writing before you offer. Dual representation is ordinary in yacht brokerage and it works because of how it is handled: we deal honestly with both parties, we do not carry either side's negotiating position to the other, and the commission does not change because of it. Our job in that position is a fair deal both people are content with. A broker who squeezes one side to please the other has one sale and no reputation. If you would rather have separate representation, say so and we will arrange it, within the firm or outside it.
How long does buying a yacht take?
Thirty to ninety days from accepted offer to closing is normal. The offer and acceptance take days; survey and sea trial usually fall two to three weeks out because they wait on a surveyor and a haul-out slot; financing, if you need it, runs alongside and is the part most likely to add time. A cash deal on a boat lying nearby can close in three weeks.
Is there a fee for having a broker with me?
No. We are paid a commission by the seller at closing, shared between the brokerages, and it is the same commission whether or not you have somebody with you, so having us there costs you nothing and saves you nothing to go without. We take no fee from a buyer, and none from the surveyor, the yard, the lender or the insurer.
Do I need a survey, and what does it cover?
Yes, and your insurer and lender will require one anyway. A condition and valuation survey covers hull integrity, structure, systems, safety equipment and moisture readings, with an engine survey and an oil analysis run separately by a mechanic. Budget 25 to 35 dollars a foot for the survey plus the haul-out. Every boat surveys with findings; the job is telling the ordinary ones from the ones that end the deal.
Can I just buy privately and skip the broker?
You can, and on a small boat with clean paperwork it is fine. On anything with a mortgage, a documented title, an out-of-state seller, foreign flag or unpaid yard bills, the risk sits entirely with you: a lien follows the boat, not the person who left it there. A brokered sale runs the title search, holds the deposit in escrow and closes properly, and the seller pays for it.
Will you tell me not to buy a boat?
Frequently. It is the most useful thing a buyer's broker does, and it is why the representation is worth having even though the boat is somebody else's listing. If she is priced past the market, or the survey turns up something we would not live with, we will say so plainly.
Tell us what you are after
Put a Broker on Your Side
Length, budget, where you will keep her and what you will do with her. A broker comes back with the boats worth looking at, from the whole market, not only ours, and arranges the viewings.
- A broker aboard at every showing
- Any listing, any brokerage, through the IYBA network
- Off-market boats before they list
- No fee to the buyer, and none from anybody else in the deal