I recently completed the sale of an extremely nice BRISTOL CHANNEL CUTTER to long-time clients David and Ellen Dawson of Haverford, Pa. I was also working on behalf of the sellers, Bob and Lois Plank who, like the Dawson’s, have owned a series of cruising sailboats over the years. I owe thanks to both parties for their confidence and long term support (totaling eight transactions)“Longsparrow” was surveyed by Kelsey/Turner Associates of Annapolis, and was proven very sound, and sold at her contract price.

 Because this 1984 boat was unique, establishing fair market value for the bank was a bit of a challenge. In this case the published numbers were incorrectly low. By working closely  with Laurie Kiser of Just Boat Loans, we were able to help the bank understand the true value of the boat.  This was done by presenting the history of the builder Sam Morse and also by documenting the many upgrades made by the sellers.  The Dawsons were pleased with the loan.  The Planks also understood the importance of being able to establish a fair market value to the bank – without it, selling the boat would have been much more difficult.

Hopefully this points to a thawing out in the credit world!  It definitely points to the one of the many ways the services of a professional broker can help buyer and seller achieve their goals.