Dittos on Russ Schafer from here, also. Russ was the selling broker on on my 45c, worked out a kind of complicated trade-in deal that really did work out the best for me in the long run, and was the buying broker for my 55c. He's extremely hard-working, his follow-up is 2nd-to-none, and will think absolutely nothing of travelling to hell's half acre to follow-up a lead for you and pre-check a boat to save the buyer the trouble. He also has a real love for Hatts and isn't shy about it.
Almost equally important, his outfit (Bollman Yachts) is a very straight up outfit with some pretty solid clientele; in short, they have a lot to lose by way of lost reputation. Bollman sells a lot of really large yachts, but also do a lot of work in this older mid-sized market. They're a great fit for our kind of boat.
I have to say, I was a real problem child in selling my 45c, and Russ got WAY more than he bargained for. The entire process took over two years back before the market had really gone to seed, and it wasn't because I was a prima donna about price. My mindset totally changed midstream with what i was after vis-a-vis sale. I started out thinking I wanted a much simpler outboard express to save on maintenance and hassle, then finally got religion and pretty much decided I wasn't going to sell the boat, and after a while of living like that, decided to go the other way and trade up. He literally didn't know if I was coming or going, but throughout the process, he astounded me with his patience and class in terms of not muscling me towards something much more rewarding to him and his firm. What more could you ask?
The other thing that blew me away was the advertising support both Bollman and Russ contributed towards my sale. They routinely spend big money on full-page ads in several publications. That's just their standard practice and it costs them $$$.
