Make Your Offer Look 5% Higher in the Seller's Eyes

Q: Does the broker have to present my offer?

Generally yes. The standard IYBA listing agreement has the brokerage submit all offers to the owner, and a single-agent broker owes that as a fiduciary too; many Florida brokers are transaction brokers rather than fiduciaries, but the duty to present a written offer still applies. The broker is not required to give up the commission their listing contract entitles them to — that is the seller's to ask for.

Free buyer's tool · Updated June 2026 · General information, not legal advice

A brokered sale carries about a 10% commission — half is the listing broker's own seller's-agent share, half is a buyer's-agent share meant for whoever represents the buyer. With no buyer's broker, the listing broker just pockets that buyer's-agent half too — a "double-end," paid for buyer-side work nobody did. The move: offer whatever you want to pay, let the broker keep his full earned seller's-agent half, and send the unearned buyer's-agent half to the seller instead. Now the seller nets 95% of your number — so a below-asking offer lands like a full-price one, and your offer looks 5% higher in the seller's eyes.

The math — $800,000 listing, you offer $700,000:
• The broker keeps his earned seller's-agent half = $35,000; the buyer's-agent half he didn't earn = $35,000 goes to the seller instead of his pocket.
• The seller nets $665,000 — that's $35,000 more than a normal $700k offer would net them ($630,000, where the broker double-ends and keeps the full 10%).
• To the seller, your $700k offer is worth about a $739,000 full-commission offer — yet you're $100k under asking, on a fast, funded close.

The whole play

Offer what you want to pay — and let the broker keep his full seller's-agent share, with the buyer's-agent half (which he didn't earn — there's no buyer's broker) going to the seller instead.
Lead with proof of funds. A cash-buyer bank letter or a lender pre-approval makes "serious buyer" a fact, not a claim — that's what makes the offer real.
Be ready to walk before you even view it. Settle the split while you're still just a name and a funds letter — not after you've fallen for the boat. "Agree the structure first, or no hard feelings — I'll keep looking."
Put it in writing. A written offer can't be quietly buried — the broker has to put it in front of the seller. That's where your leverage is (read the next bit).
Get the brokerage and seller to sign off. The commission lives in their listing agreement, not your offer — so the brokerage (its broker-of-record) and the seller must agree to the split in writing. The offer below has that built in.

Why the broker has to put your offer in front of the seller

You can't make the broker take less — but you can make sure the seller hears your number. A written offer isn't the broker's to quietly bury: the standard IYBA listing agreement has the brokerage submit all offers to the owner, and where the broker is the seller's single agent, fiduciary duty says the same. (Heads-up: in Florida — the hub of yacht brokerage — many brokers act as "transaction brokers," not fiduciaries, so don't lean on "highest duty" talk. The duty to present a written offer still holds either way.)

So put it in writing, and the seller sees it. Now the broker has an awkward question to answer in front of his own client:

Keep what you earned — not what you didn't. He represented the seller, so his seller's-agent half is his, full stop. The other half is buyer's-agent pay — and there's no buyer here he represents. With no buyer's broker he'd simply double-end and pocket it for work nobody did.
That's the seller's question to ask. "You did the listing side — keep that. Why are you taking the buyer's-side commission too, when no one represented the buyer? Credit it to me." It's a fair question, and an uncomfortable one to brush off with the seller watching.

Be straight with yourself about the limit: the broker is not legally forced to give that half up — his brokerage's listing contract entitles it to the full fee even when it double-ends. So this is a strong ask backed by the seller's own self-interest, not a trap that corners him. Your job is to make the math impossible to ignore — proof of funds, a clean fast close, the seller's net spelled out in dollars — so the seller is the one who turns to their broker and asks the question for you.

When this actually works — and when it doesn't:
✓ Stale listing, motivated seller, no competing offers, on a full ~10% commission, and a boat pricey enough that the freed buyer's-agent half clears the brokerage's minimum fee (roughly $300k+).
✗ Fresh or hot listings (the seller can just wait for a cleaner offer), flat-fee or already-discounted listings (no full buyer's-agent half to free), net listings, and cheaper boats where a minimum fee eats the freed half. A new boat from a dealer doesn't apply at all — that's dealer margin, not a commission.

Your fill-in Conditional Offer

Fill the blanks (saved in your browser), then print or download a clean PDF. It gates your price on the split, encloses proof of funds, and has the brokerage and seller sign off on the amended commission.

✍️ Type into the blanks — your entries save in this browser — then download a filled PDF or print it.

CONDITIONAL OFFER TO PURCHASE

Unrepresented buyer · listing broker keeps its own seller's-agent share · the buyer-broker share credited back to the seller

Date: . To (Listing Brokerage / Broker): . From (Buyer): (name), of (address), (phone / email).

Re (Vessel): Year , Make , Model , LOA ft, HIN , Listing / Stock No. , currently listed at $.

Buyer is unrepresented — there is no buyer's (cooperating) broker, and no co-brokerage commission is payable to any second broker.

Proof of funds (enclosed). Buyer is ready, willing, and able to close, and encloses proof of funds: (bank letter / account statement dated for cash, or lender pre-approval from for financing).
The condition — the buyer-broker share goes back to the Seller. The listing agreement splits the total commission between the Listing Broker (the Seller's agent) and a buyer's / cooperating broker. Because Buyer is unrepresented, that buyer's-broker share is earned by no one. This offer is extended only on the condition that the Listing Broker keeps its own Seller's-agent share and the buyer's-broker share — % of the price, per the listing agreement — is credited back to the Seller as additional net proceeds, rather than kept by the Listing Broker. Buyer's offer (the "Offer Price") is $; applying this, the Seller nets $ — more, at this price, than if the broker kept the full commission.
Brokerage & Seller consent (commission amendment). The commission is set in the listing agreement between Seller and the Listing Brokerage; Buyer is not a party to it and cannot change it. This offer is therefore contingent on the Listing Brokerage — by its broker-of-record / principal broker — and the Seller agreeing in writing to amend that commission for this sale per paragraph 2. The signatures below evidence that consent.
The offer (disclosed only if the split is agreed). If — and only if — the Brokerage and Seller agree in writing to paragraph 2, Buyer offers to purchase the Vessel for the Offer Price on the terms below. If it is not agreed, this offer is withdrawn in its entirety, and the Offer Price need not be considered, presented, or treated as a price Buyer would pay.
Deposit & neutral escrow. On a signed Purchase & Sale Agreement, Buyer places a deposit of $ with a neutral escrow / closing agent () — not the listing brokerage — within business days.
Survey & sea-trial contingency. Contingent on a marine survey and sea trial by a surveyor of Buyer's choosing, at Buyer's expense, on or before (the Acceptance Date). If Buyer is not satisfied in Buyer's sole discretion, Buyer may terminate and the full deposit is refunded. Title must be clear and lien-free; Closing on or before .
In writing as price. The agreed split must appear on the signed Purchase & Sale Agreement and the closing statement (as the purchase price and the commission line) — not as a verbal understanding.
Presentation. Buyer requests that this written offer be presented to the Seller in accordance with the Brokerage's duty to submit all offers to its principal.
Status. The Listing Brokerage represents the Seller. This is an offer to negotiate; it becomes binding only upon a Purchase & Sale Agreement signed by Buyer and Seller.
Validity. This conditional offer is open for acceptance until (date / time), after which it expires.

Buyer signature / date

Buyer printed name

Listing Brokerage — agrees to the amended commission (broker-of-record / authorized broker) · date

Seller — agrees to the amended commission · date

Free template from YachtBazar.com for educational use — not legal advice, and not an IYBA/YBAA broker form. A conditional offer / letter of intent is generally non-binding; a binding deal requires a signed Purchase & Sale Agreement. Have a maritime attorney review anything significant.

Does this cost the seller anything?

No — it nets them more. The broker keeps his earned seller's-agent half; the buyer's-agent half he'd otherwise double-end is credited to the seller, so on your number the seller nets about 95% of the price instead of 90%. A below-asking offer can net them close to what a full-price sale would.

Does the broker have to present my offer?

Generally yes — a written offer is hard to bury. The standard IYBA listing agreement has the brokerage submit all offers to the owner, and a single-agent broker owes that as a fiduciary too. (Many Florida brokers are "transaction brokers," not fiduciaries — but the duty to present a written offer still applies.) What the broker is not required to do is give up the commission their listing contract entitles them to — that part is the seller's to ask for.

Does this work on a new boat from a dealer?

No. New boats are sold on opaque dealer margin, not a transparent ~10% commission, so there's no co-broker share to redirect. It's for used, broker-listed boats — and it breaks on cheap boats, where a brokerage minimum fee eats the freed 5%.

Selling, not buying? If you're a by-owner seller and a buyer turns up with their own agent, see Selling Through a Buyer's Broker — what to pay them (if anything, ~2.5% recommended), plus a free commission agreement. It's the mirror image of this play.

Or skip the commission entirely.

Most boats on YachtBazar are for sale by their owners — no commission in the price — and every listing is badged FSBO, Broker or Dealer.

Browse boats by owner Free purchase agreement

Important: General information for U.S. used-boat brokerage deals, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Commission rates (~10%) and splits are industry norms, not fixed by law, and vary by brokerage and region. The split is a negotiation, not a right — the broker must agree to it. Use your own accredited surveyor and a neutral escrow you choose, and have a maritime attorney review anything significant. A conditional offer is generally non-binding; nothing here creates an attorney-client relationship.