Hello Jake Huling here with Aircraft Sales Advisor, and welcome to the ninth and final video report in this series called, 9 Steps to a Successful Sale or Purchase of Your Plane, which by the way, because of requests, we are working on turning into a book/manual that you can refer to, so that is exciting.
In the last report we talked about all the information you’ll need to gather together and have ready for the sale of your current plane, and the information you should be asking for when you’re looking at a potential plane to purchase. We also covered what a good professional spec sheet should look like and the information that should be included in one that you are making or requesting.
So now let me congratulate you because if you’ve been following us from the beginning of this particular series we are almost there, and at this point we can start talking about actual offers, a very exciting part of the buying and selling process. And we’ll take a look at both offers you are receiving for the plane you are selling, and offers on a plane you are hoping to purchase. We’ll also talk about the good and bad of a Pre Purchase Inspection and what you must avoid during one at all cost. And lastly we will talk about recruiting help, whether or not you actually need help, and if you do how to find the right help.
Ah, the offer. Whether giving or receiving one, its the very thing we’ve been working toward from the beginning. This can be the most exciting and at the same time frustrating and even nerve racking part of the whole process. What’s makes the difference? Well a lot of what makes the difference between being excited or frustrated is whether or not you were prepared and had proper expectations, and it doesn’t matter if it’s a purchase or a sale, it’s all about preparation and proper expectations, I’m telling ya, that is the key.
This means knowing all sorts of things, like the current market around your particular plane that you are selling or wanting to buy, the wholesale and retail value of the plane in question, and if you’re buying making its making sure you are buying the right plane. What do I mean, well its making sure its the right plane for your wants, your needs, and your mission. Is it going to do the things you are expecting it to do? Lots of people and companies call us because they bought a plane only to find out it wont do what they thought it would, and let me tell ya, that makes for a really big day ruiner. Is that a word ruiner, well if not it is now! What are you laughing at Steven!
But if you’re properly prepared, know what plane is right for you, and what its wholesale and retail value is according to the current market, you can make or except an offer with confidence. You will know when it’s a good deal and when its one to walk away from.
And that leads us into Negotiating. This is an important part of the whole process, critical even, because you can make or break the whole thing right here. I never expect to get an offer, or make one, that won’t need to be negotiated, you should just plan on it. Remember, the other party is trying to get the best price they can, just like you. And that’s why it’s so important to not only know the value of the plane you are buying or selling, but also to be able to prove what you say is accurate.
And if you are not a good at negotiating that is one of the reasons to recruit help, but we will talk more on that in a minute.
Next is Pre Purchase Inspection. The Pre Purchase Inspection is what happens usually after an offer has been accepted. This is essentially how the buyer finds out that what they believe they are buying, is actually what they are getting. There is however a huge range in what a pre purchase inspection can cover, its not like this is listed in the manual, and this is where you need to be careful!
The plane will usually be inspected to some degree both on the ground and in the air. You can expect that during this process, whether you are buying or selling, something may come up that will need to be addressed. When it does, it will either be fixed by the new owner after purchase, fixed by the current owner before the sale, or negotiated out of the sale price.
Now planes don’t always go into a shop for a pre purchase, but if they do something you should avoid at all costs is getting the plane into the wrong shop. There are unfortunately shops out there that make their money by “finding problems.” This happens all the time and it can completely ruin everything both sides have trying to accomplish, cost a lot of money, take a ridiculous amount of time, and can completely, completely, kill a sale or purchase.
And watch out for the time portion of this, because even if a shop does good work, but is actually too busy to take your plane on, they will still sometimes take the plane into the shop and get started taking it apart right away, in order to get your business. Then it sits there, sometimes for months, while you hear the same excuses over and over and it usually goes something like this, oh no worries, we should only have it for another week. They keep saying this week after week after week to string you along because what are you going to do, take a wheelbarrow in to the hanger and start picking up all the pieces of your plane?
It’s a terrible spot to get into, so make sure you get the plane into a shop you know will take care of both parties and the plane, because if the plane goes to the right facility this part doesn’t have to be bad, it can go very smoothly, be finished quickly, not cost a boatload of money, and most importantly not cost both sides the entire deal.
Lastly let’s talk about Recruiting help. The question you should actually be asking is how much help do you need, and that’s a question only you can answer. You have to ask yourself how much you are comfortable handling, how much you want to handle, and how much you have time to handle. This last one seems to especially get overlooked, there is a very heavy time commitment involved in successfully buying or selling a plane.
Now before I tell you this next part, please remember my job is not to tell you what you want to hear, it’s to tell you what you need to hear. That way you can have everything you need to make an informed and comfortable decision about buying or selling a plane getting to a successful outcome.
So if you don’t have the time commitment that’s necessary to buy or sell a plane, the expertise required to make a successful sale or purchase, or you just don’t want to deal with the entire process, you need to recruit help or you will end up with a mess that can turn into a disaster. It can cost you a lot of money, you can lose the sale, and if your buying you can end up being stuck with an overpriced plane that cant even do the things you thought you were buying it to do.
Remember, when you are buying the broker or person selling that jet or turboprop only gets paid if you buy their plane. It is not in their best interest to tell you this might not be the right pane for you. You need to find someone who is on your side, and whose best interest, is in helping you get the right plane for you. And like I said in the first video report in this series, make sure the person you hire only gets paid when there is a successful sale or purchase of a plane. Don’t let them talk you into paying up front.
Let me leave you with this: There is of course a lot more that we don’t have time to cover, including how to write an offer or respond to one, how to deal with escrow and many other topics. So go through the nine steps, get you information together, make you decisions, and if you decide you need help make sure it’s the right fit for you and your particular situation. You need to be very comfortable with your Broker, after all you’re going to be working very closely with them for a while. And I think you will agree that any investment, large or small, needs to have a good return. The help you are recruiting will charge you for that help and that makes this an investment, and that investment needs to give you a good return.
As always, if you are looking to buy or sell a jet or turboprop and you have questions for me, you can reach me by email, phone, or heck send me a telegram and I’ll accept that. And remember, the biggest mistake you can make is not asking for help when you need it.
Alright, our next video series is going to be one on viewer requests. At this point I have not put a cap on the number of video reports we are going to do, so if you have an idea or there is something you have had trouble finding, or just always wanted to know send me an email, because I believe if you are going to take the time to watch and listen, we should take the time to make sure its something worth watching and listening to. This is Jake Huling with Aircraft Sales Advisor, and I look forward to seeing you on the next one.
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