Selling Advice

[Drumstick]

I am moving from the east coast to Colorado, taking a new job and will be selling my nicely equipped 1965 M20C.  I have a question for those that have sold planes.

Going with a broker - do you just drop the plane off and then only deal with the agent?  AKA - does the broker deal with all the tire kickers?  How does the paperwork get handled if the title is held by a bank?

For those that have sold their planes using this site, barnstormers or Facebook, how much time did it take to deal with inquiries etc?  

The broker fee represents nearly 10% of my likely asking price and I was just wondering if the effort and aggravation of selling the plane myself is worth that fee.  I will be very busy during the next 6 months and am concerned that potential buyers will see me as flakey if I can’t respond to inquiries within a day.   I will also not be local and therefore unable to show the plane conveniently.

[Ron McBride]

Advertise it here, I sold mine quick.

 

[Bob_Belville]

It depends upon how fast and easy you need it to be. It's a sellers market at the moment and correctly prices Mooneys should sell pretty quickly. But that's not to say there won't be time to be spent doing due diligence, arranging to show the plane, negotiating a PPI etc. 

I would call Jimmy Garrison and hear his pitch. He can probably justify his commission. He might make you an offer that you find acceptable. 

[1964-M20E]

I've flown my Mooney in and around Colorado and I'm a flat lander.  Not to pry but why sell there is lots of pretty scenery to be seen and place to go leaving from Colorado?

[gsxrpilot]

I haven't mentioned this anywhere yet... but I'll see you in Denver. Our house... and my hangar are up for sale and we've already purchased a house in Denver.

But my Mooney is most certainly going with us. I'm very excited to pick up and move the "3 hour ring" as it will now include a lot of very interesting places to fly.

Don't sell... bring it along.

[KLRDMD]

49 minutes ago, Drumstick said:

I am moving from the east coast to Colorado, taking a new job and will be selling my nicely equipped 1965 M20C.  I have a question for those that have sold planes. Going with a broker - do you just drop the plane off and then only deal with the agent?  AKA - does the broker deal with all the tire kickers?  How does the paperwork get handled if the title is held by a bank? For those that have sold their planes using this site, barnstormers or Facebook, how much time did it take to deal with inquiries etc? The broker fee represents nearly 10% of my likely asking price and I was just wondering if the effort and aggravation of selling the plane myself is worth that fee.  I will be very busy during the next 6 months and am concerned that potential buyers will see me as flakey if I can’t respond to inquiries within a day.   I will also not be local and therefore unable to show the plane conveniently.

Price it right and it will move quickly. Try to squeeze every last dollar out of it and it will sit forever. If it hasn't sold in 30 days, it is priced too high (given that it is a C model Mooney).

If you don't have the time to deal with buyers, place it with a broker (Jimmy) and let him do all the work of selling and pay him for his time.

That said, it wouldn't hurt to put it in the "for sale" section here, with lots of photos and a good description and take the knocks you'll get. This is a tough crowd, often unreasonably so. Also put it on Beechtalk, it is much more civilized there. Both are free. If it doesn't sell in a reasonable amount of time, give it to Jimmy to sell for you.

[Drumstick]

31 minutes ago, KLRDMD said:

 

If you don't have the time to deal with buyers, place it with a broker (Jimmy) and let him do all the work of selling and pay him for his time.

 

I've spoken with Jimmy and he will likely be helping me out after he returns from vacation.  I was just curious to see if people had personal experiences and how much time it takes to go through the process without a broker.

[gsxrpilot]

3 minutes ago, Drumstick said:

I've spoken with Jimmy and he will likely be helping me out after he returns from vacation.  I was just curious to see if people had personal experiences and how much time it takes to go through the process without a broker.

I sold my M20C here on MooneySpace... it took two weeks.

[Vance Harral]

42 minutes ago, gsxrpilot said:

I haven't mentioned this anywhere yet... but I'll see you in Denver. Our house... and my hangar are up for sale and we've already purchased a house in Denver.

Hope both of you guys will PM me when you arrive, always happy to meet other Mooney pilots.  If you're moving near the south end of town, happy to meet you down at KAPA for the occasional $100 breakfast.  If you're on the north side, we can get together more often.  I live in Erie, and we hangar our 1976 M20F in Longmont at KLMO.  Drumstick, we're a 3-person partnership that has had 4 people in the past, and we're open to having 4 again for the "right kind" of partner.

Welcome (in advance) to Denver!

[steingar]

Last time I sold an airplane it was a pain.  I probably paid too much for my Mooney, but I didn't care as I was trading it for my old aircraft. 10% doesn't sound so bad compared to what I went through.  That said, whether any of the brokers can do any better I have strong doubts.  I'd rather take the trouble and get the thing sold, as opposed to wait on some broker who may or may not sell it.

[Bob_Belville]

1 hour ago, gsxrpilot said:

I haven't mentioned this anywhere yet... but I'll see you in Denver. Our house... and my hangar are up for sale and we've already purchased a house in Denver.

But my Mooney is most certainly going with us. I'm very excited to pick up and move the "3 hour ring" as it will now include a lot of very interesting places to fly.

Don't sell... bring it along.

@gsxrpilotWow, this is Colorado day for Caravan. MAG just lost Slim who relocated to Bueno Vista and Spaz who moved out there not too long ago. They'll be looking for clinic possibilities.

[Yetti]

1 hour ago, gsxrpilot said:

I haven't mentioned this anywhere yet... but I'll see you in Denver. Our house... and my hangar are up for sale and we've already purchased a house in Denver.

But my Mooney is most certainly going with us. I'm very excited to pick up and move the "3 hour ring" as it will now include a lot of very interesting places to fly.

Don't sell... bring it along.

Seems to be a trend.  I have lost a fair amount of TX friends to CO

[Marauder]

Seems to be a trend.  I have lost a fair amount of TX friends to CO

Why Colorado? I suspect most Texans would freeze solid in the winter. And what will you do without all of that humidity?


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[Bob_Belville]

3 minutes ago, Yetti said:

Seems to be a trend.  I have lost a fair amount of TX friends to CO

First thought that pops in my mind... easy pot?

[Yetti]

Most of the people I hang out with are active lifestyle.  The thing that is missing from the mountain bikes is the mountain.   I think the saying goes "go for the winter, stay for the summer"   

[gsxrpilot]

Half the state of Texas goes to Colorado every summer already. I guess more and more of us are realizing we might as well just live there.

For my wife, a Texas girl born and bred, she was very surprised to realize that with lots of sunshine and low humidity, the "cold winter days" are really not that cold.

[GDGR]

2 hours ago, Bob_Belville said:

It depends upon how fast and easy you need it to be. It's a sellers market at the moment and correctly prices Mooneys should sell pretty quickly. But that's not to say there won't be time to be spent doing due diligence, arranging to show the plane, negotiating a PPI etc. 

I would call Jimmy Garrison and hear his pitch. He can probably justify his commission. He might make you an offer that you find acceptable. 

or at the very least, check out his VERY accurate and well thought out evaluation tool. It'll get you in the ball park of what it's worth.

[Jim Peace]

25 minutes ago, bluehighwayflyer said:

Trying to squeeze the very last dollar out of an asset that costs so much to maintain even if you don’t fly it just makes to sense for most owners unless you just enjoy the process or have nothing better to do with your time.

I think you meant to write liability.

[DonMuncy]

1 hour ago, Marauder said:

 

. And what will you do without all of that humidity?


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Texas has humidity?  

[Oldguy]

1 hour ago, DonMuncy said:

Texas has humidity?  

When I lived in Houston and consulted for a living, people I met while traveling would always ask what Houston was like. My answer was it has the traffic of Los Angeles, the climate of Calcutta, and for an extra treat you get a hurricane coming through every few years or so.

[Prior owner]

1 hour ago, Oldguy said:

When I lived in Houston and consulted for a living, people I met while traveling would always ask what Houston was like. My answer was it has the traffic of Los Angeles, the climate of Calcutta, and for an extra treat you get a hurricane coming through every few years or so.

And perhaps worst of all...The mosquitoes. Lived in Galveston county for 5 years. Hurricanes ran me out

[Guitarmaster]

Sold mine on Barnstormers in eight minutes.  Clearly I didn't ask enough for it.  However, I priced it fairly for it's condition and wasn't going to give on the price.
In addition, I had a list 25 deep wanting to buy it if the first one backed out.

If you price it fairly, it will go quick.  Personally, I wouldn't put it with a broker; but I like the negotiation process.  

[29-0363]

6 minutes ago, Guitarmaster said:

Sold mine on Barnstormers in eight minutes.  Clearly I didn't ask enough for it.  However, I priced it fairly for it's condition and wasn't going to give on the price.
In addition, I had a list 25 deep wanting to buy it if the first one backed out.

If you price it fairly, it will go quick.  Personally, I wouldn't put it with a broker; but I like the negotiation process.  

I've sold my E model (2000) and 2 Ovations (2008, 2018) privately, and reckon you should always set the price with a little room to move.  Some buyers instinctively want to negotiate, while others will see the true value is there and pay full price.  Always keep in mind, you can lower the asking price, but you can never increase it.

[Yetti]

2 hours ago, 29-0363 said:

I've sold my E model (2000) and 2 Ovations (2008, 2018) privately, and reckon you should always set the price with a little room to move.  Some buyers instinctively want to negotiate, while others will see the true value is there and pay full price.  Always keep in mind, you can lower the asking price, but you can never increase it.

On the other hand, as Mrs. Yetti says once those buyers have gone through the house, they will never come back.   Planes might be different.

[mccdeuce]

@Drumstick  Whats the stats and asking price for your C?  Couple of pictures?  I may have two people who would buy off you in the next month.