FLORIDA YACHT BROKERS ASSOCIATION, INC.
FT. LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA

In Florida, advocacy is making boating better was created in 1987 to unite those engaged in the yacht brokerage business for the purpose of promoting professionalism and cooperation among its members; and to promote and maintain a high standard of conduct in the transacting of the yacht brokerage business. Each member is required to abide by a code of ethics to protect the public against fraud, misrepresentation, or unethical practices in the yacht brokerage profession. Each member is to endeavor to eliminate any practices, which could be damaging to the public or the dignity and integrity of the yacht brokerage profession. The organization is comprised of over 1450 individual members representing over 400 businesses. was created in 1987 to unite those engaged in the yacht brokerage business for the purpose of promoting professionalism and cooperation among its members; and to promote and maintain a high standard of conduct in the transacting of the yacht brokerage business. Each member is required to abide by a code of ethics to protect the public against fraud, misrepresentation, or unethical practices in the yacht brokerage profession. Each member is to endeavor to eliminate any practices, which could be damaging to the public or the dignity and integrity of the yacht brokerage profession. The organization is comprised of over 1450 individual members representing over 400 businesses. If SELLER has traveled to Mexico with VESSEL and has an MTIP (Mexico Temporary Import Permit), SELLER agrees to and is responsible (at SELLER expense) to cancel the MTIP and to provide proof of this cancelation to BUYER and BROKERS before CLOSING. Recently I got a frenzied call from a fellow IYBA Florida broker who sold I had previously been associated asking for my help in tracking down previous owners.  Both the new owner and broker were innocently naïve that this vessel had previously been entered into the Mexican web-based tracking system.   Additionally, neither the broker, nor the client had ever heard about the MTIP paperwork and were completely taken by surprise. Coincidentally, I just closed on a 55’ trawler in Florida. It had cruised on the U.S. west coast and come through the Canal to Florida so had obviously traveled through Mexico. We knew about the MTIP when the boat was listed (question in the CYBA listing agreement) and reminded the seller about the MTIP upon receipt of the offer through the purchase agreement clause above. Once we had acceptance after survey, the seller forwarded the original MTIP document to the maritime attorney in San Diego and paid a very reasonable fee of $300 for the MTIP to be cancelled.  My customers will be free to clear in to Mexico with a clean slate and can start afresh by filling out a new MTIP. a) Asking your sellers about MTIPs when they list and, There is a growing concern among FYBA members about “phantom listings” on MLS sites. A phantom listing purports to offer a vessel of certain specifications for sale at a specific price. However, the broker posting the listing does not have actual authority to market or sell the vessel. Instead, the posting broker intends for buyers interested in the listed vessel to contact his or her brokerage, at which point the broker tells the interested buyer that the particular vessel is no longer for sale (i.e. has been sold, taken off the market, etc.), and then offers the buyer another genuine listing. From a legal perspective, this scheme can be referred to as a “bait-and-switch” trade practice. Phantom listings are damaging to yacht brokers, in that it tarnishes the integrity of the profession, as well as to individual brokers who lose out on commissions they may otherwise receive when a customer is “stolen” by the purveyor of a phantom listing. So, what, if any, remedies are available to those who are harmed by phantom listings? Instead, the buyer is shown other boats and ends up buying from the second brokerage the same model boat he was planning to buy through the first brokerage. In such a situation, the first broker suffers an actual loss in the amount of the commission he would have earned if the buyer had not been lured by the phantom listing and had bought the boat from the first broker. Unfortunately, these situations are unusual and actual damages are difficult to prove. The more likely scenario is one in which a broker with a legitimate yacht listing sees a phantom listing, which has been posted by another broker. In that case, the broker with the legitimate listing can file a lawsuit seeking injunctive relief from a Florida court to force the second broker to take down the phantom listing and to refrain from posting such false listings in the future. In Florida, advocacy is making boating better Considering a membership? Become a part of a membership consisting of over 1,460 individuals from prominent firms and businesses located across the country and around the world! By joining IYBA, members devote themselves to maintaining a high standard of business conduct and professionalism while transacting business in the Marine Industry.