Selecting a Broker

Find or Sell Your Aircraft Fast! Call Capital Aircraft Sales at (614) 395-4513!

If you are considering the use of a Broker in selling your aircraft, you are about to make a few very important decisions. Brokers are hired for their expertise in the marketing and sale of aircraft and selecting a broker based solely on considerations such as closeness, rate, etc. can cost you significantly. Selecting the wrong broker can equate to no sale or taking longer than it should to sell your aircraft.

The length of time it takes to sell your aircraft is dependent on a number of factors and can range from a few days to much longer. The average is right around 90-120 days hence the normal Listing Agreement period of 120 days used by most brokers. Yours could take shorter or longer than average and there are a number of factors that influence the time required. Factors that influence the time it takes to sell an aircraft include demand for the type, particular vintage and model of aircraft your selling, the condition of the aircraft, how well it is equipped (avionics, etc.) compared to others on the market, the number of similar aircraft on the market, the overall state of the economy and the all important price.

There are many good and reputable brokers out there that will provide you the great service you deserve and should expect for the fee you pay them. There are also those that you really do not want to be in a contractual relationship with. Your best approach to selecting the right broker is to approach them as an educated consumer.

10 Questions you should ask of any Broker you are considering using to sell your aircraft.

1. Fee

Typically a broker will set a percentage rate based on the actual price your aircraft sells for often with a floor (a no less than amount) that ensures they will be able to recover the money they’ve invested in the marketing of your aircraft and a fair margin for the time that is involved in the selling process. You are paying them to take all of the calls (many are of the tire-kicker variety), weed out the non-serious callers, present and demonstrate your aircraft and ultimately close the sale and complete the required paperwork to ensure the transaction is legal.

Rate is a fair comparison point, but only if you are comparing apples-to-apples. Like in most things, you get what you pay for. One broker may quote a lower rate than another, but this should be a trigger to you as a consumer to ask how your aircraft will be marketed. Advertising is not cheap and you want your aircraft to appear in as many appropriate venues as possible. The more exposure your aircraft gets, the faster and more likely the right potential buyer will find it. Limiting the places your aircraft appears in advertisements is one way some brokers will reduce their costs.

2. Exposure

Where will your aircraft be advertised? There are many good advertising forums out there and many that yield almost no return for the advertising dollars spent. The Broker’s selection should be prudent, but not too limited. Buyers come in different flavors and you should expect a healthy mix.

3. Location

More than 90% of the calls we receive at Capital Aircraft Sales come from prospective purchasers that do not live in the state where the aircraft is located. Thanks to the internet and the print magazines, your aircraft is just as likely to sell to someone in Kansas, Texas or somewhere else as opposed to someone residing in your state. This is why relying on advertisements posted at your local airport and maybe a few others can prove so frustrating. Opening the marketing of an aircraft to the country (or the world for that matter) greatly increases the likelihood of sale. We've sold aircraft to Canadian residents and can facilitate the export process.

How easy is it going to be for that potential buyer from out of state to get to your aircraft for inspection prior to purchase? If they are coming via commercial airlines, is there a major airport close to where your aircraft is listed? The easier and less costly it is for a prospective buyer to come see your aircraft, the more willing they are to invest their time and money to come see it. If you are a 2-3 hour drive from the nearest major airport, this is likely to require they also invest in hotel, car rental, etc. and it just becomes more difficult than going to see an aircraft like yours for sale that might be easier and less costly to get to.

4. Focus

How does the Broker’s focus align with your aircraft? If you are selling a Piper Cherokee, is a Broker that sells business jets going to be the most appropriate for the sale of your aircraft? Huge sums of money can be made in selling jets or other cabin class aircraft. If the commission associated with your aircraft is significantly less than this, where is the broker naturally going to focus his/her efforts? This is not to say you cannot get good service from someone that sells both jets and light singles/twins, but be careful and ensure your aircraft will be just as important to this broker as the Citation he/she’s trying to sell.

5. Services Provided

Will the Broker be taking the pictures of your aircraft for the advertisements or will you have to provide them? Brokers take MANY pictures of aircraft and while they don’t need to be a professional photographer, they know the kinds of shots and angles that will look best for those reviewing the advertisements. If the broker is located in your state, you should expect that they will come and take these for you. If they are not, then they should provide you simple guidance in how to take the pictures yourself and get them to them for marketing.

Will the Broker be present at every presentation of your aircraft? Seems a silly question doesn’t it? After all, you are paying them to sell your aircraft. Unfortunately, we have heard of some of the rather large companies providing brokerage services in our area that will talk to the prospective buyer from many states away on the phone and then send them to you for you to meet, present and demonstrate the aircraft (the broker not being present). You should expect and confirm with any broker you are considering using that they will in fact be present any time a prospective buyer comes to view your aircraft unless you are located in a different state than the broker.

6. Relationships

Does the Broker you’re considering maintain good relationships with others in the aviation community? This is less critical than most other items discussed so far, but it is a benefit in selling your aircraft. Do they have title companies they’ve worked with that are reasonably priced and provide good service to prospective buyers? Do they know of shops where a prospect can have a pre-buy done (offering multiple options as it is not necessarily a good idea for a prospect to use the one shop recommended by the Broker or aircraft owner for a pre-buy or annual)? Do they know good financing and insurance sources that can help the buyer complete his purchase of your aircraft? Suppose the prospect loves your aircraft, but just has to have the latest GPS added and included in their purchase financing? Does the Broker have relationships with reputable shops that can complete this kind of installation for them at attractive rates?

7. Availability

When is the Broker available? Most people purchasing piston aircraft have jobs and this can limit their ability to view aircraft to evenings and weekends. Will your Broker be available to work with them during these hours?

8. Presence

Is the Broker registered with the FAA as an Aircraft Dealer? Where are they located? Are they incorporated? In short, is it a legitimate business or a hobby?

9. Protection

Does the Broker have a standard Purchase Agreement that has been reviewed by legal counsel that protects your interests? What insurance do they maintain? What insurance are you required to maintain?

10. Price

This is often the single most important factor in selling your aircraft. How does the Broker assist you in setting an appropriate price? How do they approach recommending a value? An aircraft priced too high can sit on the market for more than a year, yet you don’t want to undervalue the aircraft either.

There are sources such as V-Ref available free to AOPA (Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association) members at AOPA’s website, Blue Book and other publications that can help in arriving at the approximate retail and wholesale values of your aircraft. This however should not be the sole source of information. Estimated retail values in these software programs are a good starting point, but can at times be a little on the high side of what you can actually expect to sell for. Much like in selling a house, a good approach after gathering the approximate retail value is to perform comparisons to other aircraft of the same make and model and similar vintage, total hours, hours since major overhaul and similarly equipped to sanity check the value. When you tell the Broker the price you’d like to get for your aircraft, be wary if with little thought they reply that that’s great and they’ll list it for you. Expect that they do their homework and assist you in setting a realistic price that should be achievable.

Okay, we’re a Brokerage and we’d love to earn your business! How do we honestly believe we stack up and why do we feel we can provide you the best service in selling your aircraft?

1. CAS Fees

Simple, competitive and straight forward. For those located in Ohio where we will be present at all showings, it will be the greater of $2,900 or 4.5% of the actual selling price. For those located outside Ohio where you will be demonstrating the aircraft yourself, the fee is $2,900. There are no hidden additional fees for advertising or anything else.

2. CAS Exposure

At Capital Aircraft Sales, each aircraft appears in the largest advertising sites on-line (internet) and in print thereby providing the most exposure for your aircraft. Additionally, we keep updated sheets with pictures of our inventory that we post at various airports as we visit them to inspect, list and demo aircraft for customers.

3. CAS Location

We are convenient to prospective buyers! Delaware, Ohio is a northern suburb of Columbus, Ohio. Port Columbus International Airport services most of the major airlines and is within a ½ hours driving distance. We also can pick up buyers from the airport and deliver them to view your aircraft if we are selling from your location. Additionally, Columbus has a very well networked interstate structure, so for those driving, we are convenient. Lastly, Delaware Municipal Airport (our base of operations) has a 100’ x 5,000’ runway that accommodates everything up through small business jets and has instrument approaches to allow getting here in less than ideal weather. You are welcome to base your aircraft at our location during the listing period or we can sell it from yours.

4. CAS Focus

We are focused on the sale of piston engine singles and twins. You can bank on the fact that the sale of your aircraft is just as important to us as selling any other aircraft we have in our inventory. We are pilots ourselves and recognize the importance of this transaction to you. We guarantee you will receive impeccable follow-up from us; we enjoy what we do!

5. CAS Services Provided

Prior to listing your aircraft, we will take whatever time is necessary to answer any questions you might have, provide you a copy of the Listing Agreement for your review and an estimate of what your aircraft will sell for.

At the time of listing, we’ll need to receive a signed copy of the Listing Agreement from you. If you are located in Ohio, we will come to your location or you can come to ours to have the photos taken for advertisements, complete the aircraft inventory and do a quick review of the log books to ensure they are all present. If you are located outside Ohio, we'll provide you easy to follow guidance on taking the photos and inventorying the aircraft avionics and any upgrades to be included in advertisements.

Following signing of the Listing Agreement, we will immediately get to work publishing the sale of your aircraft to the internet and print media. Internet publication can usually occur in as little as two days; print ad submission deadlines dictate how quickly your aircraft will show up in that media.

We will NOT turn down any offer on your aircraft without confirming your decision. We set a listing price at the time of listing, but ultimately, the decision to accept or reject any offer made is yours. We will communicate to you any showings that occur on the aircraft. If your aircraft is located at our base or anywhere in Ohio, we will invite you to be present for the showings whenever possible. It is not necessary that you be there, but it is very nice for a potential buyer to be able to talk to you about your experience with the aircraft. If you are outside Ohio, we will set a time for you to meet with the prospective buyer that is convenient to your schedule.

6. CAS Relationships

Capital Aircraft Sales stays abreast of financing sources and rates and has several recommended sources. Of course a buyer is free to finance through any mechanism/vendor they like, but we are prepared to help them locate appropriate sources of financing. We have relationships with more than one insurance carrier and will help the prospective buyer locate an appropriate vendor if they like.

We maintain good relationships with several airport maintenance facilities and we can help buyers locate alternatives for accomplishing a pre-purchase inspection or annual as well as working with them to have avionic upgrades included in their purchase transaction (e.g. adding something like a Garmin GNS430 IFR GPS to the aircraft).

7. CAS Availability

Capital Aircraft Sales phones are available weekdays, weekends and evenings. Unless we are already on the phone or meeting with another client, your prospective buyer is not going to just reach an answering service on evenings or weekends. We will work our schedule to accommodate the schedules of prospective purchasers including meeting with you, taking calls, demonstrating and selling your aircraft.

8. CAS Presence

Capital Aircraft Sales, Inc. is a Corporation registered in the State of Ohio.

Our office in the JetStream Corporate Hangar and Office Complex at the Delaware Municipal Airport (KDLZ) provides a professional setting for meeting and greeting clients and prospects. Additionally we maintain a professionally developed web site at www.capital-aircraft.com that showcases our services and inventory.

9. CAS Protection

We have a standard Purchase Agreement that has legal counsel review and approval to protect the interests of our corporation, you as the seller and the buyer. Our passion is satisfied listing customers and aircraft purchasers. Word-of-mouth results in repeat business for us and we believe you will be very pleased with our moral and ethical approach in conducting our business. We treat you with the respect and service we would want to receive ourselves.

You will need to maintain your standard owners insurance policy during the term of listing. We maintain commercial airport liability insurance as well as the insurance required to demonstrate your aircraft for prospective purchasers.

10. CAS Aircraft Pricing

We use professional industry software as an initial indicator of value and then do a market comparison to recommend an appropriate price that should provide you the most possible money from the sale of your aircraft while not pricing it unrealistically at an amount that won’t sell.

In short, we are structured and will endeavor to provide you the best possible service in the sale of your aircraft. We hope to earn your business and wish you the best in whatever approach you choose!