More advice on buying safely

[Dan Gurney]

Morning all,

It just occurred to me that if I was buying a car, even a cheap one for £4 - 5k, I'd always do an HPI check to make sure there's no outstanding finance. Is there any such equivalent with boats? Is there some way of ensuring that the seller actually owns the thing? If someone borrowed 10k to buy a rib and sold it to me because he couldn't make the payments, then didn't settle the finance then I run the risk of the finance company repo'ing the boat?

Any thoughts on this?

[Poly]

At the end of the market you are looking at its most likely to be an unsecured loan. At the top end of the market marine mortgages can be secured on boats - in which case they need to be registered on the small ships register.

[jumpinjack]

Check the paperwork, call the previous owner, lots can be done to check ownership history. A lot of it is also gut feeling.

Have to say it but a lot of the scams are so obvious, a genuine seller will be pretty easy to tell, see the boat at his place, have a cuppa, shot the breeze etc etc. be extra careful with the ebays gum trees etc as is always said if a deal is too good to be true then it often is.

[Searider]

Originally Posted by Poly

At the end of the market you are looking at its most likely to be an unsecured loan. At the top end of the market marine mortgages can be secured on boats - in which case they need to be registered on the small ships register.

Not Small Ships Register,

Part 1 Register to be able to secure a Mortgage against a boat.

Most finance houses these days don't do secured loans under £50k

[Poly]

Originally Posted by Searider

Not Small Ships Register,

Part 1 Register to be able to secure a Mortgage against a boat.

Aye, sorry as I typed that I knew it wasn't quite right, but I was too hazy on a Sunday morning to remember the details...

I guess involving Duncan (Searider) or any other professional marine surveyor is another way to help make sure that what you buy is genuine. The £40 for joining the RYA is often scoffed at - but members do get access to the legal advice from the RYA and some template sale agreements etc, which might be worthwhile.

[Dry Run]

I think all the advice about thoroughly checking out the seller is sensible. But to answer your question directly; there is no equivalent HPI for boats. I guess ultimately you do stand a chance of a boat being repo'd (although probably more likely if it's stolen).

Marine law is very different to "common" law especially when it comes to ownership and financial liability. engaging the services of a professional with knowledge of the industry should prove beneficial.

If we take a boat on our brokerage, it is obviously very important for us (and the eventual purchaser) that the proper checks, paperwork and documentation are produced (including declarations that the vessel belongs to the vendor, has no outstanding finance, and that at some point VAT has been paid).

[Dan Gurney]

Thanks for the advice.

Isn't "engaging a professional" going to be a bit expensive at my price point though ?

[Dry Run]

Originally Posted by Clamchowder

Thanks for the advice.

Isn't "engaging a professional" going to be a bit expensive at my price point though ?

If you're buying privately then quite possibly. If you're buying through a broker then they should do that for you as part of the due diligence and service.

However, I think the advice available on a forum like this should keep you from going too far wrong