Some tips while you Selling a boat
We learn that selling a home or a vehicle is not something to be taken without due consideration, that we should have vehicles inspected over by specialists, that a home is surveyed & the conveyancing done by experts. The same can be stated for buying a boat of any description. Why should these principals be any different when selling a boat?
As an example, if you sold a property, you will involve a legal professional to undertake the conveyancing. Would it be advisable if selling a high-end boat, of say ?100,000 or more to include a marine lawyer in the selling process? In this informative article, we’ll look at various basic tips about how to sell a boat.
There is various ways you can sell a boat – through a specialist broker, privately, via auction sites to name but a few. However, in all examples, there are some things that you must do.
You wouldn’t sell an expensive car without having service history, nor would you enter a dealership with out paperwork for the car – thus it is the same with regard to boats. The primary item to ensure you possess is the ‘bill of sale’ from the time you purchased the boat you’re trying to sell. Whenever a boat is sold, a fresh ‘bill of sale’ must be generated, documenting the transfer from owner to owner, creating what is known as a ‘chain of title’.
Similar to service history with a vehicle, if there isn’t much ‘chain of title’ linked to the boat – it will not achieve its maximum market value. Each time a vessel is made, as a closing part of the building procedure, it’s issued with a ‘builders certificate’ – this is the initial ‘chain of title’ record, once again if this isn’t provided, purchasers will likely be cautious & the full sale price will not be realized.
Due to the high price of boats, if you have bought the vessel through a brokerage service then you’ll have received a VAT sales receipt for the purchase. If the vessel has been constructed earlier than 1985, it’s exempt from VAT and you should not be charged VAT or been given an invoice incorporating VAT.
European directives were brought in, in June 1998 to cover the electrical power equipment on boats, referred to as RCD – you will need to ensure that you received a ‘declaration of conformity’ when you make your purchase & have this readily available at the time you sell your boat.
Again, applying the car example – you should have received a manual for the engine, along with one for your boat. You also need to possess all service history & sales receipt documents for the different work that’s been executed on the vessel whilst in your control like the annual service invoices.
Just like selling a property, it is strongly recommended to seek good legal council about the selling process. We buy, more than we sell, so in case you are trying to sell your boat for a substantial sum of money a marine lawyer will be able to guide you with the selling process & make certain you have fulfilled all the legal requirements, including undertaking searches to determine if there are any active ‘ship mortgages’ associated with the boat.
If you sell via a yacht broker, they will will give you a ‘contract of sale’. Contracts can vary greatly, therefore a marine lawyer will be able to examine any contracts & ensure everything is fair, without any hidden conditions that could trip you or a prospective buyer up – in these days of litigation, having a marine lawyer dotting the I’s & crossing the T’s for you, could help you save a good deal of pain!
If you opt to sell your part of a vessel as part of a syndicate, then keep in mind, you merely possess part of the vessel / right to use it – most, if not all syndicates will have had a formalised ‘syndication contract’ drawn up by a marine lawyer to cover fractional ownership & rights of use.
If you keep to the steps laid out above, most of which are common sense – you should have no issue selling your vessel.
If you have a boat for sale, that article is right for you! If you don’t know how to sell a boat than visit our site where you can find more information about a practice of solicitors and advocates with offices across Hampshire. As well as an active Marine Law department, Verisona has solicitors practising all key areas of business and personal law.
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