boat buying....cash ok?

The seller would no doubt be happy with that, yes. The only trouble is that the transaction is not traceable, so if he insists you didnt actually pay him (very unlikely), you'll have a hard time proving otherwise.
 
Whats wrong with it ? I've done that. Sold and bought.

If you are worried about them claiming you didn't pay - do it via the bank with account records. Pay it into his account or an account he opens specifically for the purpose if he wishes to stop 'ex' or another getting hands on it. Even if he closes the account straight after - bank still has record of the transaction.
 
I would be unhappy to accept cash near the upper limit you quote. Something would not feel right e.g. dodgy character handling stolen cash or concerns about fake currency.

Edit: Also in the UK banking large cash sums trigger statutory money laundering regulations.
 
In this day and age I'd increasingly lean towards electronic transfer. There are too many holes in cash, cheque and even bankers draft transactions to be completely happy. Its a lot of money if it goes walkabout for any reason.

Tim
 
I've bought and sold cash above that amount. Never considered it dodgy in the least, or perhaps I was being naive.

These days I would probably want the cash verified at a bank just to make sure.
 
Personally I dont like the idea of wandering about with cash,but I dont have a bank in UK because of money laundering regulations.The idea is to go off looking at selected boats and if found pay up front aftrer a survey ,move on boat and sail away!If the boats in Essex I really dont want to have to drive back to the bank in Sussex to get said cash,I am sure there is a "proper way" but here in Spain cash is still used and cheques etc are doubtful at best!!!
 
mogy said:
Personally I dont like the idea of wandering about with cash,but I dont have a bank in UK because of money laundering regulations.The idea is to go off looking at selected boats and if found pay up front aftrer a survey ,move on boat and sail away!If the boats in Essex I really dont want to have to drive back to the bank in Sussex to get said cash,I am sure there is a "proper way" but here in Spain cash is still used and cheques etc are doubtful at best!!!
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Then just arrange for an electronic transfer from your bank in Spain to the vendor's bank. Easy to do and cleared fiunds in 24 hours. Do it often the other way.Much more secure and a clear record of payment as you can include the reason for the transfer in the documents eg "payment for yacht Saucy Lill" or whatever.
 
HMRC consider businesses which accept cash payments for goods worth 15,000 euros or more either in a single transaction or in installments to be high risk for money laundering (and therefore have to register with them). Individual businesses can set their own lower limits, and many seem to have a limit of around £9000 (possibly set when the Euro-GBP was in a diferent place). Sometimes trade bodies (e.g. the BMF?) opperate a scheme for their members to simplify the paperwork - these may set even lower limits. If its a deal through a broker, or a business then it may be a problem.

It is difficult to imagine a situation where a genuine buyer and genuine seller would both prefer a totally cash transaction?
 
mogy said:
Personally I dont like the idea of wandering about with cash,but I dont have a bank in UK because of money laundering regulations.
Click to expand...
be careful that is not misinterpreted as "I don't have a bank account because I'll get caught money laundering".

,I am sure there is a "proper way" but here in Spain cash is still used and cheques etc are doubtful at best!!!
Click to expand...
if you want to do it "cleanly" get a UK solicitor and put your £ in their client account (you will have money laundering hoops to jump through) and they can transfer it instantly to the vendor's account.
 
Can't see why not. It happened to me once. Guy was standing on the pontoon next to my boat. It was windy and bucketing down. It turned out he was waiting for the owner of the boat next to mine to turn up as he was interested in buying it. I invited him on board to shelter from the rain and gave him a cuppa. He made appreciative noises about my boat which by coincidence I was just about to advertise for sale. 3 days later he appeared with £9,000 cash. I simply wrote him a receipt and that was that.
 
I bought a boat for cash many years ago. It was a Friday evening and the vendor was a little nervous about the whole deal. After the deal was done I asked him what the problem was, he said he now had to hold all that cash over the weekend. He was actually worried I might be back later that night to relieve him of the funds!
 
Nothing wrong with cash but risky - think muggers at the very least!

If you must do it without using a/c numbers then why not go with him to his bank - get them to issue a draft and take it to your bank to pay in - get your bank to check it before you give the purchaser a receipt / keys etc. OR do the same with cash. basically make 100% sure that you have got / wll get the value for the money before he sails away!!
 
Apart from the very real security problems of holding cash, I think all of you who think a cash transaction acceptable are not aware of the technical level that counterfeiters have achieved over the past decade.

The buyer may be honest and unaware of any counterfeit notes he is tendering, but whoever ends up holding them is out by that amount as well as having to submit to a very uncomfortable interview if detected trying to pass them to a bank or other financial institution that has the relevant equipment for checking.

I write as someone who was employed in the development and sales of banknote self-service deposit and bank office sorting machines internationally.
 
Thanks for input,I think I will go the electronic bank transfer way,by law I can take out 9000euros from Spain withouy notifying the excise man.Best to be aware of all these things life seems more complicated and many people untrstworthy when money is involved!
 
mogy said:
Is it acceptable to pay cash for a boat under 10 grand?
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As you're buying, pay cash by all means, and get a good discount for it!

My concern is that you get good title to what you are purchasing. I'm sure you know all about that - you shouuld use the RYA contract and have a witness when signing the document.

You don't want to face the problem of having your acquisition challenged by someone who also claims title!

PWG
 
RIB_imposter said:
be careful that is not misinterpreted as "I don't have a bank account because I'll get caught money laundering".

if you want to do it "cleanly" get a UK solicitor and put your £ in their client account (you will have money laundering hoops to jump through) and they can transfer it instantly to the vendor's account.
Click to expand...

We transfer money througfh UK regularly and only have to declare purpose to be clear of the laundering bit.
There seems to be a bit of scare-mongering here TBH ... it's not that bad.
What I don't like is UK banks refusal to allow multi-currency online banking. Over here I have various accounts with a number of banks and I can have any tradeablre currency account shown and transacted on that online login. UK banks you cannot do that ... so I have to have to fax Indemnity, all sorts of other time consuming ridiculous ways to transact currency via UK accounts.

Cash for a boat ? I have no trouble with that at all - seems peeps in UK do ?? :rolleyes:
 
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