Buying a boat that has no docs

[Chris_Robb]

i'd be more concerned that no one mentioned there were no documents until after the survey stage.Before you'd made a financial outlay on the vessel.if i was on the level i'd be straight about it from day 1.for what its worth.is it a question of if you have to ask the question you already know the answer?

The broker should have made you aware of the lack of documents BEFORE you made an offer. Most brokers in house rules REQUIRE them to have sight of ALL relevant documents before they even market the boat. I suspect that these rules are not always followed.

Again -what we have here is a sloppy broker. Name and shame him.

 

[Theshipscat]

Not sure where that idea comes from. Your contract is with the owner/vendor and the Bill of Sale is transferring ownership from him to you. It does not involve the broker who is an agent of the vendor. He has no legal responsibility to the purchaser except in very narrow circumstance.

A reputable broker should of course ensure that all the documents are in order, but if they do not exist he cannot "invent" them.

It would be different if the broker was actually acting as a trader and owned the boat. Then he would have to provide the Bill of Sale. However, you woulkd still need to check he is the beneficial owner by seeing the Bill of Sale covering his purchase of the boat.

An official MCA Bill of sale is drawn up by the broker not the buyer or seller. It is upto the Broker to ensure the details are correct as best he can. This could otherwise be seen as aiding and abetting.

 

[Tranona]

An official MCA Bill of sale is drawn up by the broker not the buyer or seller. It is upto the Broker to ensure the details are correct as best he can. This could otherwise be seen as aiding and abetting.

That may well be so if you want to see it that way, but he is not a party to the sale. That is strictly between the vendor and the purchaser. The vendor signs that he is the beneficial owner. If he cannot prove that he is by either a Bill of Sale or invoice from the builder then the Bill of Sale is not valid unless the purchaser is prepared to accept there is no concrete evidence of title.

If the "Broker" is acting as agent for the vendor, normally his only responsibility in law is to the vendor who pays him.

BTW there is nothing "official" about an MCA Bill of Sale. It is only a model document. Its legal status depends on the vendor declaring he is the beneficial owner and the purchaser becoming the new owner on the passing of the consideration as defined in the contract. Basic Law of Contract stuff.

 

[Seanick]

Surely the vendor would at least have a load of pics from happy sailing days, especially when he bought it. Has he lost his family photo albums as well??

 

[Refueler]

Why not draw up a Bill of Sale that has wording to the effect ...

In even of craft or any item included is found to be stolen, mis-appropriated or is subject to lien, credit or other and subsequently re-possessed such that purchaser loses such item or craft - vendor agrees to re-imburse buyer.

??

Or that ...

Vendor guarantees that craft and all items included are his property and no lien, outstanding credit or other liability are present on craft or items. Vendor guarantees to discharge all liabilities prior to transfer of ownership.

There are many ways to cover the proverbial a**e ...