Fraudulent sale by broker - legal question

[absit_omen]

Last November I bought my boat from a British broker in Mallorca. As she is Part 1 Registered I applied to MCA Cardiff for re-registration in my name and a change of boat name.

I have received a reply from the MCA stating "the completed mortgage deeds to discharge the outstanding mortgages" must be sent to them and that the current Certificate of Registry must be sent to them for cancellation. I have none of these documents in my posession

I have a Bill of Sale, supplied by the broker and signed by the vendor which states that there are no outstanding mortgages.This, presumably, is fraudulent.

I now have a boat with no registration and an illegal Bill of Sale. I understood that the main purpose of a broker was to ensure legal transfer of title (particularly in the case of a Part 1 Registered vessel).

I am returning from Spain to UK tomorrow to seek legal advice but would welcome any comments.

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[steve_cronin]

It is the case with Spanish property transfers that debts and charges go with the property. This may or may not apply to boats, I don't know.

You state that the broker was British but in Mallorca. His nationality is irrelevant if his business is based in Spain then he is a Spanish broker. Do you mean that you bought under British or Spanish law? This is important and should be stated in the contract. There will be a provision such as "...any disputes will be settled under Spanish law and the courts of Madrid." If it's local law then you need a local lawyer.

Funny, I paused before starting this paragraph to take a call from a client buying a property in Spain - Coincidence?

I suspect that his omission to check on incumberances is more likely carelessness than fraud - still inexcusable though and I hope that he has adequate PI cover. Another possible scenario is simply that the previous owner needs your money to redeem the mortgage and get the notice sent to Cardiff and , say, over Christmas he just didn't get around to it*. There will be delays in this but it will clear itself in time. However if it works as slowly as our HM Land Registry you could be in for a few weeks delay.

I'm not exactly saying "Relax", in fact legal advice asap is vital. Just make sure it's in the right country. Look at the Law Society site http://www.solicitors-online.com/ and you will be able to find a British solicitor with a Spanish specialism.

Steve Cronin

* "a ROUND TUIT" is often a desireable tool to "get" when completing a pressing task (in my experience)

<hr width=100% size=1>The above is, like any other post here, only a personal opinion

 

[smee]

In UK (and probably worldwide) the debt goes with the boat, just as is the case with Spanish propertywhere again debts are passed on.

It could be that the owner of the boat "fraudulently" filled out his listing agreement with the broker and didn't inform them of the debt.

Brokers should however get a faxed Transcript of the Registry at point of payment as it is not unheard of for an ex-owner to get a mortgage on a boat an hour before the deal is finalised!

Also it is fairly common that the broker would pay the mortgage company out of the proceeds before passing on any remaining sum to the owner, so it doesn't sound as if the broker knew about it, and probably felt he could trust the previous owner! There is no doubt though that he was lax!

I agree with Steve Cronin, this dispute is most likely to have to be settled under Spanish law unless your Sale & Purchase agreement specifically states English law. I have bought in Spain, and my contract stated Spanish law!


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[Chris_Robb]

would the broker be BEKA YACHTING? I have my boat for sale in the uK and they have suggested they have a buyer and would I like to sign up and pay them 10%. - oh - and the 10% would not cost me anything as they would mark the price up by 10% - what rubbish

Good luck with sorting it out - - PM (private message) me the answer if you don't want to put in on line.

Chris

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[jonjo]

Maybe the debt has been paid off but the finance company has yet to notify Cardiff.

It once happened to me when selling a car on which I had paid off the loan early. A phone call to the finance house soon resulted in a faxed debt cleared record.

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[AuntyRinum]

This emphasises how important it is that purchasers of British Registered Vessels check the registry themselves. Easy to do and I've found them very helpful in the past.

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[brianrunyard]

Surely the clue is in the phrase (...the COMPLETED mortgage deeds......)
The phrase "the completed mortgage deeds to discharge the outstanding mortgages", doesn't necessarily mean there's an outstanding mortgage, just that they require proof that there isn't.

<hr width=100% size=1>Brian
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/brunyard