Is an invoice as good as a bill of sale?

[Tintin]

"An Invoice is a Bill of Sale. The latter is an anachronistic form that is still legally valid and is used in selling cars or boats to make it sound more impressive, in law there is no difference"

A direct quote from the seller of a yacht that I may be interested in, where no Bill of Sale exists from the previous owner to the current owner, the previous owner being a company that ultimately went into liquidation.

I have always believed that a Bill of Sale is the key document in proving title, and an invoice is not sufficient.

Would an invoice satisfy the requirements of the Part 1 register?

Thoughts anyone?

 

[MYStargazer]

Should be alright. Have a chat with the Registry to be certain, though.

 

[Twister_Ken]

Ah, but has the invoice been paid? A receipted invoice would be better.

 

[alant]

Ah, but has the invoice been paid? A receipted invoice would be better.

+1
An invoice is a request for payment only.

 

[Tranona]

No. You need a Bill of Sale as this is the evidence of title. Look at the wording. It is saying the seller is free to sell and transfers the boat to you free of any charges. An invoice is just a record of money paid, not a document of title.

Use the model Bill of Sale from the MCA or the RYA. If you want to register your title to the boat then you have to provide a Bill of Sale. You do not have to show the amount you paid for the boat on the B of S - just a "consideration" so the words "for £1 and other considerations" is all you need to make it legitimate.

 

[jonic]

As above

The crucial bit here is an invoice is just a request for payment.

It does not prove payment was made unless stated.

It should also reference an identifying mark or official number of the boat.

It also misses these words found on the Bill of Sale

* I/we the transferee(s) transfer x share in the above ship and its appurtenances to the transferee(s). (figures & words)

the receipt of which is acknowledged,

IF ANY REGISTERED MORTGAGE IS OUTSTANDING YOU MUST TICK THIS BOX

Further, **I/we, as transferor(s), hereby declare that **I/we have the power to transfer in the manner described above the above
mentioned shares, and that they are free from encumbrances [save as appears by the registry of the above ship].
(delete this paragraph and initial the deletion if there are NO outstanding mortgages)

These words are not there to make it sound impressive.

They are there to make it clear how many shares and being transferred and are legally declaring the seller is free to sell without encumbrance.

A boat is sold in shares of 64.

So if buying the whole boat, the Bill of Sale will state 64/64ths have been transferred.