Proving Title

[DAVIDO]

Along with my business partner we are looking to buy a boat and hopefully it will be the S37 we are viewing this weekend.
We are in the fortunate position of not requiring a mortgage on this ocassion so how do we go about proving title if thats what its called? i.e. no one else has any claim against it.
Many thanks.

 

[MapisM]

how do we go about proving title if thats what its called? i.e. no one else has any claim against it.

Unbelievable as it might sound, my understanding based on what has been previously discussed around here is that in the UK there is NO WAY to be 100% sure about that.
You can minimize such risk, though - surely some expert will be able to explain you how, much better than I could.
All the best for your weekend of boat hunting!

 

[DAVIDO]

Unbelievable as it might sound, my understanding based on what has been previously discussed around here is that in the UK there is NO WAY to be 100% sure about that.
You can minimize such risk, though - surely some expert will be able to explain you how, much better than I could.
All the best for your weekend of boat hunting!

I feared someone was going to say that!
Thanks for the best wishes for the weekend though.

 

[Tranona]

If it is on the part 1 register then it is easier as it will show if there are any charges registered against the boat. However it is not compulsory for charges to be registered so there is always the outside chance there is an unregistered charge. It is however difficult for an unregistered charge to be enforced.

If it is not on Part 1 then it is unlikely that there is any charge (but not impossible) simply because prudent lenders insist on registration so that they can register a charge.

You need to look at the trail of paperwork to see what sort of owners it has had - for example corporate ownerhip opens up possibilities for more creative financing. Your Bill of Sale (and previous ones) will say that the owner is transferring title free of encumbarances.

If you are buying through a broker, he will (or should) do all this checking for you so be sure that you see all the original paperwork before you commit.

As noted earlier there is no absolute foolproof way of confirming clear title because we do not have a system of compulsory registration, but in reality the risk is very very small.