who,s boat is it

[Guest]

I have owned a boat for three years, and out of the blue a finance company is now staking a claim on my boat for someone who mortgaged it two owners previous
to my purchase and the boat was under a different name.
I know it is wise to check all deatails when purchasing a vessel but there is only so much you can go on ...ie name and current owner etc.
Are there any legal eagles out there who know what my position is on this issue
and how can I save my investment from being reposessed.

 

[petem]

First question is who did you buy it from? Was it bought as a stock boat from a dealer or was it a private sale?

 

[Baltimore_Bill]

do you have a Bill of Sale which states that it was sold free of mortgages etc...?

 

[aztec]

Firstly, it's your boat.. you bought it in "good faith" the previous owner "owes" the outstanding monies to the mortgage company. reposession is possible, however. so stay in posession of your boat. contact the seller, or get your solicitor to, and explain the problem. Hopefully he'll sort it out without problems, but just in case talk to your solicitor. good luck.

regards, steve.

interested in stuff that needs mendin'

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/s.amos/index.html

 

[Piers]

IMHO, if the boat was subject to a marine mortgage, the debt stays with the boat, not the person who took it out. Marine law and all that....which is why it is so vital to check, however hard, and if not absolutely sure, get the seller to indemnify you - yet that's only worth something if the person is not, as they say, 'a man of straw'.

Piers du Pré
MBM Cruising Club enthusiast
www.dupre.co.uk/fsPlaydeau.htm

 

[ari]

As I understand it, marine mortgage or not, if the finance company leant money against the boat, they've got a right to it. Ridiculous state of British maritime law... If it is a marine mortgage then the finance company will usually insist that the boat is Full Part One registered, but even if they don't, and therefore there is no way of discovering whether there is outstanding finance, they still have the right. Amazing, but there it is.

I can't imagine the bloke you bought the boat off is going to be very interested, relieved maybe, but if the loan wasn't his and the boat is no longer his then he's out of it. YOu can persue the chap who had the loan, but if the finance company have persued him (as they almost certainly will have done initially) without success then it is hard to know you are likely to be more successful than them...

Did you buy the boat through a broker or privately?

 

[miket]

Doesn't sound a very noce situation. Sympathies.

Contact RYA - Edmund Whelan (Legal Dept), for absolute facts.

 

[hlb]

In any event. It sounds like a good time to move berths, change name again and paint it a different colour. Before the arguments start.

No one can force me to come here-----------
----- I'm a Volunteer!!!

Haydn

 

[jfm]

Re: It\'s probly your boat, but....

This is tricky, you need expert legal help

The finance company may claim to have a legal charge (ie mortgage) over the boat, but the question is whether it's enforceable or not. It depends somewhat on whether you knew, or ought to have known, about it. Normally, boats subject to a mortgage would be part 1 reg and then the mortgage would be on the public register, and if that's the case (is it?) you are stumped. You should have checked.

But if no part 1 reg, and if the finance co did not otherwise make you aware (eg by attaching a small plate to the boat saying "This boat is subject to a mortgage in favour of...."), then if you bort it in good faith you may be ok. It is difficult for a finance co to enforce a mortgage on an easily-sold-to-consumer item (including a boat) when they did not tell people about it. This is tricky stuff, get a good lawyer.

It is not correct that the debt "stays with the boat". The debt is the resp of the borrower. Finance co can only try to get your boat if he defaults. An indemnity is plainly worth nothing. You owe no duty to the finance co to assist, so park it somewhere else and dont tell them for the time being, and change its name, till more stuff emerges.

Beware "amateur" legal services including the RYA helpline imho. This is serious stuff, and if it comes to a fight you need a serious lawyer. imho

Good luck, let us know.

Please advise whether part 1 reg, and which bank/finance co issit, and how much is the debt?

 

[Guest]

Re: It\'s probly your boat, but....

JFM, not all finance houses insist on registering all boats with loans on them, as I have just found out on the deal I did with the Princess, the new owner borrowed the amount owing on the Birchwood plus the difference on the Princess, so the loan on the Bwood was transferred to new Princess agreement.

When it came to paperwork sorting I found out that the Bwood was not registered at all, it was due to the circumstances of the borrower and the amount borrowed from BOScotland, I have bought the Bwood obviously free of any money owing on it, letter from BOS etc worded as free of interest to them, but Princess has been registered because of loan amount and that it could be taken away etc.

The moral of this deal is that had it not been on finance with BOS I would not have known it had any money owing on it, it is perhaps a good thing that it did have a mortgage on it as it showed up when a loan was raised on the Princess as BOS had to contact me for paperwork etc, just shows how easy it is to get caught out.

Pete, can you disclose where you bought the boat from, was it private or through a broker that may not be around, let me know if you like, I may be able to help you as a broker friend of mine helped me with the sale of the Princess as we had some paperwork problems to sort out.

Cheers paul js.

 

[ari]

Re: It\'s probly your boat, but....

Anyone think it is strange that Peter-M posts this on Friday asking advice on a pretty serious matter, gets lots of people pitching in with advice or comments, many of which ask him to clarify certain points, and here we are on Tuesday evening and not one response from him...

Most odd.

Ari

 

[Guest]

Re: It\'s probly your boat, but....

Did you ever see the series " THE FALL AND RISE OF REGINALL PERRIN" pete has probably done the bit where he takes all his clothes off and runs into the sea, never to be seen again, or hes halfway across Biscay by now trying to outrun the finance co. Might be nice to hear from him EH????.

paul js.

 

[Guest]

Re hi ari im back

you are a suspicious character ari .Is it not conceivable that my computer might have gone down ? they can be as frustrating as boats you know.
however i am going to try and post the question again in greater detail now i have heard the questions raised,talk to you soon Peter-m