Getting a boat loan?

[Stevethetrain]

I need help getting finance to buy a liveaboard, I know someone posted a link to a decent lender and I need help to find the link again. My credit rating is'nt fantastic but hopefully someone can lend me the money at a legal rate of interest?

 

Thanks!

 

Steve.

[Guest]

I need help getting finance to buy a liveaboard, I know someone posted a link to a decent lender and I need help to find the link again. My credit rating is'nt fantastic but hopefully someone can lend me the money at a legal rate of interest?

 

Thanks!

 

Steve.

 

These guys are I understand just about the only company that still do marine finance/mortgages for boats.

 

http://www.royscotlarch.co.uk/

 

I believe Barclays Marine Finance still are not currently providing loans.

 

I can't make any judgement about what they will think about in terms of your credit rating - might be worth giving them a bell to discuss.

[Stevethetrain]

Those are the guys!

 

Thanks!

[Lady Muck]

They did lend to us (we're both self employed so no bank would lend us a penny), but you will still have to save for a sizeable deposit (which cannot come from another loan) and you will need proof of a permanent mooring.

 

Plus - the sooner you can pay it off the better, the interest rate is hefty.

Edited January 10, 2011 by Lady Muck

[Laurie Booth]

They did lend to us (we're both self employed so no bank would lend us a penny), but you will still have to save for a sizeable deposit (which cannot come from another loan) and you will need proof of a permanent mooring.

 

Plus - the sooner you can pay it off the better, the interest rate is hefty.

Is there such a thing as a permanent mooring?

[Lady Muck]

it's BW terminology

[Guest]

Plus - the sooner you can pay it off the better, the interest rate is hefty.

 

Very true - (15 days to go and all being well mine will be paid off luckily)

 

- it currently very roughly equates to half the monthly payment going off the actual loan the other half being pure interest...

Edited January 10, 2011 by MJG

[Naughty Cal]

Very true - (15 days to go and all being well mine will be paid off luckily)

 

- it currently very roughly equates to half the monthly payment going off the actual loan the other half being pure interest...

 

Interest rates were reasonably high when we took our loan out for NC. Since then the FHBR has plummeted however our payment has stayed the same. This is resulting in us vastly overpaying on our loan at the moment which has a current interest rate of just 3%. Much cheaper than any high street loans around. The FHBR can of course rise just as easily as it falls so it remains to be seen how long it takes to pay off the loan.

[Nine of Hearts]

They did lend to us (we're both self employed so no bank would lend us a penny), but you will still have to save for a sizeable deposit (which cannot come from another loan) and you will need proof of a permanent mooring.

 

Plus - the sooner you can pay it off the better, the interest rate is hefty.

 

Is that a recent thing? I didn't have one in 2006. The boat went in the water in December 2006, and the mooring agreement didn't start until mid-January as it took me that long to get there.

[deletedaccount]

I borrowed 25k from the bank at a stupid rate over 7 years. That's the max the bank will do a personal loan for.

[Dekazer]

Those are the guys!

 

Thanks!

 

If it turns out that RSL can't help, for whatever reason, you may also find that a personal loan can do the job. Our (cheap!) boat was financed entirely with a cheap personal loan which is not secured on the boat. This will also depend on your credit rating, but you will be able to shop around. Personal loans are available up to £25k, so if your chosen boat costs less than this you may find it preferable.

 

As RSL only provide finance up to 80% of the boat's value, you will need a fair amount of cash up front if you go for that option, depending on the cost of your chosen boat. It will also be a secured loan with the usual small print that entails.

[Guest]

It will also be a secured loan with the usual small print that entails.

 

Roughly translated to - if you default on the payments we'll have your boat back thanks very much....

 

 

..

 

As RSL only provide finance up to 80% of the boat's value,

 

on a technical point from memory they will lend up to 85% on a new boat and correct 80% on used or it least that was last summer - things may have changed now.

 

Still leaves a fair wedge to find though either way

 

- on the plus side I did find them a very efficient company to deal with.

Edited January 10, 2011 by MJG

[Lady Muck]

Is that a recent thing? I didn't have one in 2006. The boat went in the water in December 2006, and the mooring agreement didn't start until mid-January as it took me that long to get there.

 

We got ours in June 2006 - if you were not a home owner, you needed a permanent mooring. Or so the paperwork said.

[Nine of Hearts]

We got ours in June 2006 - if you were not a home owner, you needed a permanent mooring. Or so the paperwork said.

 

Ah! Maybe that was it, as I was a home owner (just) when I applied. I wasn't when I paid the deposit on the boat, as that's where the money came from. Perhaps they bent the rules a little in my case, they didn't seem to be sticklers like other financial services I have dealt with. (And oddly - RBS who wanted every i dotted and t crossed had the shed loads of bad debt that cacked the economy ).

[PiRSqwared]

Yes, RSL required us to have a residential mooring before they would lend us any dough secured on a boat to live aboard. I guess the thought of you floating around in the wild is not one which appeals to someone lending lolly out.

[Barry L Burnell]

The one thing I would say about boat lenders is this-make sure before you pay for a surveyor they are happy to lend the cash. What I mean by this is-I found a beautiful boat in the summer last year-I had 20% deposit sat waiting, everything had gone through, and the boat I was looking to buy was a 57ft 1971 narrowboat. Completely refitted from a shell in 2009, and with a beautiful paint job, the boat was a real masterpiece inside and out-the owner was a superb craftsman. I paid for a survey, and that came back with the boat at its worst point down to 4.5mm and the best was over 6mm. The rest of the boat was sound also and deemed to be in very good health.

The lender came back and basically wouldnt lend because the boat would be "the oldest on their books" and wouldnt lend the rest. I then lost my deposit with the boat owners, and surveyor and crane fees. Id estimate just under £2,000.

 

To clarify-I found only one lender specialising in boat finance, and Barclays had put marine finance on hold due to the financial climate. Id consider applying for a loan if you dont need more than £20,000.

[PiRSqwared]

The one thing I would say about boat lenders is this-make sure before you pay for a surveyor they are happy to lend the cash. What I mean by this is-I found a beautiful boat in the summer last year-I had 20% deposit sat waiting, everything had gone through, and the boat I was looking to buy was a 57ft 1971 narrowboat. Completely refitted from a shell in 2009, and with a beautiful paint job, the boat was a real masterpiece inside and out-the owner was a superb craftsman. I paid for a survey, and that came back with the boat at its worst point down to 4.5mm and the best was over 6mm. The rest of the boat was sound also and deemed to be in very good health.

The lender came back and basically wouldnt lend because the boat would be "the oldest on their books" and wouldnt lend the rest. I then lost my deposit with the boat owners, and surveyor and crane fees. Id estimate just under £2,000.

 

To clarify-I found only one lender specialising in boat finance, and Barclays had put marine finance on hold due to the financial climate. Id consider applying for a loan if you dont need more than £20,000.

 

Yes, you are basically limited to a choice of one at the moment. On the boat we are currently trying to buy, we made sure that we ahd the finance in place before we shelled (ehem) out for the survey. Buying through a reputable broker should also protect your deposit as it is held in a client account and should be refundable up until you sign on the line.

[mickspangle]

If you do go for a personal loan I would suggest you don't tell them it's for a boat. They tend not to be keen in my experience. Better off telling them it's for a car, kitchen or anything except a Narrowboat. I don't think they have a box marked narrowboat that they can tick on the forms...

[Dekazer]

If you do go for a personal loan I would suggest you don't tell them it's for a boat. They tend not to be keen in my experience. Better off telling them it's for a car, kitchen or anything except a Narrowboat. I don't think they have a box marked narrowboat that they can tick on the forms...

 

My bank loved it! They even ask about it when I phone for unrelated matters. The loan had been pre-approved though, which might have made a difference. I think they get really antsy when they think you're using personal loans for deposits on houses.

[Chickadee]

My bank has advised that me a my bf get seperate loans to help fund the boat so we can get more money! I was very suprised at this. They were really sceptical about the first loan we got though for the boat we have now so maybe they can see that we wern't planing on sailing off into the sunset and not paying for it.

[Strads]

Guess the other lesson is to check with potential Lenders on the type and condition of boat they will lend on..

 

eg max age / hull/engine and what minimums they want to see on a surveyors report as minmimum standard..

 

to agree to provide a loan on..

[FadeToScarlet]

We got ours in June 2006 - if you were not a home owner, you needed a permanent mooring. Or so the paperwork said.

 

Hmm, paid for a marina that we were in for, in total, about 10 days in our first year of boat ownership.

[Lady Muck]

Guess the other lesson is to check with potential Lenders on the type and condition of boat they will lend on..

 

eg max age / hull/engine and what minimums they want to see on a surveyors report as minmimum standard..

 

to agree to provide a loan on..

 

I don't know about minimum standards, but we bought an owner fitted out boat (less than five years old), they required a full rcd, all the paperwork for the build, i.e. the receipts for all the stage payments for the hull and engine. In a way, I'm really pleased that they were so picky, because they won't let you buy a lemon. I guess it protects you as much as it protects them.

[Barry L Burnell]

I would agree, find out what the minimum requirements are for the lender. Mine was approved for the age etc etc, but in the end the goal posts moved. Just be careful. I would also point out that the lender that has already been mentioned RSL-They will only lend for a known builder-and a good one! I know for example they arent keen on Liverpool Boats-Ive heard good and bad stories, and my family have been on the poorer side of them.