Selling a boat - what's the process

[Horsehorn]

Hi,

 

I'm considering selling my narrowboat and wondered if anyone can advise on a good place to read about the legal process of doing so without a broker? I bought it with a broker and so they managed the deeds so I'm not quite sure what I'd need to do in terms of paperwork and also liaison with CRT.

 

Thank you

[Laurie Booth]

What deeds did you get with the boat?

[Robbo]

What deeds did you get with the boat?

 

I have deeds for my boat. I will dig them out to see what they say. It may be just registered with The Merchant Shipping (Registration of Ships) or the Small Ships register as I needed a mortgage for the boat.

 

To the OP, what does it say on your Deeds? Department of Transport, Merchant Shipping Act 1995?

Edited April 25, 2016 by Robbo

[Alan de Enfield]

It would be interesting to see - I have never seen any deeds for a narrowboat.

 

Assuming that you don't in fact have 'deeds' (just a receipt for your purchase) there is no 'legal process' to selling your boat.

 

1) Advertise it for sale

2) Buyer turns up and gives you money

3) You give buyer the keys

4) Buyer cruises of into the sunset whilst you drive home.

 

If the fancy takes you, you can inform C&RT that you have sold the boat and get a proportion of the outstanding licence fee returned.

[Delta9]

It would be interesting to see - I have never seen any deeds for a narrowboat.

 

Assuming that you don't in fact have 'deeds' (just a receipt for your purchase) there is no 'legal process' to selling your boat.

 

1) Advertise it for sale

2) Buyer turns up and gives you money

3) You give buyer the keys

4) Buyer cruises of into the sunset whilst you drive home.

 

If the fancy takes you, you can inform C&RT that you have sold the boat and get a proportion of the outstanding licence fee returned.

2.5) write out a bill of sale for the buyer

 

3.5) fill out and send off the change of ownership form to CRT along with your paper licence disks if you want a refund.

[The Bagdad Boatman (waits)]

Use a site Apollo Duck or similar, to advertise the boat if you do not want to pay a broker, gather evidence of ownership i.e. bills, receipts and photos to show you have had the boat for x years. Smart and clean and expensive sell well, scruffy and cheap sell well, it is the ones in between that struggle. You name a price, buyer offer an amount and gets a survey then maybe offers a lower amount if problems are highlighted by survey.

Edited April 25, 2016 by The Bagdad Boatman (waits)

[Athy]

To paraphrase Churchill "It will be long, it will be hard, it will be bloody, and there may well be withdrawals".

It is worth putting the boat with a reputable broker, as they will then earn their fee by dealing with all the prospective buyers, people who'd just like to have a look please, serial indecisives, dreamers, schemers and dodgy geezers. ABNB (who sold one for us) and Rugby Boats come recommended. Actually I sold my last one myself, but I was lucky in that the third person to view it bought it.

Edited April 25, 2016 by Athy

[Arthur Marshall]

When I bought mine (private sale), I just handed over the money and got a receipt. I can't actually remember when i did it as we both forgot to date the receipt. No other bits of paper. I just notified BW that I was now the owner and that was that.

[GUMPY]

Either use the MCA bill of sale

Or the RYA bill of sale.

Google will find them for you.

Personally I have always used the MCA version.

[Horace42]

When I bought my boat 'privately' in 1987 all I got with it was an invoice.

And an unpleasant surprise because VAT was added.

The sale was by a 'private' broker on behalf of a boat hire company where it transpired he was the 'owner' of the company doing a bit of quiet selling on the side trying to earn a bit of pocket money off the books, but mainly as a way to avoid VAT with a cash sale (pound notes).

A cheque as a traceable payment through the bank, and an invoice as proof of purchase, on my insistence, to fully protect my interests, created an audit trail that the VATman could easily follow.

So to avoid his company breaking the law, I had to pay VAT extra.

I changed the name, filled in the BW license forms, paid the fee - and have not stopped fighting rust ever since.

[David Mack]

If the fancy takes you, you can inform C&RT that you have sold the boat and get a proportion of the outstanding licence fee returned.

ISTR that under the latest Terms and Conditions you are required to notify CRT that you have sold the boat. And anyway its in your interest to do so, so that you aren't held responsible for any misdemeanours of the new owner.

[BruceinSanity]

If you do take cash for it, get as much info as possible about the buyer – your bank will want to know when you pay it in because of the anti-money laundering regs.

[MtB]

If you do take cash for it, get as much info as possible about the buyer – your bank will want to know when you pay it in because of the anti-money laundering regs.

 

 

I often wonder what the bank would say if you said "I can't tell you where this cash came from, know what I Mean, nod nod, wink wink?"

 

Would they just write that down on the form and let you pay it in? Or tell you to sling your hook?

[Laurie Booth]

If you do take cash for it, get as much info as possible about the buyer – your bank will want to know when you pay it in because of the anti-money laundering regs.

I've never had any problems paying into a bank. But strangely enough had problems with money paid into PayPal from a customer of mine.

[Delta9]

 

 

I often wonder what the bank would say if you said "I can't tell you where this cash came from, know what I Mean, nod nod, wink wink?"

 

Would they just write that down on the form and let you pay it in? Or tell you to sling your hook?

Halifax told me to sling my hook when I tried to transfer some money into my account from a foreign account and couldn't prove where I got it from.

[patty-ann]

Banks are asking more questions..they see money laundering under every stone and round every corner..

I bet they go on regular updates to reinforce how untrustworthy the general public are..

Edited April 26, 2016 by patty-ann

[MtB]

Banks are asking more questions..they see money laundering under every stone and round every corner..

I bet they go on regular updates to reinforce how untrustworthy the general public are..

 

 

That would make a pleasing symmetry, given how the media is constantly running stories illustrating how untrustworthy the banks are!