Big Boat Buying/Financing

[jbarros]

Ok, so... lets just presume I found the boat I wanted, and it was IN THE SAME MARINA as me, and it was about 4,000 under the going price, but I wasnt going to be realy ready to buy for another season.

Do I trust in fate to bring me another opertunity, (or another way, do I tell luck to go screw itself because I cant be bothered by the right boat yet.) or do I move now?

I''m gonna go take a look at the boat, and try to talk myself out of buying yet.

In the mean time, I do have decent credit, and a good job. I''m going to see a broker about the boat. Should they handle financing? Should I look to someone else to do it? Who do I talk to?

Other than the obligatory Survey, insurance quotes, finding a slip, and financing, what should I be ready for when looking at buying a real (5 digit price tag, instead of the high 3 digits I''ve been dealing with before) boat?

I''ve spent a little time sailing other peoples big boats, but never actualy had one myself. Helpfull tips for buying or keeping a real size boat?

Thanks agian for all your help.

-- James

[texas gal]

I recently purchased our "big boat". I would definitely go to the dealer to find a loan broker. Even with our great credit, etc local lenders did not understand sailboats and tried to give us lousy terms. The boat dealer had an on-site loan broker who found us an incredible rate. You probably could do the same yourself, but it was nice to have someone do it for me.
As to your other questions, well that depends. Interest rates are low, but going up;larger boats do require more upkeep and expense. I,however, am glad we took the plunge. Best of luck...

[ABullard]

It is very important to finance your boat with someone who is used to dealing with big boats, many of which are over 5 years old. Regular banks will not finance anything over 5 years old.

Also, some of the "boat" financing banks out there have very, very restrictive rules in their mortgage language, like you can''t take your boat out of state, can''t travel to foreign ports, can''t go than 75 miles off coast. Even Boat/US uses a company that is really set up for small motorboats, not large sailboats.

I have used Essex twice now and they did a super job and really know what they are doing. I would recommend you talk to them.

Tony
sv Columbine

[dblatnik]

You didn''t say what boat it was you are looking at - maybe you don''t want to tip your hand.

This is a buyer''s market in that there are a ton of boats for sale and more every day.

If you are looking at something that is relatively available on the market, maybe you don''t need to jump. If this is the first boat of this particular model on the market in years, maybe you need to jump.

When I bought my boat, I did not start with make and model. I started with criteria - certain amount of headroom, good sea berths, etc. and of course a price. Then I went to the broker and saw just about everything that fit. This made me look at boats I had never heard of, and models I had not considered.

[Jeff_H]

I strongly disagree that it is a buyer''s market. There seems to be fewer and fewer clean boats out there these days,prices seem to be creaping upward, and the time that boats remain unsold on the marketplace seems to be getting shorter.

I watched one recent deal where the boat was actually was bid up over its asking price by three separate buyers, two of which had been looking at similar boats for some time.

I think that a lot of people have pulled money out of the Market and/or are taking advantage of low interest rates. I really do not know where this ''buyer''s market'' idea comes from but at least on the US east coast, that does not seem to be the case.

On the other hand that is no reason to buy the first boat that comes along either.

Respectfully,
Jeff