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Donating my Cal 29 to Charity

4K views 36 replies 28 participants last post by  TJC45 
#1 ·
I am so sick of lowballers. If I don't sell her in a week, I think I will donate her to charity.

We are moving to Las Vegas from the Puget Sound.

Does anyone have any experience with donating a boat to charity? I found a few websites but I'm concerned they might be a scam.
 
#5 ·
People are not buying anything but necessities in this economic climate. The REAL state of the US economy is much, much worse than media and government would have us believe. Selling anything of a "luxury" nature is almost impossible unless you set a giveaway price. It might be better to pay for storage and wait until things pick up (if they pick up).
 
#6 ·
I am so sick of lowballers. If I don't sell her in a week, I think I will donate her to charity.

We are moving to Las Vegas from the Puget Sound.

Does anyone have any experience with donating a boat to charity? I found a few websites but I'm concerned they might be a scam.
At one time my son's Boy Scout troop got a small sailboat in charity. It was pretty easy to arrange. Just make sure they have a charitable organization number for tax purpose so you can claim a tax deduction.
 
#7 ·
I was a lowballer on all 3 of my boats. Unfortunately, as the "what's a boat worth" thread illustrates, any asset is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. You have 3 choices: sell it to the lowballer for cash, donate it for a tax break (which will only be a percentage of the "resale value" of the boat and may approach what the lowballer was offering, depending on just how low he/she was offering), or hold onto it.

Keeping that last option in mind for a moment, could you have it moved to Lake Meade, Lake Havasu, or the LA/San Diego area? I work with guys in the LA area who have vacation homes in Havasu. It's about a 4 hour drive from Las Vegas to Newport Beach.
 
#8 ·
I was a lowballer on all 3 of my boats. Unfortunately, as the "what's a boat worth" thread illustrates, any asset is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.
Every boat has an intrinsic value that is not tied to changes in the market. I think $8K is a good value when you consider what they're getting. Problem is most people are strapped for cash. One guy offered to trade me his gun collection. Several want to finance.

I think many buyers expect me to lower my price as fall approaches. I'd rather give it away than give them that satisfaction..... not very altruistic.

Sea Scouts is a good option but I'd like to use the proceeds to help someone in need.
 
#10 ·
Lowball offer may be more than a tax deduction...but I can see the OP's point...depending on the difference, I would rather donate to a charity (or sailing school - assuming they qualify for a tax break) than agree to a low-ball offer...and you'd have whatever satisfication comes from being charitable...however, I wouldn't want to reach the limit and have to carry forward the excess over a period of years...
 
#14 · (Edited)
Donating to a charity is a bit more complicated than most of the charities would have you believe. Or, at least it could be.

The main issue is establishing the boat's true value. Most people think i'll stick a number on it and the charity will sign off on it. And some charities will do that. Butttt, ultimately, it's not what you believe your boat is worth that counts. It's what the IRS thinks that counts. And usually that's a much different number.

I say that to fore warn you that knowing the rules on how to correctly donate your boat is of paramount importance to avoid problems down the road.

A few other thoughts here - AS for not selling it to a lowballer, you are cutting off your nose to spite your face. Ultimately, what you are making is a financial decision. if the low ball offers give you more cash in your pocket, then that's the correct financial decision. Don't let your ego cost you money.

On getting the lowball offers - of course you are getting low ball offers. That's how all negotiations begin. If the offerees aren't coming up to a central meeting of the minds then they aren't negotiating in good faith. If you are getting pissed off by the low offers and not countering, then you are the problem. ( and yes it is human nature to get pissed off by low offers, but get over it this is business)

Finally, every boat buyer sees the boat seller the same way - here is someone with an alligator eating their wallet. it's what's called a don't wanter. The owner no longer wants whatever they are selling. In your case it's an old boat that has probably seen its best days with a very limited appeal in a slow selling market category. Cals weren't hot sellers when they were new, even though they are excellent boats. Sailboats in general are still in a slow market. IOW, you are in a cold market. Regardless, this old boat isn't like some old pick up truck sitting in the driveway. That truck can sit forever and it's not costing you anything. The boat- a different story, everyday more money spent on storage, insurance etc etc. Every boat buyer knows this. Nothing worse than a don't wanter boat that is costing money.

Take the money and run!!!!!
 
#16 ·
Watching Fast and Loud the other night and the main character says wanna know how to buy a $10,000 car for $5,000 - show up with cash.

Lowballing, it's really the way a lot of business is done.

That said, whatever method of disposal gives more money in pocket after all costs- that's the way to go!
 
#17 ·
You may get more satisfaction donating it, but realize most charities blow them out the doors at lowball prices. They don't care what they get for it, it's all about quick turnover. You will probably get more from a lowball offer than they will sell it for.
A boat is worth only what the market will bear, and this is a down market.
 
#20 ·
As the owner of Cal 29 hull #163 I can assure before I bought what was a train wreck we did in fact look over EVERY Cal 29 on the east coast and all the adds nation wide

I am sorry to say every boat had some pretty serious deficiency's that fell into some type of train wreck

Item number ONE is the steel mast step which cant help but have issues with all the ways they found to dump water on a mild steel beam ends badly and involves chopping apart the head area to repair

I could make a fairly endless list BUT the bottom line is they were one of the better budget boats of there time BUT I certainly was not able to locate one that did not have all kinds of deferred maintenance issues



 
#23 ·
This boat?
Cal 29

When you say low ball offers what are you seeing?

There a bunch of things on this that I think relegate you to the lower offers. The removed inboard, head that doesn't work and replaced with porta-potty, mixed list of sails and condition (roller furling sails, but the boat doesn't have roller furling?), uninstalled radar all sound like a boat that is a project.

This is a size (28-30) where boats are either sold very cheaply and need work or are in very good condition and sell for $20k or more. Based on watching Craigslist for 2 years I've seen a lot priced near $10k that seem to sit for a very long time.

If you are in a rush then I'd say negotiate based on the best two lowball offers and see which one works out first. You could pull off the "excellent condition" roller furling genoa and sell it on Craigslist or eBay. Since the boat doesn't come with a spinnaker you could do the same with the spinnaker pole. Do the same with the radar, grill, autopilot, inverter, and maybe the fridge.
 
#24 ·
My boat had been donated to charity by the prior owner and the charity simply placed it into an auto auction. I bought a 28 foot boat at that auction for $1200... the only boat sold that day when 250 cars went on the block.

My only point is that I believe the donating owner could only (legally) claim a $1200 deduction, even though the boat was worth closer to $5,000. The charity just wanted to flip it and move on.

If one of your lowballers seems particularly "worthy" (whatever that means to you) then sell it to him and at least gain satisfaction you've made someone else's day and the boat will continue to provide enjoyment.
 
#25 ·
It's been a while and all of this may have changed, but as I recall, the deductibility depends on what happens with the boat after you donate it. My recollection is that if the charity keeps it, you may be able to deduct the value determined by a surveyor. If the charity just takes it and sells it, you get to deduct what they sell it for. Again, this is from a long time ago and a memory that wasn't that good to begin with. Before donating, ask the prospective charity how the value is determined and what's deductible. They should know.
 
#26 ·
I have donated a few old cars. The rules changed several years ago. It used to be that they would give you a copy of the "blue book" value, and that was always for a mint condition car, and likely four to six times what the charity will get for it. They changed the rules and now they sell it and then give you a receipt for what they got for it. I am sure you will not get more than a $1000 deduction if that.

I agree with Alex there are some problems with the boat that are going to limit you to how much you get for it. Outboard, and porta-pottie are two things that would make me not want to even look. I would remove the fact that you have been living on it for a year, as it will scare a lot of folks away, figuring it is messy and what not.

Now what are you considering low ball? You say it is worth at least 8,000 but that is what you are asking. If someone is asking 8, I would likely start negotiations at 5 or so. You are also complaining that people want to finance, yet you are offering to do just that in the title of your ad, so of course you are getting people who want to do that. If you are leaving town no way would I want to get involved in that, so why offer in the ad?

Basically you are complaining that you are getting the people you are asking for in your ad. Also ad does not mention year. But it is an old boat, made between 71 and 74? I think you are over valuing it, easy to do for something you love. Nice boat, and looks to be in decent shape from the couple of pictures. Also the YouTube video does not even have much footage of you boat. I would also keep pictures of the kids off Craigslist, as there are a lot of creeps out there!
 
#28 ·
If I got nothing for this boat, buying it was still one of the best purchases we've ever made and the memories and the experiences that we've had on her far outweigh what we paid. I'm not really concerned about the tax benefit.

Now what are you considering low ball? You say it is worth at least 8,000 but that is what you are asking. If someone is asking 8, I would likely start negotiations at 5 or so
Here's an example of what I consider a low-ball offer. A guy expressed interest about a month ago and after several iterations of time spent emailing back and forth, we finally set up a time for him to look at the boat. He emails afterward, saying he likes it, it's fairly priced, but he lives in Vale during the off-season so he wouldn't have any use for the boat until next spring, but for $4K he would make it disappear.

I don't know if the economy is completely to blame. I often wonder if Craigslist has maybe tipped the scale in favor of the buyer, where negotiations are often carried out via email or text, sometimes before the buyer has even looked at the boat or car. It's very easy to email or text a low-ball offer but I have yet to have someone look me in the eye and offer half of my asking price. But it appears to be effective.

I'd rather not finance but given the choice between $6,000 or $6,000 and a promissory note, it's not a hard decision. There seems to be plenty of interest but I'm running out of time and my give-a-*******'s almost broken. I might wait a week or so but Sea Scouts is sounding like a better option, the more I think about it.
 
#29 · (Edited)
Let's see.....
$4000 cash in my pocket vs. maybe a $2000 tax deduction which might net me $400-700 at tax time....
Hmmm....sounds like a no brainer to me.

Even if you were somehow able to swing a $8000 tax deduction (which ain't going to happen) you're still only going to net $2000-3000 at tax time. Now, if you're well off and can afford to donate and help out the Sea Scouts, go for it.
 
#30 ·
At least a decade ago, the IRS plugged the loopholes of charity vehicle deductions. If you donate a car or boat to a charity today, and they keep it and use it for two years (as Sea Scouts might) then you get the "book" value of the vehicle.

If the charity puts it up for auction and sells it, as most will, you get a receipt showing what they actually sold it for, and that may be peanuts.

Selling the boat to a lowballer and giving the money to a charity might actually work out better, if you're looking to endow a charity. Heck, you could always put in on Craigslist and watch all the money orders from Nigeria come in. (G)
 
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