[cs2340]

That's the likelihood.

There's the problem. The donor still has the title to the boat, and Boat Angel has sold a boat to you that they don't even own yet.

In most states, the only way to transfer ownership of any boat over about 16' (other than by order of a court) is for the seller/transferor to sign the certificate of title over to the buyer/transferee. If the donor wants a charitable tax deduction, he needs to transfer the certificate of title to Boat Angel. That's the donor's proof that he made a charitable donation. That makes Boat Angel the owner of the boat. Then, when you buy the boat, Boat Angel needs to sign over the title to you.

If the donor doesn't transfer title to Boat Angel, then he doesn't get a tax deduction, and Boat Angel won't own the boat, and consequently Boat Angel won't be able to transfer ownership to you. If you don't get the certificate of title signed over into your name, you don't own the boat, and if you don't own the boat, you won't be able to register it and operate it on the water.

I suspect the person you have been talking with is a volunteer who doesn't understand the process.

I don't know what "paperwork" the Boat Angel rep is sending you, but the paperwork that you need is a signed, valid certificate of title (assuming the boat is over 16').

the main person at boat angel i have been dealing with is brian stewart, which is the main guy.....
the boat has.. or previously had... a texas title. for whatever reason boat angel transferred the boat to colorado registration. i have a feeling there is something definitely fishy with that in itself. looking at the colorado website it seems to be crazy simple to register a boat there. boat angel claimed to have told the donor to destroy the texas title as it was not needed. the donor told me.... boat angel never told him to do that....
and yeah... curious to see what they're going to send as for paper work....

 

[hellosailor]

It could be that BoatAngel is very lazily (or, stupidly and criminally) taking a shortcut to obtaining what passes as a good title, for boats where they don't have the original for whatever reason. Like the donor saying "Oh, gee, that's around here someplace...".

And someone at BA is exploiting loose state laws, or getting illegal favors done by a fellow evangelist on a DMV staff elsewhere.

At this point you have little choice but to see how it plays out. To see if you get a legal title from someplace in a reasonable time. And then, afterwards, perhaps see if you can qualify for a whistleblower award, reporting BA to the IRS and the state authorities for possibly laundering titles in an improper way. Not saying they are--just that this is irregular enough so that someone ought to be investigating to make sure that what's going on IS or isn't legal and proper.

 

[Minnewaska]

Either way, you may want to get your hands on the prior owners original title. You don't want someone laying claim to your property down the road. You could even hire a title service to try to clear this up.

 

[roverhi]

Bought a boat from Boat Angel and everything went well. Had noticed the boat when mine was in the marina, recognized it from the ad. Statement on condition of the boat accurate and turned out way better than I expected with brand new laminate 150% genoa which was worth 3 times what I'd bid on the boat. Unfortunately didn't tell wife what I'd done and ended up selling it for a break even to get a quick sale and avoid a divorce. Be careful what you bid on Boat Angel auctions, you might end up owning the boat. I made a bid that was stupid low and ended up with the boat.

 

[Squidd]

Bought a boat from Boat Angel and everything went well. Had noticed the boat when mine was in the marina, recognized it from the ad. Statement on condition of the boat accurate and turned out way better than I expected with brand new laminate 150% genoa which was worth 3 times what I'd bid on the boat. Unfortunately didn't tell wife what I'd done and ended up selling it for a break even to get a quick sale and avoid a divorce. Be careful what you bid on Boat Angel auctions, you might end up owning the boat. I made a bid that was stupid low and ended up with the boat.

Let this be a lesson to you....don't drink late at night and bid on boats...:captain:
You may just end up with one...at least that's how I got mine....

 

[cs2340]

Let this be a lesson to you....don't drink late at night and bid on boats...:captain:
You may just end up with one...at least that's how I got mine....

Ouch, lol Yeah drunk bidding is about as bad as drunk dialing !

 

[davidpm]

mainly i feel it's just incompetence....

One would hope so but BA has been around for many years and you would think they would have learned their job by now.

 

[Minnewaska]

Here's my suspicion, having read so many conflicting accounts. Boat Angel likely means well. They take genuine donated boats and sell to raise money for charity. The buyer who pays a fraction of wholesale and then gripes about an undisclosed flaw, is only coming up on the losing end of the gamble they made. As far as title goes, I would not be surprised, if many of these boats have polluted titles. I may rarely become a problem for anyone, as the boat was genuinely donated, so no one makes a prior ownership claim. It was likely donated, because it cost the prior owner money to keep, so they're not going to volunteer to take it back. That said, it isn't right and I would never send money to anyone other than an escrow company, without a proper title in hand.

 

[cdy]

I won an auction through BA a number of years ago - could not get a straight answer on a title question before sending the money - so backed out - they tried to threaten their way for me to buy it , but since they would not answer a question - I would not send the money.

I recently won a EBAY auction for a cape dory 25 in Cocoa, about 50 miles from my house, was able to meet the seller and inspect the boat before handing over the cash ( and see the title) turned out to be a very good buy. Interestingly he had bought the boat in Charleston through BA auction on EBAY - he added a lot of equipment and new outboard, the boat is older but in solid shape, I think he got a deal to start with but I got the better deal when he had to head back to California earlier than expected.


There are so many 25 -27 ft boats out there for sale - they are a bit small to live aboard but too big to trailer - with slip prices along the coast being so high - people are willing to almost give away to get out from under storage fees.

 

[hellosailor]

Minne-
" I may rarely become a problem for anyone, as the boat was genuinely donated, so no one makes a prior ownership claim. "
I think the problem is more with what the new buyer will or won't have to go through. An organization that knows their business WILL make sure to get title with every donation of titled property (boats, cars, etc.) simply because in many if not most states, the new buyer is going to have major problems and delays if they don't receive that title. Can't register it. Can't apply for new or lost title, in many cases, unless you've got a signed and notarized bill of sale from a previous owner, or jumped through other hoops.
And for all you know, one spouse "donated" it after a divorce, while the other actually still holds the title and wants the boat back. Hey, it's a strange world out there, and any legitimate charity ought to be able to follow conventional rules for washing titled property.
Kinda like the American Red Cross criminal prosecutions against volunteers a decade ago, and the Wounded Warrior CEO(?) being fired this year? Then there's some "USCG Foundation", conveniently out of New London IIRC, that keeps asking me to donate to support the USCG. Except, their overhead is 10x as much as most reputable charities.
Might be worth looking up BA on some of the charitywatch web sites.

 

[Minnewaska]

.....An organization that knows their business WILL make sure to get title with every donation of titled property (boats, cars, etc.) simply because in many if not most states, the new buyer is going to have major problems and delays if they don't receive that title. Can't register it......

If what was said above was correct, it seems BA tries to cleanse titles, by registering/titling them in another State that doesn't have a diligent process for determining prior ownership. This may allow the buyer to get title/registration in their home state, but is indeed where title claims can become a nightmare. The courts will take your property away, if another party is able to show they still hold valid title from a prior date, without any regard to the fact that you paid in good faith. I suspect it's unlikely to happen in these circumstances, but agree with your point that it could.

I also previous said this......

.....it isn't right and I would never send money to anyone other than an escrow company, without a proper title in hand.

 

[miatapaul]

I wonder if it is not more the local Boat Angel organizations that are the issue? Seems they have a central home office and a bunch of branches that perhaps are of differing proficiencies of following through. I almost bought a boat from them years ago. I had issues trying to bid from an old flip phone (must have been 8 or 9 years ago) as the offer ended. Then the buyer backed out and they contacted me, willing to let me buy it for what it sold for.(Newport 30MKII for $2,300) I got the feeling that they were bidding up the boat so I declined. Next time it went up it sold for much more. That said I have heard of lots of folks actually completing there transactions without issue.

I have bought several cars (an donated a few) from a similar local charity site that sells donated cars. I don't think the charities get much money from him but he does give good deals, of course when you get your product for free you can.

 

[Minnewaska]

Anecdote........ Many years ago, I tried to donate a used Jeep Wrangler to a charity, because it was sitting unused, out of town, and it was impractical for me to be there to sell it and didn't need a new car to trade it in for.

I called my fav charity and offered it to them. They asked if it ran. I said I hadn't used it in 2 years and last I checked it didn't start. Last I actually drove it was no issue. They could not get their act together and, after numerous calls and issues, eventually declined the donation. It was worth approx $10,000 at the time.

Another 6 months pass and I actually find a need for it. I have a local tow company come pick it up, it needed nothing more than a new battery.

Sometimes charities are not run by the most enterprising people. Of course, as noted in the comment above on expenses, they aren't really able to afford to hire the best of the best either.

A Ted talk once detailed how an Ivy League MBA graduate could make about $500k per year in the private sector or be hired for under $100k at a national charity. If they took the private sector job and donated $250k to the charity, they would be hailed a hero and still take home substantially more. If they actually did the charitable job, they would endure endless criticism for spending too much money. Not sure it's real numbers, but the point was very good.

 

[Squidd]

Minne-
" I may rarely become a problem for anyone, as the boat was genuinely donated, so no one makes a prior ownership claim. "

" unless you've got a signed and notarized bill of sale from a previous owner,"

That's exactly what you get (I got) from Boat Angel...That's what comes in the Fed Ex package...

That's how they do it. With the number of boats from all sorts of states, and the quick auction turnaround, they don't have "time" to wait for every "donator" to get the paperwork to them...in order to change every registry to Colorado/BA...so they can turn it over to the new buyer...ain't gonna happen...

A "notarized" bill of sale...and a "copy" of the original title or documentation papers is all you need to get the boat registered in most states (with you getting new title) or get the boat Federaly documented or removed from documentation...accepted by most states and the federal government...I know, I did it and didn't have to jump thru any (out of the ordinary) "Hoops" with my BA boat.

 

[cs2340]

did finally get the title and got the boat switched over. only snag is that boat angel didn't send a bill of sale or anything for the motor... so i guess i'll be calling them monday and see if i can get that figured out...

 

[hellosailor]

cs-
Find out what your DMV (or whoever registers boats) needs. You may not need any papers for the engine. It is the BOAT you need to register and title. The engine usually just rides along for free.

 

[Minnewaska]

In RI, the outboard needs to be separately registered. However, while you have to renew the boat registration, the outboard is a one time twenty dollar bill.

 

[cs2340]

cs-
Find out what your DMV (or whoever registers boats) needs. You may not need any papers for the engine. It is the BOAT you need to register and title. The engine usually just rides along for free.

the lady at the texas parks and wildlife said that i would need a bill of sale on the motor as will as bring a picture in showing the engine serial number.
at least the boat part is done...

 

[Bamper]

I've been tempted to buy from them, but since I am new to sailing, I need to see and touch before I buy.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[Frank55]

Boat Angel is a SCAM company. They are being investigated by the BBB and the IRS. They have executives that take a large salary (non profit organization) and donate money to businesses that they are part owners. This is a conflict of interest and illegal. They hide under the religious name which should be insulting to all. DO NOT FALL FOR THEY'RE EVIL WAYS. Google they're company.