Protecting against Possible Boat Liens
Unfortunately there is no easy or quick answer--there can be tons of unregistered liens out there that it would be very difficult to identify ---the biggest ones would be for services/work or goods supplied to the vessel or marina/storage charges and in many/most cases they won't be registered anywhere --and you have to play a bit of detective to find them especially as they probably won't be registered
A couple of things you can do
1. do a search under seller's name and also under vessel's registration number at Personal Property Registry for any claims, liens etc
2. get a clearance letter from the Marina or storage area where the boat is that all bills have been paid up and that they have no claims against the boat
3. Check around at local boatyards where the boat most likely would have had some work done to see if any unpaid bills for work on the boat;
4. If you are really paranoid then have a credit check done on the seller (if he has a bad credit rating then chances are greater that he has unpaid bills on the boat) and also do a court house search for the seller to see if he is being sued and why
5. Check the boat's log (you already have done that haven't you?) to see where it has been (possible marina charges) and what work has been done on it (mechanic's liens etc)
6. Does the boat look like it has had any recent work done on or has the Seller told you about some recent work, upgrades, repairs etc ---if so find out where it was done and by whom then follow up
7. trust your gut instincts --if the deal is almost too good to be true then it probably isn't--walk away!
Finally make sure that the contract has proper language to protect you ---
I suggest you pay a couple of hundred dollars for a lawyer (consider it a form of one-time insurance to do the searches and to make sure that you have the proper wording in your agreement).
That said ----I suspect that if you haven't already used a lawyer for this transaction that you are probably unwilling to do so
Anyhow here is some wording used in another past deal:
"Vendor warrants that Vessel is free and clear of any and all liens, claims and encumbrances whatsoever, which warranty shall survive closing."
That won't mean that there won't necessarily be any outstanding liens but at least it should help you to try and come back and try recover from a crooked seller ---(assuming of course that you were able to squeeze any money from him)
There are no guarantees --- as they say "Buyer Beware"
Finally if you find that you have bought a boat that has more liens than ticks on a dog then you could also consider changing the name of your boat
--it won't get rid of the liens but it may mean that lein claimants may not recognize the boat as one that owes them money.
Hope that helps
"The two happiest days in a sailor's life: the day he buys a boat, and the day he sells it"
Buyin our boat hopefully on Monday. I think I have the checks in place that'll allow for deal, payment, survey, insurance and completion.
My only concern is to have the boat be mine without any debts/leans.
What do I do to protect myself, in Canada, and more specific, Toronto.
I don't want to buy with awful pasts chasing me down.
Where do I get this info?
Thanks!
Lee.
