You’ve been saving for years now, waiting for the opportunity to come along where you have enough to buy the recreational boat you’ve always wanted. Now that you have a good amount saved for the down payment of your vessel, you can start looking at options in the new and pre-owned markets for a boat. Once you find the one that interests you, it may be necessary for you to secure financing for the boat to meet the asking price. This is not unusual – it’s just like you would do if you were buying a car and needed a car loan. You may find that having U.S. Coast Guard documentation can make it much easier for you to get financing for the boat you want.
Providing Security for the Lender
Many financial institutions and lenders today consider documentation a must for them to agree to finance your purchase. Documentation provides a listing of a mortgage getting recorded against a vessel, giving the lender greater security against its financial interests in the vessel. Since the documentation is part of a government registry, there is much greater security involved regarding the location of the vessel. Lenders will feel better about providing you the money you need if they know the boat is properly documented.
Finding Out about Documentation
If you’re looking at boats on the secondary market, you will want to look to see if the boat you are considering has U.S. Coast Guard documentation already. If it does, it’s worth it to look into the background of the documentation with a vessel search so you can make sure there are no outstanding liens on the vessel. When you are completing the sale, you can get a bill of sale from the previous owner that will help you to transfer the documentation over to you as the vessel’s new owner.
Where to File Paperwork
If you need assistance with U.S. Coast Guard documentation after you buy a boat, we at Vessel Documentation Online will be happy to assist you with the process. We are a third-party agency that can file paperwork on your behalf, so you know the forms are done properly. You can find all the necessary forms online on our website, so that you can file the forms you need with us, and we can help you with initial documentation or transfer of documentation, so you’ll have the paperwork your lender needs.
