Financing

Hi All.

Thanks for the posts, info and opinions.

SeaHawk, "Go buy your boat, live life. Lifes too short to sweat the little Sh!t."... couldn't agree more.

Regarding my decision to finance or pay cash... this is what I did. I left a $2000 deposit on a boat today (more on that in the new thread) and if the boat passes the dry inspection and complete sea trial, I will be paying the remaining 18K on my credit card. Why a CC, because I get 2 years no interest... which should be enough time to either:
A - pay off the boat before I incur interest, OR B - I find I don't use it enough to warrant owning in which case I can sell it. Now to post a new thread on what I bought....
 
I did that with a car 1 year zero interest and paid it off at my leisure.
 
I'm surprised the seller will take a CC. Because of the transaction charge, they are taking a hit. For you it's a great deal. Hopefully you're getting some points. And, worse case senario it's an unsecured loan meaning if you default, they can't take the boat! Not what I would recommend but still...
 
When I 1st bought my 1993 Mainship I financed using Swaun Funding Group, Phil was a great guy and I got a great rate they can be reached at 800-792-8608. When I saw the economy tanking in 2007 (2-3 years later) I paid off the note. Looking back I'm glad I got rid of the payment. I know they fund older boats being I bought the 1993 in late 2004. You will need a survey and excellent credit in today's world. In 2004 I got the initial approval with a simple fax and phone call.
Bill
 
quote:
Originally posted by Prospective

I can't offer any help on finance sources. By I don't understand why people would chime in with opinions on financing or not. Why can't we assume that the poster knows what he's doing and is capable of making his own financial decisions. He didn't ask if he SHOULD or not, just where.

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+2!
 
Don't mean to be rude, but mom and dad always said, "if you can't pay cash for it, then you can't afford it". Real Estate is the only appreciating asset that leverage is good on, well it use to be and will be again when we face the reality of a devauled dollar, but all other items in our personal inventory should be done with cash in my opinion. Can you sell something to come up the funds? Can you wait until you have it saved up? Can you trade for it? Can you settle for an older boat or smaller boat? Really; think about the cost of boat ownership. Maintaince, slip fees, repairs, insurance, fuel, etc. plus the boat payment, do you really want to enjoy your boat? Own it out right... and say "screw the man"! I see boats in my marina where people are upside down... walking away from it. I realize this may not be what you want to hear, but in my opinion it's the only way to really enjoy it. IMO
 
Buy the boat. A boat is not an investment.
I have also used Vincent at Tridennt and friends have also.
IMO DAve Ramsey is an (_l_)!
 
I see no reason why he shouldn't get a loan if he has looked into all the costs and has a secure income. Is there such a thing anymore? Go ahead and finance it. Everyone makes excellent points about the ongoing costs of boat ownership. I'm actually glad I was a bit ignorant about the reoccuring costs. Still boating is not an investment other than relaxation if you can afford all the direct and indirect costs.
Bill
 
I hope everyone takes this the right way because I do appreciate the information... but I inquired about options for financing a boat... not necessarily if I should be financing a boat.

Everyone's situation is different and what works for some does not necessarily work for others.

Here's the deal... the boat is 20K... I will never be upside down on 20k when it is worth more than that... and if the survey checks out... it will be worth considerably more than that. If it doesn't check out, I don't have to buy the boat and I get my refund back.

Furthermore, nearly 2 years no interest is a no brainer. I take a 3% hit for the transfer to my CC card, but that is peanuts to what I would be paying in interest for a conventional loan. I have plenty of equity in my house but have no desire to use it when the above scenario exists. I have two years at my leisure to pay the boat off (which, as a independent FileMaker and web developer, it's a great incentive to pursue new work).

I appreciate and understand the sentiment of pay cash or don't buy, but don't agree that if you can't afford to pay cash you can't afford boating. I could not initially afford to pay cash for the car I drive, but 5 years later, it's paid off. I understand the difference with a boat... the maintenance, the gas, the slip fee's etc,... well, those are the things I save my cash for.

There are a lot of happy boat owners out there that own their own boats after paying them off either via cash or financing. Financing a boat for 20K means a low payment and I can save my cash for the marina or trips.

I spent nearly a year investigating different scenarios on how to make this happen. I'm confident that for me, the above scenario is the best one for me and mine.

Thanks for the info.

--Rick

... counting down to spring....
 
Last I heard KeyBank had retired from offering new boat loans.
 
quote:
Originally posted by Bliss

Last I heard KeyBank had retired from offering new boat loans.

Click to expand...


Don't think so, just got of the phone an hour ago and rate is at 5.3 with them.
 
Trident is offering 4.35 on their web site. Not sure of the restrictions, but were looking into it ourselves.
 
quote:
Originally posted by mrknowitall

Don't mean to be rude, but mom and dad always said, "if you can't pay cash for it, then you can't afford it". Real Estate is the only appreciating asset that leverage is good on, well it use to be and will be again when we face the reality of a devauled dollar, but all other items in our personal inventory should be done with cash in my opinion. Can you sell something to come up the funds? Can you wait until you have it saved up? Can you trade for it? Can you settle for an older boat or smaller boat? Really; think about the cost of boat ownership. Maintaince, slip fees, repairs, insurance, fuel, etc. plus the boat payment, do you really want to enjoy your boat? Own it out right... and say "screw the man"! I see boats in my marina where people are upside down... walking away from it. I realize this may not be what you want to hear, but in my opinion it's the only way to really enjoy it. IMO

Click to expand...


Totally disagree, and yes my mom and dad told me the same :)

While mom and dad said that, the smartest most successful businessmen I have met tell me: "never use your money when you can use someone else s, cash is king, and hoard all you have for that rainy day".

Money is so cheap now it's almost insane not to take a loan.

Just My 2C
 
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