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Old 09-12-2018, 11:33   #1
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Boat Donation gone wrong

Okay ...
let's say I have an interest in a donated(?) boat ...

The boat was donated 3 years ago, but never picked up and the title was never filed(Ohio=Donor Michigan=charity).

Both states "require", that title must be transferred within 30 days. Neither state has any bite to enforce the law.

The charity picked up the title 3 years ago and never took the boat. Last year, after mounting a few thousand dollars in bills(for services request by the charity), the marina owner "read them the riot act", and told them they have to come get the boat.

They did ... but the impeller had broken and the engine overheated on the way out.

The returned the boat and ask the marina to put the boat back on the dry.

Now, 3 years later the bills are still mounting to the point that the bills are more than the worth.

The charity(Fraternal Order of the Eagles), will not return calls and lately it seems the phones might be disconnected.

In the meantime ... I want the boat ... the titled owner is afraid of possible responsibility(since he's the record-owner), and the bills continue to climb ...

Any ideas or thoughts of any sort would be helpful.

I'll also say, I know of a few more similar instances, so though rare(?), these situations do seem to exist ... and ALL because of the charity's actions.
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Old 09-12-2018, 12:16   #2
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Re: Boat Donation gone wrong

Understand that you are no longer the owner on title, right. If the Eagles are abandoning the boat, the marina/yard will have to get title either by the owner's signing the boat over to them or through the courts via a mechanic's lien. A procedure they should be familiar with doing. Once they have title, the marina/yard can sell the boat. At that point they are probably not going to have any hope of making money, probably losing, and will sell it for what they can get. Make them an offer they can't refuse and the boat is yours. You could also try and make a deal on what's owed on the boat with the yard, get the title transferred to you and pay the bill at the yard. Don't take title to the boat in that case till you have it in writing from the yard what the bill is.
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Old 09-12-2018, 12:37   #3
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Re: Boat Donation gone wrong

the previous owner is the only owner "of record".

If the charity, lost, destroyed or just doesn't want to address it.

I've already talked to the yard about a deal to pull everyone out of the mounting bills.

The record owner can get a replacement title, but not without the old title or a guarantee that the old title no longer exists.

Really, the problem here is that the charity did not file the title that they are "required by law", to do.

So everyone is hanging out on a limb ... for all anyone knows, the charity has dissolved ... or maybe no one knows who's holding the title ... filed, un-filed or whatever.

Part of the purpose of this post was for ideas, the other part is a warning that when a charity doesn't take titled ownership or even "physical", ownership, it leaves the original owner in the lurch per' se.

For that matter, if I felt "lucky", I could actually just borrow the boat for a few years ... but the odds of legal problems, though maybe slim, wouldn't be worth it.

So ... a really nice looking fixer-upper sits and deteriorates till no one would want it.
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Old 09-12-2018, 12:42   #4
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Re: Boat Donation gone wrong

Quote:
Originally Posted by SURV69 View Post
Okay ...
let's say I have an interest in a donated(?) boat ...

The boat was donated 3 years ago, but never picked up and the title was never filed(Ohio=Donor Michigan=charity).

Both states "require", that title must be transferred within 30 days. Neither state has any bite to enforce the law.

The charity picked up the title 3 years ago and never took the boat. Last year, after mounting a few thousand dollars in bills(for services request by the charity), the marina owner "read them the riot act", and told them they have to come get the boat.

They did ... but the impeller had broken and the engine overheated on the way out.

The returned the boat and ask the marina to put the boat back on the dry.

Now, 3 years later the bills are still mounting to the point that the bills are more than the worth.

The charity(Fraternal Order of the Eagles), will not return calls and lately it seems the phones might be disconnected.

In the meantime ... I want the boat ... the titled owner is afraid of possible responsibility(since he's the record-owner), and the bills continue to climb ...

Any ideas or thoughts of any sort would be helpful.

I'll also say, I know of a few more similar instances, so though rare(?), these situations do seem to exist ... and ALL because of the charity's actions.
Remembering that the most expensive thing around is a "free boat"...

if you REALLY want this particular boat for some reason, let the marina know you are interested, and let THEM go through the paperwork hassles of suing and dealing with the lawyers. When they have finished all that and have clear title to themselves, they will likely be more than happy to have you haul it away--for free.

DO NOT get involved as a fourth party in this mess. The Marina, the Charity, and the Previous(?) Owner will have a complex enough time trying to sort this out.

You have been warned...
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Old 09-12-2018, 13:40   #5
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Re: Boat Donation gone wrong

Surv-
You may need to pay for consults with lawyers in BOTH states. Ohio might say the boat still belongs to the last title holder of record, until proven otherwise. Except, the charity took physical possession of the boat (for however short a while) and the actual title, even if they abandoned both. The problem is there's no proof of the status of anything.
I'm guessing the proper legal procedure would be for the marina to file a warehouseman's lien (whatever they call it there) against the Michigan charity, but since the title was never recorded in Michigan, Michigan may not be willing or able to attach a lien to it. There's probably a way to address that, with a notarized statement from the previous title holder, but again, you need a lawyer (or someone at the state agency) to tell you what Michigan will accept. And then, there's going to be a possible future problem when someone 'discovers' their old title, unless you can get a solid chain of title from Ohio to Michigan to the marina, so they can sell it to you clean.
If you got lucky and it was all just a matter of "Yeah, I can file that, it will take six months" they might luck out with just $1000? in lawyers fees and filing fees. I'd suspect it will cost a great deal more.
But without professional advice from folks who know the state laws and procedures, good luck. If the donor actually received no benefit, took no tax credits, etc., it is also possible *they* could have the donation nullified and try to reclaim their original title. But again, I'm no lawyer, you need one who knows Ohio laws.
Maybe there's a local repo company that can recommend one to you.
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Old 09-12-2018, 15:10   #6
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Re: Boat Donation gone wrong

Quote:
Originally Posted by billknny View Post
DO NOT get involved as a fourth party in this mess
I would agree with this as a default.

However, **if** you are highly motivated, willing to put time & money in, not looking for a freebie,

**and** the marina recognizes they won't be able to recover much of what they're owed, they don't want to even try that route

**then and only then**, there may be a way, just between you and the marina.

Do **not** buy the title yourself from the charity, either they sign it over to the marina, or

marina gets the title via presumably straightforward warehouse lien or whatever process.

You offer to cover their actual legal etc costs up front plus "some fixed amount" for their time and trouble,

maybe you help with some of the time-consuming gopher work, e.g. contact the charity confirm they know they're just reducing their liabilities, not getting anything out of the transaction.

They then transfer title to you, acknowledging no liability over the backlogged bills, and from date X onward, you start (happily and promptly) paying any costs incurred

Maybe you want to keep it there and get them to help with the project, maybe you want to move it elsewhere, all that should be honestly discussed in the early stages, but

that element not made part of the deal formally, so you and they are free to deal with each other from now on just as any with other customer.
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Old 09-12-2018, 16:20   #7
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Re: Boat Donation gone wrong

Google the FOE. The local may have dropped the ball but the national reps should be willing to sort it out with the principals....not you. Perhaps if you offer to do the footwork it will pay off.
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Old 09-12-2018, 20:58   #8
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Re: Boat Donation gone wrong

The real key is the marina, do not bother pursuing if they sound like they want anything more than a token settling of the bills due.
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Old 09-12-2018, 21:49   #9
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Re: Boat Donation gone wrong

Definitely. Sit down with the marina and hammer out a deal, which includes *them* doing all the legal work, and you paying them an agreed amount for the boat with good title. They will be able to do this, but you are never going to manage to do it on your own.

Then when you can see the title, pay the agreed amount to the marina to settle for the boat’s title free and clear including whatever they’re getting for their time and settling any claim they have over the boat.
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