Canadians - Boat Financing

[danjames]

Hi there! I'm a Canadian looking to buy and keep a boat in the US (Florida) for trips to the Bahamas. Has anyone had any experience with this in the past few years? This thread is a bit dated.

Specifically I'm looking for anyone with updated information about ScotiaBank, RBC's USD loans, or US based institutions who will lend to Canadians.

[boatpoker]

Note: US terminology is different. That said .....
A "Licensed" Canadian vessel is treated like a car by the banks.
A "Registered" Canadian Vessel qualifies for a "marine mortgage". Regardless of the bank you use, the local branches are unlikely to know anything about this. You must contact the head office or get your local branch manager to do so.

[danjames]

So I've talked to CIBC, RBC, and ScotiaBank multiple times. It's hard to get a straight answer but from what I've gathered from supervisors is:

CIBC will not finance a boat that is older than 10 years. I didn't even get to the point of asking if they'd finance south of the border.

ScotiaBank will not finance a boat that will remain outside of Canadian waters.

RBC USD lending will not use a boat as security and therefore would only consider a LOC with atrocious rates.

We have A1 credit, no personal debt, and have significant assets in multiple businesses. You'd think this would be easier.

Has anyone had any luck with other institutions or does anyone have other ideas?

[Mike OReilly]

Dan, I suspect we’re in different financial categories, but I easily financed the purchase of my last two boats through my local credit union.

[danjames]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

Dan, I suspect we’re in different financial categories, but I easily financed the purchase of my last two boats through my local credit union.

Thanks for your quick reply! Were your boats located and staying in the USA? That's our stumbling block right now. We have a local credit union that we work with. I'll check with them.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by danjames

Thanks for your quick reply! Were your boats located and staying in the USA? That's our stumbling block right now. We have a local credit union that we work with. I'll check with them.

No. Both were Canadian boats, kept in Canada. I don’t know if that would have been an issue; I don’t think they ever even asked about location. We secured a personal loan using the boats as collateral. Both boats were 25+ years old. They only asked to see the bill of sale and survey to establish value.

Like I say, we’re probably in different financial categories. My loans were in the 10s of thousands. But it was very easy.

[danjames]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

No. Both were Canadian boats, kept in Canada. I don’t know if that would have been an issue; I don’t think they ever even asked about location. We secured a personal loan using the boats as collateral. Both boats were 25+ years old. They only asked to see the bill of sale and survey to establish value.

Like I say, we’re probably in different financial categories. My loans were in the 10s of thousands. But it was very easy.

Thanks for your input! I had the same experience with you buying boats in Canada too. Easy peasy. It's the boat being out of the country that is proving to be an issue.

Thanks again!

[pcmm]

Generally speaking banks in Canada are not interested in loaning money on boats older than 10 years for some reason. My credit is excellent (above 820) when I purshased my last boat that needed a loan, no bank I tried would entertain the loan If the boat was colateral. even before looking at my credit I ended up just taking a personal loan (at higher rates) . getting an older boat insured is just as big an issue, My current boat was bought cash and I have liability only insurance. The bot is now 40 years old and getting insurance is a problem!

[BigVee]

I saw an ad for Walker Financial (www.toyloan.com)

If you do follow up with them, do let me know how it goes.

Disclaimer :- Not associated with the entity in anyway. Not an agent, no financial compentation of any kind.

[BigVee]

I was intrigued about this. I am sure fishermen coast to coast to coast have their boats financed and somebody has gotta be doing it. Scotia Bank has a webpage dedicated to financing "your next boat"!

Marine and Boat Loans | Scotiabank

[BigVee]

Found an RV finance company that does deals in the US. They could do boats??

https://canadarvfinance.com/buyusa.html