Have you used Howard S Reeder or ASAP Marine Documentation for the sale of a boat?

[Claudine]

Looking for any info on Howard S. Reeder, Inc and ASAP Documentation & Registration Inc in southern Florida. Good, bad or ugly, please let me know your opinions if you bought or sold a boat using their services.
Thanks~

[redneckrob]

Originally Posted by Claudine

Looking for any info on Howard S. Reeder, Inc and ASAP Documentation & Registration Inc in southern Florida. Good, bad or ugly, please let me know your opinions if you bought or sold a boat using their services.
Thanks~

I had a great experience with Kimberly at ASAP on a fairly complicated and time sensitive import job. She knows her stuff and the cost is ridiculously low for the expertise brought to the table. Highly recommended.

[Claudine]

Originally Posted by redneckrob

I had a great experience with Kimberly at ASAP on a fairly complicated and time sensitive import job. She knows her stuff and the cost is ridiculously low for the expertise brought to the table. Highly recommended.

Great response, thanks! Did you import a boat to the US? From where? I am just curious because if your circumstance is anything like what we are about to get into, I could really use your help with some additional information.

[Act Three]

I had a great experience with Kimberly at ASAP. She knows what she is doing and crossed all the t’s and dotted every eye. And seemed like she was smiling on the phone.

[redneckrob]

Originally Posted by Claudine

Great response, thanks! Did you import a boat to the US? From where? I am just curious because if your circumstance is anything like what we are about to get into, I could really use your help with some additional information.

Yes, imported French boat from Martinique to the U.S. Happy to answer any questions you have!

[Pau Hana Daz]

Another happy customer of ASAP (and Kimberly) just a few months past. Our deal wasn't an international purchase, it was a domestic (FL) private party sale, but both the seller and I were looking for a way to protect both our interests. ASAP acted as our escrow agent and handled all of the closing and documentation paperwork without a hitch. The seller and I split the fees and I'd happily use them again.

[Claudine]

Originally Posted by Pau Hana Daz

Another happy customer of ASAP (and Kimberly) just a few months past. Our deal wasn't an international purchase, it was a domestic (FL) private party sale, but both the seller and I were looking for a way to protect both our interests. ASAP acted as our escrow agent and handled all of the closing and documentation paperwork without a hitch. The seller and I split the fees and I'd happily use them again.

So good to know! I appreciate the info! The person I’ve been speaking with is Alicyn. We are buying from a different country, so my questions are more centered in the handling of the currency exchange with escrows and such because we won’t close on the desk for a few months…

[Claudine]

Originally Posted by redneckrob

Yes, imported French boat from Martinique to the U.S. Happy to answer any questions you have!

Awesome thanks! Right now my main speed bump has to do with the contract and escrow as related to currency exchange.

We agreed on boat price in Euros, and seller is from another country with different currency… so now we have 3 currencies to figure out. She has a lawyer from her country who’s offering to handle escrow in their currency and we would like ASAP to handle escrow in dollars. We feel like we’d be safer having all handled by a US company and in dollars because we aren’t familiar with laws in other countries. By the time we close, the currency exchange will differ… who knows by how much, so I’d rather already exchange money now just in case but then I can’t use ASAP’s escrow and I have no clue who to use.

How did they handle your transaction, what currency, was it a French contract or US contract, how and when was the deposit paid and then the closing final payment?

This is all enough to make my brain melt.

[jmschmidt]

A South African built boat of French flag should be allowed to be imported into the US duty free. Some US customs personnel either don't know this or ignore this international treaty provisions which Pres. Clinton renewed to 2025.

We did this ten years ago with a Robertson & Cain 47' Leopard sailing cat bought in Tahiti from the Moorings fleet. She was imported into the US at Honolulu.

[Claudine]

Originally Posted by jmschmidt

A South African built boat of French flag should be allowed to be imported into the US duty free. Some US customs personnel either don't know this or ignore this international treaty provisions which Pres. Clinton renewed to 2025.

We did this ten years ago with a Robertson & Cain 47' Leopard sailing cat bought in Tahiti from the Moorings fleet. She was imported into the US at Honolulu.

We are buying a French made boat with an Australian flag and bringing it to the US.

[redneckrob]

Originally Posted by Claudine

Awesome thanks! Right now my main speed bump has to do with the contract and escrow as related to currency exchange.

We agreed on boat price in Euros, and seller is from another country with different currency… so now we have 3 currencies to figure out. She has a lawyer from her country who’s offering to handle escrow in their currency and we would like ASAP to handle escrow in dollars. We feel like we’d be safer having all handled by a US company and in dollars because we aren’t familiar with laws in other countries. By the time we close, the currency exchange will differ… who knows by how much, so I’d rather already exchange money now just in case but then I can’t use ASAP’s escrow and I have no clue who to use.

How did they handle your transaction, what currency, was it a French contract or US contract, how and when was the deposit paid and then the closing final payment?

This is all enough to make my brain melt.

I just used ASAP for the documentation switch, which is a challenge in itself because between when you deflag in France and get your CG documentation you're in a weird grey area. I used the sellers broker for escrow because they were reputable and only held the funds for less than a day, and I had visited them in person in Martinique. It was a French contract in EUR, so I converted to EUR using Interactive Brokers and wired funds directly in EUR. Your situation is indeed interesting. If the seller agrees I think using ASAP to escrow in USD makes the most sense. If they have currency risk concerns you can always over escrow. There is a recent thread, not sure if it's yours, on the best way to neutralize your currency risk which I highly recommend for anyone who isn't a professional currency trader. You don't necessarily need to convert to EUR now to protect against fluctuations, a futures contact can cover that.
As an aside, despite the extra effort I got an owners version never chartered boat of exactly the model I wanted that was in excellent condition at a good price and now 5 years later I am still glad I went that route. Good luck!