Please advise a boat escrow service company in USA

[Ruso]

Gentlemen,
Having hard time communicating with Anacortes Marine Documentation
https://anacortesmarinedoc.com/services/
- messages, e-mails no returned...say busy.. This is going on for a few days and I am thinking to bring my business to someone else.
Any advise?
Many thanks.

[a64pilot]

Issue is that boats are selling so fast now that everything associated with selling is overwhelmed, it’s my understanding that you can’t get a survey for a least a month now for example

[Ruso]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Issue is that boats are selling so fast now that everything associated with selling is overwhelmed, it’s my understanding that you can’t get a survey for a least a month now for example

Sure. I understand the business is busy and I have no problem waiting in line.
Not returning calls, emails as promised is not kind of behavior I expect from company handling tenth of thousand dollars.

[Cheechako]

It's been too long for me here in the PNW, but maybe talk with one of the big surveyors for a recommendation. Reisner-McEwen?

[AZUS]

We used Jan Painter at All Yacht Registry (she's in the seaside village of Omaha, NE!). All Yacht Registries, boat registration, vessel register USA.

We used her for registration, but she also arranged a low-cost escrow to be administered by a local yacht broker she trusted and knew. She handles that all of the time. Hiring her is a great way to expedite all of the issues that come with buying a boat.

[canyonbat]

Try Andrea at Pacific Maritime Title in Seattle. We used her for two transactions and she was great.

Andrea Savage, Title Agent

PMT logo
655 NE Northlake Way, Seattle, WA 98105
Tel: 206.632.4668 Fax: 206.632.4673

[GWilly]

Surprising. MDS is a longtime business. I used them about 4 years ago and had excellent service. Email can occasionally be a problem - have you done a ‘read receipt’ on your emails to see that they’re being read? Not returning phone calls is not acceptable in my book. Having said all that, there’s numerous other escrow offices in the PNW. If you haven’t started the closing process, it should be easy to switch. But if you already have, it might be difficult with monies in escrow, etc. Good luck.

[Ruso]

Thank you very much, gentlemen.
After making a couple calls the process seems moving forward.
Funds transferred, documentation signed.
Of course ( and I anticipate it) confirmation from the escrow will take some time

[jmschmidt]

These transactions are too simple to handle yourself through the US Coast Guard's National Vessel Documentation Center who will only charge you the statutory fees, not five times the fee amount. Even if you are looking at an undocumented vessel (state reg.) still get an Abstract of Title from the Center for the boat you want to buy and use a USCG Bill-of-Sale form. Don't pay these people money for something like this.

I don't care what your need is, new passport, new or renewal doc or register for your boat, whatever. The bold face letters "Ad" (mean an advertisement of a for profit company) on these shysters' web listings. Any web address ending in anything other than uscg.mil should be avoided.

[Thumbs Up]

OP is probably buying a US documented boat in Mexico. The brokers there have a process that makes this doable (barely). They use Anacortes Marine Documentation as part of the process. Her is an older but relevant thread https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...ico-42405.html
The laws in Mexico are ambiguous. You want a service that is familiar with this process.

[Ruso]

Originally Posted by Thumbs Up

OP is probably buying a US documented boat in Mexico. The brokers there have a process that makes this doable (barely). They use Anacortes Marine Documentation as part of the process. Her is an older but relevant thread https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...ico-42405.html
The laws in Mexico are ambiguous. You want a service that is familiar with this process.

Exactly. Seller in Mexico (San Carlos) and technically possible to bring him into USA and do everything in Tucson. Now.. travel for him, travel for me, staying overnight in a hotel.. quickly adds-up and for me better to pay a few hundreds extra and not to deal with all above. The only problem is TIP - you can close/open TIP only if you have USCG document. I was told the Bill of Sale is enough - I guess it is up to Banjercito clerk to decide.

[Thumbs Up]

You probably know this already but the original owner will need to cancel the existing TIP before you get a new one.

[Ruso]

Originally Posted by Thumbs Up

You probably know this already but the original owner will need to cancel the existing TIP before you get a new one.

Yep.. This is only one uncertainty in the entire process. The TIP process requires BOTH buyer and seller. And USCG documentation takes a while.

[Thumbs Up]

A bill of sale will be enough to US document the boat. You can request expedited documenting. You can do this yourself (doubt that they can get it faster), but I think that they help with the contracts and escrow service that protect both parties. I think that technically this has to be done as an offshore transaction which this particular documentation service has expertise in. Keep trying to get a hold them, maybe have the seller try as well.

[Ruso]

Originally Posted by Thumbs Up

A bill of sale will be enough to US document the boat. You can request expedited documenting. You can do this yourself (doubt that they can get it faster), but I think that they help with the contracts and escrow service that protect both parties. I think that technically this has to be done as an offshore transaction which this particular documentation service has expertise in. Keep trying to get a hold them, maybe have the seller try as well.

Yes, bill of sale for USCG. TIP (Mexico Temp Importation Permit) needs USCG document. I don't think any special expertise requires since the escrow process the same for in USA or overseas (not offshore). The only truly "offshore" happens when transaction takes outside of state jurisdiction (offshore) to avoid paying sales tax - but this is not the case with a US flagged/registered boat overseas. One guy just bought a boat in San Carlos without escrow - they just decided to drive to Tucson and did everything together with seller.