Suspicious Deal..??

[neilpride]

Hallo there, this history sounds really weird and im looking for opinions.

The history,, a good friend of mine is trying to sell the boat, so far no offerts for a while until last month when a folk arrive at the marina and talk with my friend about a guy in Spain who is looking for that particular boat , he say the pictures and bla bla and he like the boat, ok, the other guy give to my friend in hand and in cash a deposit of the 5% of the actual Price listed... my friend say if they dont want to survey the boat or WTF,, check if everything is in good order, it say no, they like the boat and thats it, they get a deal about the rest of the purchase money and agree in a month time frame to pay the rest, my friend take the 5% and start sing aleluyaaaa,,,,

Month after there is no sign of the guys or the buyer, no phone calls answers or emails, just a weak email from the guy who represent the buyer saying that he can take the deposit and thats all because the buyer is not answering phonecalls or emails..

My guess, DRUGSSS.... my friend dont want to believe me, and i start to believe could be the real deal after the curtains, 5% in cash in advance, no questions, no survey, no nothing,,, buying a boat to transport drugss who know where??

What you think guys??

[sailorboy1]

sounds that he there wasn't some agreement otherwise that he just got a free 5%

[Suijin]

What do we think about what? Whether he should keep the 5% deposit or not?

If that's the question, then yes he should keep it. The purpose of the deposit was to take the boat off the market during the interim before a final transaction. The deal never materialized. He should keep the deposit as compensation for the opportunity cost of having the boat off the market for a month. That's the whole point of a deposit, lol.

As to what's going on with the buyer, who the hell knows. Speculation will get you nowhere useful.

[neilpride]

Originally Posted by Suijin

What do we think about what? Whether he should keep the 5% deposit or not?

If that's the question, then yes he should keep it. The purpose of the deposit was to take the boat off the market during the interim before a final transaction. The deal never materialized. He should keep the deposit as compensation for the opportunity cost of having the boat off the market for a month. That's the whole point of a deposit, lol.

As to what's going on with the buyer, who the hell knows. Speculation will get you nowhere useful.

What to think about this way to deal with a purchase, there is a full agreement in almost everything, Price, condition of the boat, documents, flag, to me sounds really weird if i step in your boat, dropp a nice amount of cash without questions, no questions at all, and disappear for a month without answer pone calls or emails until one day i step with a email saying you can take the deposit .

Now , someone is sugesting how drugsmuglers deal with boats, he say they look around for easy picks, deposits here and there, until the packets are ready to transport and a boat signed is close to that location,,, i dont know , !!

[colemj]

Sounds like a pretty standard boat purchase deal to me - put a deposit down pending final decision (usually involving a survey, etc) to freeze the boat. Then, if buyer changes mind for no good reason, seller keeps the deposit.

Now the ACTUAL circumstances as to why they backed out cannot be known, but isn't relevant. Even if they purchased the boat and did use it to run drugs - the owner is in the clear with the money.

Mark

[OldFrog75]

Never sold a boat but to me their is a difference between "deposit" and "earnest money".

Giving someone an option to purchase your boat with a specified expiration date (at which point you can put it back on the market) and you keep the money if the buyer changes his mind.

I've done it with vehicles but never a boat.

[Orion Jim]

Your friend needs to document everything that transpired and have his lawyer place the funds in an escrow account. Let the lawyer check the applicable laws in his state to determine whether he can legally take ownership of the funds and when. It's hard to believe there was no purchase agreement and the purchasers name and contact information are unknown.

[scuba0_1]

You didn't say the selling price or the deposit amount. How much is it. You can't take a down payment or retainer with our a receipt and contact to purchase. If it falls thru then you give it back. If it's verbal you still took the money you can sell the boat but Keep the money for return. Your hole story sounds weird. No contact no id no info he had cash. More to this.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by neilpride

Month after there is no sign of the guys or the buyer, no phone calls answers or emails, just a weak email from the guy who represent the buyer saying that he can take the deposit and thats all because the buyer is not answering phonecalls or emails..

I'd keep the money somewhere in case this guy ever shows up and wants to fight about it. But if I got another buyer I would sell the boat.

In regards to the intermediary, screw him. He's just some guy who handed you some cash. I'd ask to be contacted by the "buyer" before I give any money back.

In regards to anyone's motivation to make a cash/no contract deal? Forget about it. Figuring people out is best left to shrinks.

Just make sure the Bill of Sale is made out to someone who reasonably identifies himself with a passport or some other government document and that you de-register the bat as soon as you have the cash.

[sardinebreath]

Originally Posted by Jim Walsh

Your friend needs to document everything that transpired and have his lawyer place the funds in an escrow account. Let the lawyer check the applicable laws in his state to determine whether he can legally take ownership of the funds and when. It's hard to believe there was no purchase agreement and the purchasers name and contact information are unknown.

He's already taken ownership of the funds--when they were handed to him. Seems a waste of money and energy to bring in a lawyer and I can't think if a reason in the world to involve an escrow company at this point. The purchaser might have requested using an escrow account to protect his rights, but an escrow account does nothing for the boat owner at this point.

[neilpride]

Originally Posted by scuba0_1

You didn't say the selling price or the deposit amount. How much is it. You can't take a down payment or retainer with our a receipt and contact to purchase. If it falls thru then you give it back. If it's verbal you still took the money you can sell the boat but Keep the money for return. Your hole story sounds weird. No contact no id no info he had cash. More to this.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

Is a old Garcia design made by a aluminium french shipyard somewhere around la rochelle France, the boat Price is 90000 Euros , and my friend got the 5% in cash by hand with just a receipt , he dont know the Buyer name, no id, or adress, he got the money with a time frame limit writed in the receipt and thats all,,,,, they agree to make a purchase formal contract with the rest of the payment but they never answer pone calls or emails, thats why this whole thing sounds really weird, as a side note they refuse to make a survey, hell this is even more weird,,,,who know....