Buying in USA / Caribbean what should I be wary of / need to know?

[Paul and Angie]

My wife and I are both British and have been planning on buying catamaran for a 3 year extended cruise around the Caribbean, Pacific and Eastern Asia.
We want to be in the Caribbean, this December and had hoped to have bought by now to spend the summer in the UK / Med fitting it out and getting it ready to come across to the Caribbean for December.
Covid lock down has prevented us from being able to get out to find one. We are now looking to buy one in the Caribbean or the USA. But the way things are done (buying yachts) seems to be different over there. Please can we have your thoughts on what to look out for, hidden costs or Taxes and pitfalls. Generally, stuff you wish you knew, and are there any better places/people to buy from?
Any advice is VERY gratefully received.

[psk125]

The theme of many threads in the "regs and red tape" forum here is problems getting a boat registered, taxed and titled properly, especially with Brits and Brexit lately. Paperwork tied up for months because of something that wasn't notarized properly. Proof of VAT payment...missing? Offices in one country backlogged so forms don't get forwarded to another. It sounds like it might be smart for you to stick with finding a British-registered boat to avoid some of these problems. This may limit the ones available, and it seems that there are not lots of boats for sale. Brokers who usually have thirty boats listed in the spring report that this year they only have three...left.

[s/v Moondancer]

I am a Brit who bought a USVI registered boat in Puerto Rico. We bought from a reputable broker with a documented escrow account. The sale was 'officially' off-shore and involved no country or State taxes. The sellers lived in Uruguay. The same thing can be done in the continental US as long as you move on within 3 months or so. I met a Florida broker who specialized in 'off-shore' sales.

We registered the boat on the UK Small Ship Register for 25 quid using my daughter's UK address. I understand they are a little more bureaucratic now than they were 13 years ago.

We sailed for 11 years and checked in and out of over 30 countries without problems. In the US we had to get a $25 cruising certificate, good for one year. A Brit needs a visa to enter the USA on a boat the visa waiver of air flight does not apply.

There are lots of boats cruising the world on the UK SSR, it was rare to enter a Caribbean anchorage and not encounter a SSR boat. Our SSR number was almost 140,000.

I cannot comment on re-sale problems and our purchase was 13 years ago.

[boatman61]

I have bought two boats in the Caribe and there were no hidden costs, taxes etc..
I registered both boats SSR in the UK whilst still in the Caribe and requested a PDF version to be emailed to me while the hard copy went to my home address.
Regarding VAT that will only apply when you arrive in the UK, if you head straight to the Med you will have to go the 18mths in one night out route and provide evidence you have left EU waters by being able to supply a marina bill from a Med Third Country such as Turkey, Tunisia etc.
At the moment BVI Yacht Sales only has 2 x 50ft Cats for sale and Moorings has some <40ft Leopards.
I have also bought one boat in the US.. no taxes etc and registered it SSR while still in NC.