WHERE TO SELL MY LIVEABOARD

[geoleo]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Try posting on here plus Apollo Duck (free ads with 1 pic) and Scanboats to cover Europe/UK where there are quite a few lovers of Scandinavian styled boats..

Apollo Duck is considered a scam by many.

[SailFastTri]

Import duty to the U.S. is 1.5%. Plus there is a bond fee and an import broker usually charges about $7-800 to guide you through and do the paperwork.
You should talk with a Florida broker about sales/use tax requirements and the issues with selling a foreign boat in the US.

[JPA Cate]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

it would cost him sales tax (at the border), brokerage fees and possibly duty (depending on country of build). He'd also have to establish residence in a state to get it state registered which is another ball of wax for a non citizen.
How much is he prepared to loose ?

Thanks for the explanation, boatpoker. It sounds as if it would be costly in effort, time, and money, too.

OP: Good luck with this. It's sounding to me like one of those times when you need a whole lot more knowledge in advance of the situation.

Ann

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

Would it be possible to hang on 4 months or so to the spring. Might solve a bunch of logistic problems.

I'll reiterate the above post...

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by SailFastTri

Import duty to the U.S. is 1.5%. Plus there is a bond fee and an import broker usually charges about $7-800 to guide you through and do the paperwork.
You should talk with a Florida broker about sales/use tax requirements and the issues with selling a foreign boat in the US.

Import duties do not apply to NAFTA (new or old) countries. and even then he couldn't run her even for sea trials as he could neither register nor document it.

Here is one story where they got it wrong.
https://www.whiterocksquadron.org/Us...USPonsford.pdf

PS. If the whistling noise gets worse, you could try a cork.

[HeywoodJ]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

...Here is one story where they got it wrong.
https://www.whiterocksquadron.org/Us...USPonsford.pdf....

It just isn't that hard. Import the boat first and pay the duty. CBP will be happy to help you with this. Duty will depend on the country of manufacture, not country of registry and on current status with regard to import. With a very few exceptions the outside limit on cost is 1.5% of current value plus a minor processing fee. Once the boat is imported, which evidently the people in your example did not do, you are free to offer it for sale.

Caveats:

1. Engine Emissions - you simply cannot import your boat if the engine does not meet US emissions requirements. These differ by year of manufacture of the engine. Check out EPA form 3520-21 for the engine categories and age restrictions. Presuming a diesel engine, it will fall in the category of "non-road marine compression ignition engines".
2. Cruising License - There was a kerfuffle some years back about not being able to get a cruising license from some CBP offices in Florida if you were offering your boat for sale because they took the stance that this was having the vessel in the US for "trade." I don't know how that got resolved, it was a problem specific to some CBP offices. But, if you are leaving the boat in one location while offered for sale then you don't need a cruising license.
3. State Registration - Florida offers foreign flagged vessels 90 days without having to talk with the tax man. Other states require nothing until a cruising license or other CBP entry expires. This will be specific to state and circumstances.
4. Wasted Import - your risk is a bit over 1.5% (the duty plus fees) of boat value if you import the vessel and then sell it to someone who intends to take it back out of the US and not flag it here. There are no refunds.

Truly it is not that complicated, but there are a fair number of "i's" to dot and "t's" to cross. You can do the research yourself, ask questions here, or list your boat with a broker who knows the ropes. All are valid approaches depending on your comfort with navigating bureaucracy and evaluating risk.

From whence do I speak? I have recently imported and then sold my foreign vessel in the US. I completed the entire import process myself, used a broker solely for the sales transaction. All parties (including CBP) were happy. This also was not my first rodeo, the procedures have not changed much with each go around.

I'd probably either peruse ads for similar boats in your optional locations for sales, or place some calls to brokers in those areas to get a sense of value at each location, and then decide if the trip from the Windwards is worth the time/effort/wear-and-tear.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by geoleo

Apollo Duck is considered a scam by many.

Interesting.. none of the boats I looked at a few years back were fakes.. nor the one I ended up buying.

[boatpoker]

You forgot something ... Sales tax when it's imported.