Story by Andrew Holland / June 19, 2017
Written by Andrew Holland
As you are browsing through listings of potential catamarans to consider while you are online shopping, you may keep recognizing a familiar phrase for boats for sale that have you interested. Directly at the top of the listing you are looking at is a bolded “Not For Sale In US Waters To A US Resident”, but what does this really mean? As a US Citizen are you not able to buy the boat?
The language “Not For Sale In US Waters To A US Resident” must legally be added to listings for non-US Registered boats that are in US Waters under a cruising permit and placed for sale by the owner. As the current owner of the boat has not paid the US Import Duty on the boat, a sale cannot legally occur on the boat to a US Resident while she is in US Waters, and a broker cannot legally advertise the boat without making prominently clear that the boat is “Not For Sale In US Waters To A US Resident”.
Does this mean that a US Citizen cannot purchase the boat? No, not necessarily..
There are several ways a sale could occur on the boat you are looking at as a US Citizen. The first and preferred way would be for the seller of the boat to purchase a US Customs Entry Bond and pay the US Import Duty due on the boat. Exact rates of the US Import Duty would depend on where the boat was built and can range from .02% to 1.8% of the value of the boat.
The second way would method would be an “Offshore Closing” or a closing that occurs in the Bahamas or somewhere else outside of US Territory that is at least 12 nautical miles off the coast. An “Offshore Closing” transaction does complicate matters slightly as potential buyers for boats that have not been US Duty paid cannot board or view the boat while she is US Waters, so the transaction details must follow a strict protocol that abides by the laws of the United States. This will take the coordination and expertise of your broker for a transaction to be completed properly.
Many foreign flagged boats decide to delay paying the US duty on the boat while she is being marketed for sale in US Waters as to potentially sell the boat to another non-US citizen who can purchase the boat in US Waters without the owner having to pay the US duty prior to the sale.
Now, the Florida Yacht Brokers Association is proposing a change to the US law to allow owners of used foreign flagged boats in US waters with a valid cruising license to offer them for sale to US residents while in US waters, without paying duty, but to date this change has not been made. If and when these changes are made, this article will be updated to reflect the updated laws.
Have a Question for our Team to answer? Send us an email with your question by writing us here.
Yacht Broker Micheal Streng did a fantastic job helping us buy our dream retirement boat. He is pleasant, professional, smart, diligent, and totally focused toward ensuring the best outcome for us- his clients.
He helped us identify the key features we wanted. And, helped us then learn the market by seeing firsthand seeing all the boats available. How? By organizing a two day driving extravaganza to see as many boats available from dawn to dusk.
But, his crucial expert assistance continued throughout the whole buying process… helping us craft multiple offers and counter offers to ensure we “bought-right”!
His expertise continued with calmly helping us organize the multitude of details, from sourcing survey experts and renegotiating credits for issues… to ensuring our foreign manufactured vessel had duty paid receipts… thus all saving us much aggravation and thousands of dollars!
In closing, sourcing and buying a boat right has adventurous elements of the “wild-west”. Our Broker – Micheal Streng was our LoneRanger & Tonto… expertly guiding and helping us to help make our dream a reality.
Tom & Danielle
Waterford, Connecticut
We purchased a Lagoon 470 catamaran through Zvonimir (Zee) Kalinic, TMC’s broker in Croatia and Italy. Zee is the ultimate professional and by far the best broker we have ever had the pleasure of doing business with. Thankyou Zee for your professionalism, guidance and support in securing this purchase for our family! Not an easy task being Australian and purchasing in a foreign country but thanks to your help and the assistance of Andrew Holland in the office, this process was made so much more stress free.
Thank you Zee and The Multihull Compnay!
Andrew Hodgdon was a pleasure to have as a broker. He was always there for me and I appreciated his help and professionalism. Thank you Andrew!! Highly recommended.
Just wish to share our thanks with Cal Landau and The Multihull Company for their service selling our catamaran that we owned for nearly 15yrs. Cal our broker in West Palm Beach was THE BEST!
He worked with us beyond the call of duty in helping us prep and moor our boat during some horrendous weather that came through last Winter and always offered to lend a hand while we were in West Palm procuring supplies. etc. Cal was always present to show the boat, learned about our boat systems to answer questions from shoppers and made a very informative listing with great photos and video that attracted a lot of action. I wish to highly recommend Cal and The Multihull Co if you’re planning on putting your boat on the market.
The entire company was committed to my satisfaction as a seller. Andrew the broker went out of his way to help me prepare the boat for sale and in just 3 weeks we had it under contract. I had to be away from the country but Andrew the broker and Andrew (same name) the Chief Operating Officer walked me through all the paperwork needed and kept me informed at every stage of the sale. Boat owners don’t remain without a boat for long, if this is the case for me, I will certainly contact Andrew and the Multihull Company to be my broker.
Successful relationships cannot exist without it. At The Multihull Company we base every relationship on a firm commitment to earning and retaining our client’s trust.
Advice of any kind is valuable only when grounded in hard-won expertise. It too, must be trustworthy. Trust and expertise define the heart and soul of The Multihull Company. We are a team of skilled professionals who thrive on providing expert, trustworthy advice and service to catamaran and trimaran sailors around the globe.
Read More
