Unpaid Loan On Boat

[Malibear]

Hello, at the beginning of this year I sold a boat to a couple, it was sold under a payment plan written out clearly and officially notarized at a public notary.

The agreement was to have monthly payments of $500 made until the full sale amount of $20,000 was paid in full.

This is where it went down hill. It's been roughly 8 months since the sale, and I've only received $1,640. It's easy to see how far off track this has gone. I renegotiated the payment amount 3 times now, down to $375 a month. I still only receive payments maybe once every two or three months.

It gets worse, last month he informed me that the boat had been repossessed months ago. I'm trying to figure out how to get paid, I don't have the time or money to support owning the boat anymore. So I have no interest in repossessing the boat if it hasn't already been auctioned off.

I also learned that they had moved from California where the boat and sale happened to North Carolina.

Really pretty lost in this situation, I have all of our conversations on record and the original signed documents of sale and agreement. Just don't know what to do.

 

[adjusterjack]

You have no idea how many times a day we see these sob stories about how these deals go bad.

You're screwed. Could have told you this was guaranteed to happen with a deal like that.

You're stuck with your name on the loan, right?

And you'll never see a nickel from the deadbeats who were overjoyed to find a sucker who would sell them a $20,000 boat for $1640.

I have all of our conversations on record and the original signed documents of sale and agreement.

Doesn't mean squat.

Just don't know what to do.

Well, you can sue them where they live. Maybe even get a judgment which is likely to be impossible to collect.

You can pay the lender the arrears before the boat gets sold and the lender comes after you for the deficiency balance when it's sold for less than you owe.

Then get the boat back and resell it for cash or let the buyer get his own financing.

Sorry to be so rough on you but this was just plain stupid at the getgo.

 

[justalayman]

Why did YOU stop making payments on the boat to the creditor you are indebted to? You're just as much a deadbeat as the people you are complaining about.


Heck, if I was your buyer I would consider suing you for the $1640 they lost because you caused the boat to be repossed by you not paying the loan you owed.

 

[Malibear]

Probably worth noting at this point, I owned the boat out right, I don't owe any lender anything, sorry if I was unclear

 

[Malibear]

Also worth noting the boat was repossessed on the account of them not paying the moorage on it.

 

[Malibear]

To anyone who might know, I'm wondering if I sue them in their state, since there are caps on the amount filing for, can I sue for just the past due, or will that relieve them of paying the rest?

Is there any way to garnish wages or something similar?

 

[justalayman]

Also worth noting the boat was repossessed on the account of them not paying the moorage on it.

My apologies.

 

[STEPHAN]

Probably worth noting at this point, I owned the boat out right, I don't owe any lender anything, sorry if I was unclear

WHO was able to repossess it and why?

 

[Malibear]

I believe it was sheriffs in the county it was in, and because it was in a boat slip that was unpaid. Presumably the marina it was at wanted it gone, and called the sheriffs. I am the lienholder on the title as well if that makes a difference.

 

[Malibear]

I'm wondering if I can sue in the county in California that the boat was sold, documents signed, and boat was repossed in? It would be impossible for me to appear in the state that they are in. Just before they moved this was the county that they also lived in.

Do the reasons stated before warrant it being performed in that county? Is there even exceptions for California?

 

[STEPHAN]

You have to sue them where they live. I guess you will never get a dime. Worthless. You might win, but collecting is the hard part. Forget it.

So, I would go, pay the fines and get the boat back.

 

[adjusterjack]

You have to sue them where they live. I guess you will never get a dime. Worthless. You might win, but collecting is the hard part. Forget it.

So, I would go, pay the fines and get the boat back.

Agree.

Inconvenient but cut your losses and resell the boat. Get it right this time. Cash only.

 

[justalayman]

If they sue in a court above small claims they can likely sue them where the contract was entered in to. If the op could serve the buyer within the boundary of california the buyer could even be sued in california small claims court. Obviously the suit would be limited to California's $10,000 limit in that case. The bigger problem is after winning you still have to collect on the judgment. Not an easy feat if the judgment debtor is local. Extremely difficult if they are across the country.