CASH???

[Dixie Life]

How do people buy a boat with cash without getting red flags? Also, brokers look at you like you’re a drug dealer. I’m 73, worked forever, saved, now just want to buy a nice boat and relax. Advice please.
P.S. I don’t keep my savings in a bank. Another problem.

 

[DavidM]

I have bought and sold a half dozen or so cruising boats over the years, half for cash and never had a problem.

Are you concerned about brokers not taking you seriously? Wow half the homes in my area sell for cash. Cash is king.

Are you concerned about getting ripped off? First have a good contract. YBAA’s is a good one. If necessary and I don’t necessarily recommend this is to have your deposit held by a third party such as a yacht title search company and have all of the closing funds pass through them.

Don’t keep your savings in the bank? Neither do I. But the purchase funds will ultimately have to be deposited in a bank so you can wire them to the closer or bring a certified check.

Finally, what kind of boat and what is your budget? Maybe those two are out of synch and that is why you are getting blown off by brokers who don’t want to waste their time.

David

 

[mvweebles]

When you say cash, do you mean wire-funds transfer (meaning no finance contingency) or a briefcase full of Benjamins? If the latter, you will probably need to go to a bank and get some sort of certified funds check - I cannot imagine a brokerage being in a position to take a briefcase full of cash. Or are you planning on a private sale? I don't think anyone will care or look at you sideways. If this is your last stumbling block, you're homefree. There are many other potholes in the transaction.

Good luck with whatever direction you take

Peter

 

[Larry M]

We bought and sold our Kady Krogen with cash (no financing). When we bought her, we had a title company collect, hold and do the final distribution with a settlement statement. We split their $500 fee. The seller had financed the boat.

When we sold her, we did similar and there was no pay off. The only glitch was the sellers bank only allowed so much per day for a wire transfer so it took two days.

Buying a boat for cash is pretty similar to a lot of real estate transactions these days.

 

[tiltrider1]

Every story I have ever heard where some one walked in with a briefcase full of cash went sideways. Even the one time when the broker said he was going straight to the bank and declaring it to the IRS and FBI things Still went sideways. Normally when you have cash in hand the deal is done and there is no going back, unless that cash was from ill gotten gains and then the government shows up and can take it from you as if you had stolen property in your possession.

You are going to find it challenging to get a broker to take actual dollar bills. While you may be totally legitimate, you are not normal. The first red flag is why don’t you put it in the bank and bring a bank check? Cause I don’t like banks is not an adequate answer.

 

[chriscritchett]

Yea, if you mean actual paper money you will likely have issues. Bought my last car with bills, and both the bank and the dealer were put off. And this was only $10k.

My bank - the downtown branch in a very affluent city - just about had a coronary when I asked for that much cash on the spot. I guess I watch too much TV, I didnt think it would be a big deal. And the car dealer looked at me very sideways when I pulled it out of my backpack. So much for being cool.

 

[Delta Riverat]

Me thinks that you will soon be on a visit to the bank, answer a lot of questions re the source of the cash and then they will run it all through their counter/anti counterfeit machines and hand you a deposit slip. Probably advise you about a "verification hold" of some length.

Then you will be able to wire the funds needed.

I take "cash only" on Craigslist deals, but I wouldn't trust myself sorting through a thousand Benjamins...

Good luck!

 

[SteveK]

Wonder what happened with our local casino investigations of money laundering. People brought in cash, exchanged for chips then returned to cash out with a cheque, deposited it and bought things like a boat or million dollar houses.
Ya, I would look at the OP sideways trying to buy a boat with cash.

 

[Benthic2]

I think you are going to have to join the grid at least a little. I think paying for insurance, dockage and mechanics will be hard without a credit history and electronic access to funds.

 

[Delta Riverat]

I don't keep my savings in a bank either. It's in stocks and bonds at the broker. If I have a big buy coming up I will instruct my broker to sell and deposit into my bank account so I can buy cars and boats as needed.

But seriously? The big bag of Benji's don't work anymore. Yeah, each bill says "legal tender for all debts public and private", but that was written a long time ago before the internet.

 

[O C Diver]

I recently sold my truck after 22 years of ownership. Collected $6,000 cash. I wasn't interested in anything other than cash or a bank check, and he didn't want to add the expense of a bank check.

Depending on how much you're planning on spending, I think it’s unlikely to happen going through a broker. Now a "fore sale by owner" could be very different.

Ted

 

[KnotYet]

Yea, if you mean actual paper money you will likely have issues. Bought my last car with bills, and both the bank and the dealer were put off. And this was only $10k.

My bank - the downtown branch in a very affluent city - just about had a coronary when I asked for that much cash on the spot. I guess I watch too much TV, I didnt think it would be a big deal. And the car dealer looked at me very sideways when I pulled it out of my backpack. So much for being cool.

My credit union cordially counted out $9500 for a recent used camper purchase.
I would not have been pleased if they'd had the slightest hesitation. It's business.
The sellers had requested cash as many private sellers will. All parties were happy.

 

[Delta Riverat]

I agree, private sale, cash is good. Cash is preferred as bogus cashier's checks are common. No checks por favor.

But a broker is a different story. They like wires.

 

[Mako]

Every story I have ever heard where some one walked in with a briefcase full of cash went sideways.

Not necessarily. I sold a boat once, held the closing onboard with the broker and the title agent. The buyer brought a suitcase with $176,000 cash in it, all neatly bundled. We spent about a half hour each taking a pile and counting. Deal closed nice and easy. The buyer owned a very successful tattoo parlor and the cash smelled like cigars - that was about the only negative.

 

[tiltrider1]

Not necessarily. I sold a boat once, held the closing onboard with the broker and the title agent. The buyer brought a suitcase with $176,000 cash in it, all neatly bundled. We spent about a half hour each taking a pile and counting. Deal closed nice and easy. The buyer owned a very successful tattoo parlor and the cash smelled like cigars - that was about the only negative.

Lucky you. I guarantee you some one was investigated and fortunately all passed, Or the tattoo parlor owner is dealing with the IRS on undisclosed revenue. Had it been from an illegal source your deal wood have been unwound.

I will give you credit for having the first serious cash deal that didn’t go sideways. That I now know of.

To all others, it is very easy as a private sale to deal with cash. One can easily deposit $9500 a day with no questions asked. You can probably do this 5 times in a month as well. Watch what happens if you make a habit of it.

 

[long-cours.62]

In France cash is forbidden !
One time we wanted to take 4000€ from our account in cash...they refuse after long discussion given 3000€
Even for check they made inquiries for example from our former custom boat we sold a generator to a fisherman, when we put the check to the bank they have demand the reason of this check .
I think in France you are not allowed to paid more than 1000€ in cash.

 

[slowgoesit]

Knew (vaguely) a guy who owned a legal Medical Marijuana Shop in Washington State. Gov't says you can use a bank to deposit $$ in from sale of Marijuana since it still illegal by Federal law, so ALL of his transactions were in cash, cars, house, etc.

 

[Action]

Business and/or banks must report cash transactions greater than $10,000 to the IRS by electronically filing a Currency Transaction Report (CTR). This federal requirement is outlined in the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). Splitting up a cash deposit of greater than $10,000 to avoid the reporting on an illegal gains is called structuring and it is illegal as well. If the transaction is legal there is nothing to worry about. Make it happen. Know that the bank will be doing electronic reporting to the IRS of the transaction. If there is an issue, the IRS will reach out to the bank to get more information.

 

[Figment]

As a buyer, I happily pay cash if offered a discount to do so.
As a seller, I'll turn away a pile of cash. I don't have the expertise to determine good bills from counterfeit, and that's too much money to chance when I'll have no real recourse. The buyer can take the bills to a bank and get me a cashiers check thankyouverymuch.

Once upon a time a guy could pay cash for a boat and write "$1000" on the bill of sale and dodge some sales/registration taxes. Allegedly.
That time has passed, and even if it hadn't I'm too old for those shenanigans now.

 

[Action]

As a seller, I'll turn away a pile of cash. I don't have the expertise to determine good bills from counterfeit, and that's too much money to chance when I'll have no real recourse. The buyer can take the bills to a bank and get me a cashiers check

Counterfeit cashiers checks happen.
And don't turn away any payment.
Just put conditions on it.

When doing any sale, a clause in the contract should be "buyer's possession when funds have cleared seller's account". Meaning, when a buyer tenders money in any form, possession of the vehicle or other thing of value (whatever kind it is) can be had AFTER the money clears the sellers bank account. That way the experts in money handling (the deposit institution) business can review the money order, cashier's check or cash. IF it is a wire, that transaction will go through the Federal Reserve before it makes the seller's or escrow account.

 

[Shrew]

Cash is a lot more common than you think. From the broker and seller's perspective, it's always 'cash'. Even if you obtain financing, what they get is cash (i.e. cashiers check or wire transfer). Cashiers checks are getting rare these days. They don't really care how the wire transfer is backed. You could have sold stock, got a home equity loan or LoC, or sold another boat.

I've bought a house, a condo and three boats all with cash. Nobody ever batted an eye in the process.

 

[ABfish]

Look at it from the broker's standpoint: that type of business is not set up for cash transactions. They don't have adequate security measures and are assuming a lot of liability for accepting $200,000 in cash (just a guess) and then transporting that cash to a bank for deposit.

You'd be better off to open a banking account, stick the money in the bank and then have the bank write a cashier's check to the broker.

Either way, the money is eventually going in the bank.

If it's a private sale, I would be wary of accepting that type of funds, unless I knew the buyer personally.

 

[DavidM]

Did the OP (who has never posted again, we probably scared him away) mean cash folding money or no financing involved. I think he meant the latter, but most of the posts above, assumed the former.

This thread was kind of fun to read, but mostly irrelevant.

David

 

[twistedtree]

Did the OP (who has never posted again, we probably scared him away) mean cash folding money or no financing involved. I think he meant the latter, but most of the posts above, assumed the former.

This thread was kind of fun to read, but mostly irrelevant.

David

I agree this is the key question, and I think also asked by weebles early on.

 

[Figment]

"I don't keep my savings in a bank"

That sounds like folding money to me.

 

[DavidM]

I only keep a small fraction of our savings in the bank. The great majority is in brokerage accounts.

I will close on a new to us condo in a few weeks. I sold enough stocks to cover the closing cost this morning. When that clears (takes 1-2 days) I will then EFT it to our bank account. A few days before closing I will go to the bank and make a wire transfer to the closing agent.

A bit of complexity, but it works and is entirely safe.

David

 

[twistedtree]

"I don't keep my savings in a bank"

That sounds like folding money to me.

But then he talked about having it in an investment account, I think.

 

[twistedtree]

Back to the original question....

If he's talking about a stack of greenbacks, I think somewhere in the $10k to $50k range it's going to start raising serious questions about the cash source, and concerns about getting tied up in some laundering or other illegal scheme. And that's only going to buy a pretty modest boat.

If he's talking about a deal with no financing requirement/contingency, it's no big deal at all, and potentially makes the deal slightly more attractive to a seller vs an offer that has a financing contingency. But I don't think it would move the needle a lot for a seller/broker. I even wonder what % of trawler-like boat purchases are financed vs smaller day boat and expensive show-off boats. Might make for an interesting poll.

 

[tiltrider1]

I was under the impression that he was talking about green backs. I didn't see anything about investments.

 

[mvweebles]

I sort of inferred the OP was talking about greenbacks too, but it seems improbable to actually save that much money - interest rates on savings accounts have been under 0.5% for over 15 years. Even with low inflation, you lose more ground than you gain. The rule of 72 surpasses infinity. So it's hard for me to imagine a depression era savings strategy would lead to boat purchase curiosity, but maybe it's not savings but rather inheritance. Who knows.

A lot of boats and other luxury items were purchased for cash in south Florida during the cocaine cowboy days of the 1980s. Since then, paying for a 5-digit asset with greenbacks has become uncommon to say the least. 6-figure even more so.

I guess we'll never know. OP is gone. Interesting topic but as someone else said, largely irrelevant.

Peter