Re: Help with an abandoned boat my friend sold....
 

Mike, were is the boat located? I have run this deal before on a vehicle I sold in Oklahoma. They tried to come after me for storage fees so I called the transportation department and told them the vehicle was sold. Transportation said pay the fine and pick up the vehicle since it was abandoned. He may want to do that if it is worth more than the fees. My vehicle was not worth the fees so I called the storage company and signed a release form for them to sell the vehicle to cover cost of storage.

Re: Help with an abandoned boat my friend sold....
 

nacoma:

He needs to send a letter stating the boat was sold and he is no longer the legal owner and refernce the hull ID #. Have it notarized and sent by cert. mail to the marina.

Wannabe

Re: Help with an abandoned boat my friend sold....
 

You are way lucky this didnt come back to bite you. Why would you ever sign something like that for a vehicle that wasnt yours?

Re: Help with an abandoned boat my friend sold....
 

It was that or pay the fee. No help from the department of transportation either. That was several years ago. The release form stated that I had sold the vehicle and was no longer responsable.

Re: Help with an abandoned boat my friend sold....
 

The only reason they called him is to try to stick him with the bill....

No upside for your buddy here. If the boat was worth what is owed they would of auctioned it off a while back.

Re: Help with an abandoned boat my friend sold....
 

I think GLH has Nailed it :eek:

Re: Help with an abandoned boat my friend sold....
 

Having been on the other side of this transaction ....

Laws in Florida provide that if storage or service payments are late, the marina owner or service provider has a right to start the lien process. I suspect that Texas is similar. Most marina's give sixty days grace before starting the lien process. They would much rather collect rent than incur the cost to start the lien process and auction off the boat. The lien process costs about $700 and the clock for rent on the storage stops as soon as the marina files the initial paperwork. The process takes 90 - 120 days to complete. So, they most likely could not have auctioned off the boat, regardless of it's value in relation to the accumulated storage fees.

Have him send a certified letter stating that he sold the boat four years ago. The marina contacted him because the registration database still has him as the owner. If he does not clear his name off the records then it will show up as negative on his credit report when the lien is processed and the property is sold at auction.

Sorry for the long answer.

Tom

Re: Help with an abandoned boat my friend sold....
 

Sure hope the boat does't sink(spill oil) or catch fire and burn up the Marina :eek:

Re: Help with an abandoned boat my friend sold....
 

I had to give a copy of my current registration and liability insurance to the marina when I had a slip. They always stayed on top of the registration and would call every year when it was to be renewed and they didn't get a copy. If this is the case where you are, I have no idea how the marina could have gotten your buddy's name.

Anyway, he needs to wash his hands of this asap and do it in writing.

Re: Help with an abandoned boat my friend sold....
 

What type of boat are we talking about ?