I was figuring I would have to do the same to build a relationship with them but nope. Actually, previous to that I was going to finance it with US bank (which would have done it even on the High Performance Supercat they started to finance boats again) but they wanted 6 months of banking history with them. I didn't have to put anything in my new credit union account to get it done. They also told me initially that they would only do a 2007+ but when I told them I was looking at some older ones they were willing to make an exception for a few years back as long as the value was there so don't be afraid to have them ask underwriting.

Yes we are talking about a 3600 Supercat which is what I ended up with. If you haven't seen one in person they are absolutely incredible!! You aren't going to find many insurance companies that will write it unless you can "sneak" it under their radar which may be an issue if you had a claim I'm not sure just be prepared to bend over for the one or two companies that do write them.

i second lightstream. Im about the same credit score. Zero balance on 6 cards. Only thing outstanding is the house which is 2/3 paid off. Was trying to get a loan on a Mercedes with a lemon title. They didnt care about the car, just straight up gave me a personal loan at 4% so i have the car and title. Super easy to deal with .Now they keel trying to offer me more money. Lol

First Time cat owner and in Florida, you'd be lucky to be under 10k/year and most likely would be required to take the Tres Martin High Perf boat school.

I was told I didn't HAVE to take Tres class but the rate is much higher without taking it. I will say that it is money WELL spent for anyone wondering.

When I looked into this the best rates were through a home equity line of credit. Basically you are using the equity in your house to finance whatever you want. Usually the bank will ask what you plan to do with the funds but once approved they really don't care. As you pay it off that line of credit is again available for a new purchase as long as you are within the draw period. In my case I was going to use it to redo my bulkhead and install a boat lift. Then pay some off and fund the purchase of a boat. With close to half down on a $100k boat the payments would have been under $600/month. Keep in mine that most traditional boat loans won't finance anything 20 years old. In your case that may not be an issue as you stated you were looking newer. Shop around and see what works best for your situation.

I don't want to touch the home....it does make sense to refi, but I just have that sense of security that if something happens to me the house cant be touched. I am thinking to wait a few months more and get more of a down payment and use a credit union and maybe finance something like 50k. Never know.....boat prices just might come down!!!!!!!!mLOL

Understandable. At this point it is late in the season so depending where you live it might be worth to wait and try to snag a deal over the winter.

In 08 when I bought the T/S- I had over 50% down on $150k boat. All of my banking was w Bank of America for 30+ years prior. 2 houses, cars and several other things all paid off.
Went there for loan and was denied. over 800 credit. Went to local bank BOK and was approved and we didn't even have any money w them at the time.
As soon as I was approved I went back to BoA and withdrew every cent I had in their bank and have never looked back. Much nicer having a bank that is local and acts like they care, personal banker for any business issues. Very helpful w the PPP.

Of course 08 was right at the start of the housing/banking crash so maybe that had a little to do with it as BoA was in the ringer lol

I'm about to do the same with Wells Fargo. Been with them over 25 years. My business grosses well over 7 figures, similar credit score. The big banks are difficult to work with and not just for financing things. Hard to get anyone on the phone, need to set up appointments for everything, replacement debit cards take a week to receive. I've been moving my things over to Affinity.

Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Chase Manhattan are all crooks.......:D