How to buy a boat from a private seller, step by step

Check the boat before you get attached

Before you drive out to see it, ask the seller for the hull identification number (HIN), a photo of the title or registration, and whether there is a loan on the boat. A seller who will not share the HIN is a seller to walk away from.

Run the HIN to confirm the builder and model year match the ad and to look for open recalls. Then check for liens. If the boat is Coast Guard documented, request the abstract of title from the National Vessel Documentation Center, which shows recorded mortgages.

See it in person and price it on sold boats

Look at the boat before you make a real offer. Start the engines cold, check the bilge, the transom, the soft spots in the deck, and the hour meters.

Base your number on what similar boats actually sold for, not on asking prices. Expect the survey to give you a second chance to negotiate, so do not spend all your leverage now.

Make a written offer with a deposit

A text saying "would you take $9k?" is not an offer. A real offer states the price, the deposit, the date you will close, and what it depends on: usually a marine survey and a sea trial you are satisfied with.

Around 10% is a common deposit, but on a private sale a smaller one often does the job, as long as it is real money. Put a deadline on the offer, usually 48 hours, so it cannot sit for a week.

Send the deposit to escrow, not to the seller

Once the agreement is signed, the deposit goes to a neutral third party such as Escrow.com, an attorney, or a licensed brokerage trust account. If you send it straight to a stranger and the deal falls apart, getting it back depends entirely on them.

With escrow, the money is released only under the terms you both signed: back to you if the boat fails inspection, or toward the price if you accept it.

Survey, sea trial and title search

Hire your own marine surveyor, not one the seller suggests. Plan for a haul-out so the hull can be inspected, and run the sea trial at full load and speed. Ten to fourteen days is a typical window to get all of this done.

Bind insurance during this window too. Many insurers and lenders want to see the survey, and you will need proof of coverage before you can take the boat.

Accept, renegotiate or walk away

If the survey is clean, accept the boat in writing. If it finds problems, get repair quotes and ask for a lower price or for repairs before closing.

If the problems are serious, you can reject the boat inside your inspection window and your deposit comes back under the terms of the agreement. Do it in writing and before the deadline.

Close the deal

At closing, the rest of the money moves through escrow, the seller signs the bill of sale and the title over to you, and any loan on the boat is paid off with a lien release. Do not hand over the final payment until you know the lien is being cleared.

Check that the HIN on the boat, the title and the bill of sale all match before you sign anything.

Title and register the boat

In Florida you generally have 30 days to apply for title and registration at your county tax collector. Bring the signed title, the bill of sale and your ID. Sales tax is collected when you title the boat.

For a Coast Guard documented vessel, the transfer goes through the National Vessel Documentation Center instead of the state.