Lender repossessions
Banks and marine lenders must account for the sale and pay you any surplus over the loan and their costs.
Repossession · Marina and storage liens
Boat or jet ski sold over a loan or marina bill?
A marina or storage yard can sell a boat to cover unpaid fees, and a lender can repossess one after missed payments. Either way, they're only entitled to what they're owed. The rest can belong to you.
Nothing up front · No recovery, no fee
How boat surpluses happen
Lender repossessions of boats follow the same Uniform Commercial Code rule as cars: the lender takes its costs and the loan balance, and owes the borrower any surplus.
Marina and storage lien sales follow each state's lien laws. They often involve small bills against valuable boats, so the leftover can be large. Depending on the state, the surplus is paid to the owner or held for them by the yard, the county or the state.
Sale price$38,000
Storage fees and sale costs$9,750
Surplus for the former owner$28,250
Liens and other claims may be paid from the surplus first, so the amount you receive can be lower.
Marina and storage liens
Yards can sell over unpaid slip, storage or repair bills. A few months of fees against a boat worth tens of thousands is where large surpluses come from.
Personal watercraft
Jet skis and other PWC are sold under the same rules, often bundled with a trailer. We check what the whole sale brought in.
The marina sold my boat over storage fees. Do I have any rights?
Often, yes. The marina can keep its bill and allowed costs, but in many states the rest belongs to the owner. We check the sale and where the money went.
I don't know who bought it or what it sold for.
That's normal. We find the sale records and the amount. You just tell us where the boat was and roughly when it was sold.
What does it cost?
Nothing up front. Our fee is a percentage of what's recovered, agreed in writing before we start. If nothing is recovered, you owe nothing.
The check you're owed.
Tell us what was sold and we'll check the records for you. It's free and there's no obligation.
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