Securing the purchase price when buying directly

PartABoat is just starting: listing and enquiries already work. Until PartABoat accompanies the purchase, you buy directly: seller and buyers conclude the purchase contract with each other, and PartABoat does not accompany the purchase. This information sheet shows how you secure the purchase price on the handover date: alone by payment against handover, as a group in one of two ways.

It is general information and does not replace advice on your individual case. PartABoat does not name any particular notary, does not organise any appointment and checks neither the boat nor the papers nor payments.

This information sheet was written for owners and buyers in Germany. Legal, tax and boat-paper points refer to German law and practice; other countries may differ.

Which way suits you?

• Buying as a group: You choose one of two ways together in the purchase contract. Way 1: Keys and papers go to you first, then everyone pays within 30 minutes. Way 2: A notary holds the purchase price and pays out only once all shares have been paid for and the signed handover record is available.
• Buying alone, meaning the whole boat or a share in an existing co-owner group: Pay against handover on the handover date, by instant transfer. If several people buy shares in an existing co-owner group at the same time, the purchase counts as a group purchase: all on the same date, with the same two ways.

What remains unsecured with Way 1: if several buyers transfer one after another and one drops out, the others’ money is already with the seller. The seller repays it within one hour, and until then the others keep keys and papers; if the seller does not pay, all they have is a claim against the seller for repayment. If you want extra security, choose a notary.

Buying as a group: two ways

An example: Buyer 1 buys half of the boat, Buyer 2 and Buyer 3 a quarter each. The seller and all buyers choose one of the two ways together and record it in the purchase contract. If you do not reach agreement, or if no notary has accepted by 7 days before the handover date, Way 1 applies.

Way 1: keys first

1. Conclude the purchase contracts. Each buyer concludes a written purchase contract with the seller for their share. State in each contract that the purchases take effect only together, that ownership passes only with all payments (retention of title), that everyone pays within 30 minutes of the handover and that, if a payment is missing, the seller repays the others their money within one hour. The seller’s IBAN is stated in the purchase contract.
2. Beforehand with the bank: Each buyer clarifies whether they can send their amount by instant transfer and raises their daily limit in good time; sometimes the change takes effect only after a few hours.
3. Hand over. On the day, the seller hands over the boat, keys and papers to you.
4. Pay. Within 30 minutes of the handover, each buyer transfers their share by instant transfer to the IBAN in the purchase contract. The seller confirms each payment as it arrives; once all have arrived, you sign the handover record.
5. If a payment is missing, the seller repays the others their amounts within one hour, and until then they keep keys and papers. You agree a new date within 7 days. Record in the purchase contract that the seller can rescind the contract with the buyer in default if they do not pay then either, and that the purchases of the others remain in place.

Way 2: a notary holds the money

Each buyer transfers their share of the purchase price to an account the notary keeps only for this purchase. The notary pays out to the seller only once all amounts have arrived and the handover record is available to the notary. If by an agreed day an amount or the handover record is missing, the notary repays each buyer what they paid in. The buyers bear the costs in proportion to their shares.

1. Choose a notary. Find a notary together, for example through the notary search of the German Federal Chamber of Notaries (in German), and send them the request text below. Whether they hold the money is for the notary to decide in each case; if they decline, ask a second one.
2. Conclude the purchase contracts. Each buyer concludes a written purchase contract with the seller for their share. State in each contract that the purchases take effect only together, that is, only if all shares are paid for. The notary does not have to notarise the contracts.
3. Instruct the notary. Seller and buyers jointly give the notary a written instruction: by when each buyer pays in, that the seller is paid only against the handover record signed by everyone, on which day each buyer gets their money back if not everything is available by then, and who bears the costs. The instruction must be in place before the first money moves. The notary does not check whether the seller is the owner, nor any encumbrances on the boat or its condition.
4. Pay in. Each buyer transfers their share of the purchase price to this account of the notary. Confirm the account details by phone with the notary’s office beforehand, using the number from the notary search, never one from an email: fake account details in a notary’s name are a known scam.
5. Hand over. On the handover date the seller hands over the boat, keys and papers, and everyone signs the handover record. Once the notary has it, the notary pays out to the seller.

If the boat is financed, the notary can pay the amount the bank requires for its release directly to the bank; this then belongs in the instruction. The notary’s fee is based on the German Court and Notary Fees Act and on the amount the notary pays out.

Request text for a notary

You send this text yourselves to a notary of your choice, seller and buyers together; you fill in what is in square brackets. German notaries expect the German text, which is on the German version of this page; the English version below is for your understanding. PartABoat provides it to everyone in the same form, names no notary, is not involved in holding the money and receives nothing. Take the notary’s account details only from the notary’s office and have them confirmed there by phone. For identification, the notary needs everyone’s ID.

Buying alone: payment against handover on the handover date

• In the purchase contract you agree that payment is made on the handover date and that ownership passes to you only on full payment (retention of title).
• Beforehand with the bank: Clarify whether you can send the amount by instant transfer. Many banks set a daily limit; you can change it, sometimes with effect only after a few hours. When setting up the transfer, check whether your bank’s payee check confirms the seller’s name and IBAN.
• On the day: First you sign the purchase contract, then the seller hands over the boat, keys and papers, you make the transfer, and the seller sees the money arrive in their banking app within a few seconds. Until then the seller remains the owner under the retention of title. After that you sign the handover record.
• An instant transfer that has been carried out can no longer be stopped. So pay nothing before you have seen the boat and the papers.

What you check in every case

• That the seller is the owner is shown by the documents on their own purchase; the boat papers are not proof of ownership.
• If the boat is financed, the bank’s release is available before payment is made. With the seller’s consent, you can pay the amount the bank requires for its release directly to the bank; the seller receives the rest.
• At the appointment, you compare the seller’s ID with the purchase contract: the same name, of full age. If anything does not match, nobody pays until it has been cleared up.
• Payment is made only to the IBAN in the purchase contract. Beforehand, each of you transfers €1 to it; if your bank’s payee check does not confirm the name and IBAN, nobody pays until it is cleared up. PartABoat never sends an IBAN, not even on request.
• On the morning of the appointment, take a look at the official insolvency notices (in German): if insolvency proceedings are running against the seller, hold off paying.
• If the boat is entered in the ship register, the register needs declarations from you and from the seller with notarially certified signatures. Payment is then made only after a notary has certified the seller’s declaration on the date and filed the application for registration; from the application onwards your ranking is secured.
• If the boat lies abroad, ask the notary beforehand whether they will still hold the money.

What you check on the boat itself is set out in the Checklist for buying a boat. How the purchase works as soon as PartABoat accompanies it is shown in How it works.