One thing we’ve learned over the years about USCG documentation forms: they weren’t named with regular people in mind. It’s been our experience that most people who own boats would much rather be on their boats than filling out some form. These are legal forms, designed by lawyers and legislators, so they can be a bit confusing for even someone who’s very experienced on the water. One purpose these blogs can serve is to explain a little bit better one of the forms you can find on the site. Today, we’re going to go over the USCG Satisfaction of Mortgage form. We’ll also cover why you might need it and how we can help.
The USCG Satisfaction of Mortgage Form
Buying a boat is an exciting time. For most boat owners though, there comes a time to sell the boat. Maybe you’re looking to get another boat, maybe you’re looking to move on, or perhaps you have some other reason to selling your boat. Regardless, the process to sell a boat can be a complicated one. You have to get the boat ready to be sold, you have to find a buyer that’s interested, you have to negotiate the price… and then once that’s all done, you have to get all of the proper documentation taken care of. For many vessels, this satisfaction of mortgage form is typically one of the last steps in the process of selling your boat.
Why the Form is Necessary
From the moment you get your initial Certificate of Documentation, the Coast Guard tracks the mortgages against your vessel as well as the liens. As they increase or are paid off, the Coast Guard makes note of it. So, when you go to sell your vessel to someone new, they’ll have to go through the documentation process. For that to happen, you have to “clear the books,” as it were, for the vessel under your ownership. That means that you have to let the Coast Guard know that you’ve satisfied any and all liens and mortgages on the vessel. That’s what this form is for. It lets the Coast Guard know that so that the next owner can get the proper documentation.
A Form You Want to Fill Out
With everything that goes into getting a boat ready to be sold, it’s easy to blow this documentation off, to feel like you don’t have to do it. That would be a mistake. For starters, you want to complete this form to make it easier on the vessel owner after you. Without a satisfaction of mortgage, they can’t document the vessel themselves. On top of that, you could potentially be fined by the Coast Guard. Should you fail to get the correct paperwork from your lender to provide this statement, you could receive a substantial fine. In some cases, these fines can go up to $10,000. Obviously, you don’t want that. It costs only $145 to send in the form through our site. It’s an easy choice to make.
The Form Itself
We always try to put a disclaimer at the top of our forms, to let you know the reasons that you’re filling the form out. You’ll notice that the “Satisfaction/Release of Mortgage” form references the $10,000 from the last paragraph. We do get some questions about part four, where you fill in the names. In that area, you should put in the grantors, assignors, mortgagors, or assuming parties. We’re always looking for ways to offer our customers more. So, if you go down the form, you’ll find the area that mentions we can give you “rush processing.” That means that we’ll process your form even quicker than we ordinarily would. That’s only for a few bucks more, and it’s a great idea if you’re in a bit of a rush.
In the old days (i.e. only a few years ago) there was no set “Satisfaction of Mortgage” form. When you did get the paperwork together, you had to fill it out and mail it in yourself. If there was any slight error with it (natural, what with these being documents filled with “legalese”) then they would be sent back to you, thus stretching the process out even further. We wanted to put a stop to that. So, when you send your documents through our site, they come to our document processors. Our trained professionals look over your forms and make sure there aren’t any errors. That way, you don’t get them sent back to you. This speeds up the process considerably.
Selling a boat is a new start for all involved. The new buyer begins their journey with a boat, while the seller seeks out other waters. For more information about the satisfaction of mortgage or any other form, check out our site or give us a call at (800) 535-8570.