First, before the boater becomes your customer, ask for a recent picture of the boat he intends to keep in your marina. Does the boat complement the rest of your customer base? If it does, but later appears differently when the boat arrives, reject it right then. The person may be put out at the time, but that’s better than trying to get him out in the future.

Second, run a credit check to see his payment history. If it is questionable, reject him. Remember, before you can run a credit check on that person, you need to get his approval in writing. It is better to have an empty slip for a couple of months and the ability to rent it, than it is to have the slip occupied and not receiving slip fees.

Obtain a license agreement
Assuming that everything checks out to your satisfaction and you want the boater as a customer, then the type of agreement becomes important. I am not a lawyer, but our experience has shown you want a license agreement as opposed to a rental contract. If a problem arises in the future, your rights as a marina owner are greater when it comes to getting the boat out of the marina with a license agreement. If the situation becomes an issue with the courts, you do not want a “tenant-landlord relationship,” which is typically what happens with a rental contract. This gives many more rights to the customer than to the marina.

Another bit of information that can help you when it comes to collecting on a past-due debt is knowing who the lien holder is on the customer’s boat. This is important because your claim for dockage will come before any claim by the lien holder.

On more than one occasion, we have contacted the lien holder On the customer’s boat and advised him of our intentions to obtain title to the boat in order to settle a claim for outstanding dockage. The lien holder has then put the necessary pressure on the customer to settle his bill with the marina.

Let’s face it: Lenders usually have a lot more at risk, as well as a lot more experience when it comes to collecting bad debts than a marina owner or operator has. With that said, the threat to obtain title to the boat should be real. Before it is time to take action, you need to research how to obtain title to a boat for non-payment of dockage, because every state seems to have a little different procedure.

One thing we have learned is that it is a lot cheaper and faster if you understand the procedure. You should do it in-house and working directly with the proper government agencies, rather than trying to use an outside attorney.   Continue »

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