enticer

Take Heed!
http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/g...ent-group.html

Bond Broker

I have spoken with this outfit several times and never felt comfortable, they wanted a applcation fee/ search fee of 500.00, and they will find me what i want. This fee is to make sure that i am serious. they i was told i would pay 50 extra per month for a processing fee, plus a finders fee of 6 to 10 % depending on how special the boat or auto was. Now i hear they are spliting the company up?

Any how i am looking for a nice powerboat under the take over payment idea if anyone has an interest. My prior boat was a 36 Apache w/super charged 850hp with #3's.

thanks
Mike

enticer

Last post was duplicate....but if this thread and the other thread I started a couple of years ago. Do an update "google" on them and then see what the heck is going on.............

ebspectrum

So I have been reading the posts about International Marine and had to post my experience. I first contacted them about a Sea Ray 36' in Michigan. I flew out from my home in Las Vegas (First Class, so expensive) to Michigan to view the boat. Deano picked me up and drove me to the boat in his $500.00 car that was filthy both in and out (a little telling). We looked at the boat and it was pristine. I told him I would take it and we began the paperwork and paid a deposit. He was just waiting for the owner to get home from vacation. Weeks went by and I finally tracked the owner down myself who said he knew nothing of this deal. He said they contacted him once a couple of months earlier but he told them he wasn't going to do a contract sale (he didn't have to).

So after waiting a few months to try and get something for the money I'd given them and they wouldn't give back, I picked up one of their clients boats that had been abandoned in a parking lot here in Las Vegas. I checked it out, but it wasn't what I wanted. I had my mechanic fix it at their request and it was like pulling teeth to get them to give my mechanic a credit card to pay for the repairs.

A month later they asked me to pick up a boat abandoned in California, a Baja 36. I did, and although the last "owners" stripped some stuff off of it, I decided to take that boat. I gave a larger deposit and completed the paperwork including setting up an ACH with Global Financial to collect and make the payments to the bank. Turns out that company is owned by Chuck Gebell's wife. They hit my account for two payments in 3 days. BTW, you can't get ACH payments back, I tried. I tracked down and contacted the owner of the Baja to ask some questions about the boat. He promptly told me he had reported it stolen since National Marine, Chuck Gebell hadn't made a payment in 6 months to his bank. He then demanded the boat back. Now I am out $10,000.00 and have no boat. I demand my money back from Chuck Gebell and I get a bankruptcy notice listing me in National Marines bankruptcy, right along with many other customers, boat owners, and banks. Chuck Gebell, the owner of National Marine, was even listed as a creditor so he could take a tax write off. All they did at the time was change the logo on their existing website to International Marine in Roseville Michigan. I tried contacting the Bankruptcy court but they didn't care he was doing exactly the same thing with the same "inventory" and URL for his website.

Don't get me wrong, I think contract sales are a valuable tool for selling your boat if they are done properly. As a small businessman of 25 years I have had hits to my credit over the years that have prevented me from buying things that I could afford to make the payments on but not qualify for. If a boat owners situation changes and they can't make the payment, this is a better alternative than repossession. In this market selling a boat will be challenging. When I decide to upgrade from my 2003 Doral, I'll probably do a contract sale. As for Chuck Gebell, in my opinion, he is a thief and a con. And from an earlier post, sorry Julie, International Marine is without question the old National Marine, with the same people that have ripped so many people off over the years. Just because you say otherwise on a post doesn't change the facts. If I remember correctly, Chuck Gebells daughter was named Julie.

Here's a tip for those of you unable to get out of your boats but need to. If you want to do a contract sale, use a Real Estate contract sale contract as an example. And this part is very important: KEEP THE BOAT INSURANCE IN YOUR NAME AND PAY IT YOURSELF. You can charge the buyer the monthly premium, but you must keep it in your name to be sure it stays in force and you are the beneficiary. If your boat is seriously damaged or stolen you are covered and your loan is paid off (if it's stolen). Also, have the buyer pay the 10% of the value (the commission a broker would charge) towards the principal of your note. That shows strong intent on the part of the buyer and gives them something to lose if you have to take the boat back. For the buyer, by paying towards the principal your not just pocketing his money on a boat you are most likely upside down on.

Good luck.