Boat Financing

Most people cannot afford to fork over ready money for a purchase as expensive as a new boat. However, that doesn’t mean that most people shouldn’t be able to get a boat if they want one! That’s why there are so many financing options available for boat buyers. You can get the boat that you want at a price you can afford to pay off over time with the right kind of financing.

Germaine Marine is your local boat dealer, with locations in Utah and Arizona. Here is a quick rundown of your options when it comes to financing the purchase of a boat.

Types of Loans

A boat loan is a type of installment loan, which involves the ower paying a fixed amount each month over the course of a year or several years. The amount of interest that accrues on the loan will depend on how large a loan it is, how much income the borrower has, the borrower’s credit score and the type of loan obtained. Loans come in secured and unsecured formats.

Unsecured loans are simply loans that don’t have a security of some kind on them. These loans don’t require any collateral from you, but they often have higher rates and shorter repayment terms. While you aren’t at risk of losing your boat 

Secured loans use your boat as collateral, which means that the boat is repossessed should the buyer fail to make their payments and default on the loan. Higher loan limits, lower rates and long repayment terms are some bonuses that secured loans offer. These loans are your best bet when you need a lot of money in advance or you aren’t qualified to receive an unsecured loan.

Where To Look For a Loan

Boat loans can be obtained from several sources. Banks, credit unions and marine lending specialists are all excellent places to look. Here at Germaine Marine, we provide our customers with a finance department to help them get the funds needed for a boat purchase. Just talk to our staff if you’d like to know more.

Banks

You can probably apply for a boat loan at any bank that offers one, even if you don’t have a savings or checking account with that particular establishment. Choosing a bank that you already use, however, can make your interest rate lower. You may have anywhere from one to several years to pay back your loan, and amounts are somewhere between a few and several thousand dollars. Rates vary depending on credit score and the size of the loan.

Credit Unions

Nonprofit lending institutions like credit unions are an excellent choice for anyone who needs a loan and has bad credit. You’ll receive a secured loan when you use a credit union, requiring you to put up your boat as collateral. Credit unions usually offer you higher loan amounts at lower rates compared to banks.

Marine Lending Specialists

The last option is to look into a marine lending service that can broker the loan via several resources. You can obtain similar rates and terms from these loans as you would from a credit union or ban, but these loans are offered by professionals in the industry. You may need up to 20% of the total cost as a down payment to get one of these secured loans.

Looking for a boat? Stop by one of our dealerships today to check out our wide stock of new and used boats for sale. Germaine Marine welcomes all of our customers in Arizona and Utah to come see us for all your boating needs.