|
 Boat repossession proves lucrative for company and buyers
By BETH FEINSTEIN-BARTL
Waterfront News Writer
Business has been very good for Matt Amata. In fact, it’s booming. As the economy further weakens, his Fort Lauderdale-based boat repossession company is seizing and reselling a record number of boats. He estimates his caseload has increased about 30 percent annually between 2005 and 2007, and those figures are expected to further rise this year.
It’s a sign of the times. With home foreclosures and fuel prices climbing, it has become a perfect storm, said Amata, vice president of National Liquidators. “We’re the busiest we’ve ever been.”
And what comes in, goes back out. Resales are strong, with many foreign buyers taking advantage of the existing currency exchange rates, Amata said.
The re-sold vessels are repossessed from marinas, private docks and storage yards. Anywhere there’s water or a trailer. To keep up with demand, the company has had to expand its work force, adding on everyone from dockhands to accountants. In 2004, there were 35 employees. They now have 71 employees.
Crews across the country pick up an average of 140 boats per month, from personal watercraft to commercial ships. In South Florida including the Florida Keys, they bring in from 20 to 50 boats.
“It’s certainly become a hot bed of activity,” Amata said of the area spanning from Key West to Palm Beach County. “We’re picking up dozens of boats in that region monthly. Mostly recreational.”
Repossessions in South Florida, like the rest of the nation, are closely tied to home foreclosures. “We’ve found a lot of people purchased boats using their home equity,” Amata said. “When the equity vanishes, it’s either give up their boat or their house. Most people give up their boat.”
Others who have managed to stave off lenders are finding it difficult to make payments on their loans and purchase fuel to run vessels. In some cases, the struggle proves to be too much.
Of the boats repossessed by National Liquidators, almost half are sold and sent to ports outside the U.S. Interest among foreign buyers is huge. Overseas sales previously accounted for 15 to 25 percent. Today, it’s 40 percent, Amata said.
“The United Saudi Emirates has been a hot market that hasn’t been hot for us in the past,” he said. “A lot of luxury yachts and speed boats are going to the Middle East. There’s a big appetite there.”
Europeans are seeking single engine, fuel-efficient diesel boats, or boats that can be converted to diesel. The company is also fielding more inquires and sales from Croatian dealers.
Overseas buyers are getting a good deal. “They’re buying at basically a 50 percent discount because of the currency exchange rate,” Amata said. “For instance, if you come to the U.S. with a 100,000 eros, you get $150,000 in U.S. buying power.”
Exports overseas also account for about 50 percent of the current sales by dealers and brokers in South Florida. Most foreign buyers are looking for new and pre-owned late model yachts 40 feet and up, said Bruce Schattenburg, managing director of the Sacks Group Yachting Professionals in Fort Lauderdale and vice president of the Florida Yacht Brokers Association.
Schattenburg said repossessions haven’t hit large yacht owners as hard as the smaller recreational boater. “I’ve seen very few yachts 60-foot and over repossessed.”
Repossessions of yachts 130 feet plus is virtually non-existent. “The people who own these boats have significant capital resources to keep and maintain them,” he said.
As a result, buyers are having a difficult time finding pre-owned mega-yachts, and those on the market are getting premium prices, he said.
“In the $10 million and over range, the market is the strongest we’ve ever seen for new and pre-owned, mainly because of big foreign money,” Schattenburg said.
For American buyers, it’s different. Their expectations are somewhat unrealistic. They are looking for deep discounts that are not there, he said. Americans are still buying, just not at the same rate as their foreign counterparts. “They want to make that fantastic purchase of 50 to 60 percent off,” Schattenburg said. “Realistically, it’s only around 20 to 30 percent.”
 |
|
