Rental, full ownership, boat club, loan... There are many ways to own a boat. Each one has its advantages and disadvantages and, obviously, none is better than the other. Except the one that suits a particular boater...
François Berthe is an architect in Concarneau ( Finistère ). He and three other friends became co-owners of a boat. It is a First 211 named Gwennel Mor ( Sea Swallow in Breton ) who almost lost his ring at the port of Concarneau .
A life event forces the separation of the boat
The genesis of this "copro", François tells it: " The boat belonged to a friend. He was moving away from the coast and was wondering what to do with his boat. Sell it, continue to pay for the berth or find a place on land. None of these options suited him, he wanted to keep the boat alive, in every sense of the word. It was during an evening with friends that the idea of owning his boat came up " begins the architect.
It was then necessary to find other stakeholders, for the finances on the one hand, and for the use on the other. It was, indeed, inconceivable that the boat became " shared The "First" remains inactive in the port of the walled city. The idea was to mutualize the uses and the care which would be brought to the First to make profitable the boat object in itself. These are the two essential motivations for the co-ownership, to use the boat more often and to maintain it better.
François explains the model set up for Gwennel Mor: " Initially, the two of us considered buying shares in the boat to keep it. We did not have the funds, so 2 other friends joined us. We are now 4 households, shareholders of this boat, with a majority share - 25.1% of the shares - to the original owner, so as to be able to keep the place in the port. "
New owners, New steps
Good for them, indeed. The waiting time in the port of Concarneau to obtain a place exceeds 3 years. And the change of owner of a boat requires to file a new application for a place. This is a substantial element to be taken into account, the passage to several owners of a boat amounts to transfer it to a new legal entity - this group of 4 friends - which will have to make, in its turn, the whole of the steps that the former holder of the act of ownership had to carry out.
What are the secrets to successful multi-family ownership?
For a condominium to succeed, it is clear that dialogue and exchange remain major elements. But are they the only ones? No doubt not. François develops the legal elements that he and his friends have put in place " We have established a contract of co-ownership which has been sent to the Maritime Affairs to establish a new title of property. We are all 4 present on this act "he begins.
Of course, the boat remains insured: " The insurance remained the same as the one the original owner had purchased "explains the boater.
What about the actual financing of the boat's life, place in port, fittings, maintenance, fuel ...? François and his friends have purposely arranged the tools: " We set up a joint bank account in the name of one of us and we deposit our planned expenses into it every quarter. When an unexpected expense comes up, we each add our share to the account. "
Friendship prevails in the condominium and reservations are always made in consultation with each other. This does not prevent us from being equipped to do it properly We have set up a doodle for booking the boat in summer. Out of season, we send each other a whatsapp message to announce our outings. It is not unusual for us to go out with each other, as we are friends first. "
Important point, it is necessary that each party in the undivided ownership has different lifestyles and social levels ( income, expectations ... ) close enough to each other, to avoid that the expectations of comfort or equipment of the more fortunate do not suffocate the less well off. In this regard, François introduces us to his team members " We are an architect, a community manager and two business executives, with fairly similar standards of living to each other. "
Co-owners and friends
It is this friendship aspect that seems to make this union work. It is certain that if the people using the boat do not get along, problems will soon appear.
" If one of us breaks something on the boat or in it, he pays for it, that's our rule of operation "explains the architect, adding " We were and still are friends. It's been 2 years now since we set up this condo and things are going very well. "
The copro allows you to use the boat more often and better.
François gives his feelings: " Being a co-owner is a lot of fun. Two of us are extremely good sailors who are used to maintenance and work. Another one is a seasoned fisherman, he really frequents the sea. Then there is me, who is the least expert. We make many training and learning trips. The fact that one plans an outing motivates the others to go out as well, and the boat is ultimately really used more throughout the season."
What about finances?
Each co-owner must invest a sum of money ( we talk about a calendar ) equivalent to the number of quirates ( that's how we call the shares we own in a ship ) that he owns in the object. This sum corresponds to the value of the boat on the day of the act ( set by expert or by mutual agreement ) divided by the number of shares created. This value is then multiplied by the number of shares each person acquires to determine the amount he or she must pay.
For the fees, depending on the agreement between the parties, two methods are possible. Payment by use or payment by share. Although the latter is the simplest to set up, it can lead to injustice in the case where one of the co-owners no longer uses his right on the property in question. It is essential to define the method of calculation in the initial contract.
In the case of the First of which François is co-owner, " We have each invested 2000 euros in the boat. With the exception of the first owner, we all own 24.96% of the boat, and we have no plans to bring other people into the copro. "
The current use of a boat leads to think about lending or renting. This is one of the questions the four friends are asking themselves. " Others would like to use the boat. In the form of a loan, things are easy, it is a matter of not using a portion of one's own share. But what happens if there is an accident? In that case, I don't know. We are thinking about it. The convenient solution could be to rent the boat, it is to think "concludes the Finisterian.
Every year, a plenary meeting of co-owners must be held to validate the accounts and the good working order of the structure. Certainly, François and his friends do not deviate from the rule... In the manner of the yachtsmen however " The General Assembly ... It is a tasty meal between friends above all! "
The co-owners, happy as Ulysses after their beautiful journeys?
