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Buying a Boat- Boat Financing Options
When you decide to purchase a boat, you might not be sure about how you’re going to pay for it. Fortunately, there are many different options for all of your boat financing needs. If you have the cash on hand, you might not be worried about it at all; of course if that were the case, you probably wouldn’t be searching for boat financing options. There are many different lenders and companies that offer boat loans, and most dealers even offer in-house financing just like car dealerships.
The first rule of boat financing is that you have to have decent credit. It doesn’t matter how badly you want a boat if you don’t have the credit to get you approved for a loan. Additionally, you should know that the credit criteria are much stricter for boat loans than for auto or home loans. This is because unlike cars and homes, boats are not a necessary purchase. Usually, most places require a credit score of around 600 or higher, with lower rates for higher scores. Additionally, some places require that you have money up front, while others will allow you to finance the entire purchase price. Check to find out what options you have for down payments when looking for a lender.
Banks and lenders that specialize in boat loans will usually have better rates than your local bank or lender that offers many different types of loans. Dealers with in-house financing will have varied rates in comparison, depending on the dealer and your credit score. Boat financing is something that you need to handle BEFORE you shop for a boat. After all, with a purchase of this magnitude, affordability is everything. Boat loan rates are like the interest rates for auto loans; you can find some as low as 5% or 6%, but they average between 8% and 12%, and can go all the way up to 24%, depending on your credit history.
If you’re not sure where to look, you can check with the boat dealer that you want to buy with to see what your boat financing options are. If you’d prefer to walk in with financing in hand, consider shopping around online with reputable boat loan lenders to see what you can find. No matter what you decide, being informed and prepared is going to be essential to your boat financing success and boat ownership. This isn’t a small purchase, and in order to get the most enjoyment out of your boat purchase, you need to have all the technicalities taken care of properly.
To learn more about boats, you can check out boats for sale, financing, and specialty boats such as fishing boats, Sea Chaser boats, boat maintenance, boating accessories, personal watercraft, and other boats to find exactly what you need.
Submitted by: michelle
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Added: Wed Nov 26 2008
