# what about renting to a live aboard in Florida ?



## Chiro (Sep 23, 2015)

I'm finally getting my first boat a Gemini mc 34 purchased in Florida I live in North Carolina and I was wondering does anybody know anything about the concept of leaving it in Florida and renting it out for two or three months before I bring it up to North Carolina. Would that be stupid how could you be safe trusting anyone with an almost new sailboat and what would I charge.


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## jephotog (Feb 25, 2002)

Sounds like a bad idea to me. The upside is the little income you would derive. The downside, let your imagination run wild.

If you can't afford the boat outright right now or have time to bring it home, why not wait till you can do both. I still think the downside would outweigh the benefits but if you need to buy it and rent it. I would consider a well established charter company with the assets to be held liable or repair whatever might happen to your boat.


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## capttb (Dec 13, 2003)

Here, most marina contracts prohibit commercial use of your boat as you suggest and have evicted boats that were used in this manner. If you decide to put the boat in charter your insurance will be about double. Most people I know that have put their boat in charter quit after a year or two because it doesn't generate enough to make it worthwhile.


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## eherlihy (Jan 2, 2007)

Why not hire a captain to deliver it to your home port? ... and because it is in Florida, you have a short time to do so before the tax man will come callin'.


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## SENCMac26x (Sep 16, 2014)

Congratulations on the boat!

My wife and I seriously looking at upgrading to a catamaran and really like the Gemini's.

Let me know how it goes.

As far as your question, you could charter/rent it out but the insurance costs or potential liability could outweigh any money you'd make for that short period of time.

Any reason you just don't bring it up to NC?


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## Minnesail (Feb 19, 2013)

I have heard of people using Airbnb to rent out their boats for people to spend a few nights in. No sailing, just staying and sleeping.

I'm sure this on the very edge of the law as far as commercial use goes for marinas and insurance.


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## SoCalFoxx (Jul 28, 2015)

Chiro said:


> I'm finally getting my first boat a Gemini mc 34 purchased in Florida...


Hi - are you still thinking of renting your boat for a few months? I ask, as I am considering buying and living aboard in 2017 and would love the opportunity to live a few months as a trial.

Thanks,
Chris


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## travlin-easy (Dec 24, 2010)

BAD IDEA! I have a friend that did exactly that with a beautiful, 10 year old Tartan, a boat that was in pristine condition. The person that rented the boat, which was just to be for three months, brought booze and friends aboard, partied hardy nearly every night, and when the marina finally evicted them, the boat was trashed to the point where she spent $20,000 having it restored to it's original condition. Additionally, because she rented it out, it was deemed a commercial enterprise and her insurance didn't cover a dime of the damages and her insurance company dropped her like a hot potato. Pick your poison!

Gary


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## Capt Len (Oct 9, 2011)

Even Air B'nB is full of horror stories of plans gone agley. Competent trustworthy people are such a rarity and such a risk to sort thru the litter .I rent out bunch of long terms and an AirBnB .But I hover real close .And I'm the only one I know I would trust alone on my boat.


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## capta (Jun 27, 2011)

Quite possibly, as mentioned above, the Florida tax bill would be larger than any income you could derive, never mind any potential damage to the boat. Even loaning something as complicated as a boat to friends for a weekend, if you aren't around, could cost you your boat, never mind strangers who don't care about you or your boat.
I'm in agreement that hiring a delivery crew would be your best option and have your boat close to home where you can care for her and even get some enjoyment from your new gal.


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

You're going to leave it in Florida...Ooops, on the 90th day it is there, you owe Florida sales tax, registration, and title. And then you have to transfer all that stuff when you bring it home.

And your insurance probably will frown on commercial use (tenants) who can very easily trash or sink the boat even if they seem like nice folks. Or even steal it.

Hurricane season isn't over yet, so the insurers will be less happy still.

And you'll need a short-term ($$) marina contract to keep it there short-term.

Keep it simple, buy the boat, get the boat home in the soonest reasonable manner. Plan to make a 48-hour shakedown run with it first, because even brand new boats have brand new problems on them, that can take a week or two to fix.


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## Cande (Aug 10, 2015)

Re: Florida Tax Laws / Boats 
I'm unfamiliar with Florida Tax issues as they relate to boat ownership. I'm not asking for "advice," but generally, to what are you referring. We are New York State residents and have a condominium in Florida which we lease out on an annual basis. And we do plan on having our boat in Florida a few years down the road.
In New York State, typically, we pay Sales Tax on the boat we purchase and register or document here. And if I were renting it out to tenants, like an apartment rental I might or might not have to pay a hotel tax (depending on the number of nights of a tenant's stay; but not if it were under a lease of several weeks or months) , or I might be responsible for additional income tax (depending upon the number of nights I rent it out, etc.) 
Anything you can tell me will be helpful.
Many thanks!


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

"And we do plan on having our boat in Florida a few years down the road."
It is hard to plan for "years" down the road when the laws change at least twice yearly in Florida, and if anything crosses into "liveaboard" as Florida defines it, things change again.
But for now, once your boat is in Florida for 90 days it has to have a secondary Florida registration added to it, or to have the whole thing transferred to Florida, depending on what your residency will be at the time and how many days per year the boat stays in Florida. Florida has all the specifics on their web sites. If you paid sales tax in NY, they'll ask you for proof of that, and credit that amount toward what you would have otherwise owed Florida (so you'll probably owe no use tax on it).
If you rent the boat out to tenants I doubt the state of Florida would care, but "local" rules and policies could make it complicated. And between AirBnB and Uber, there are lawsuits and changing rules about "less than formal" arrangements for everything being considered everywhere. In two or three years...You're gonna need a bigger crystal ball.(G)


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## travlin-easy (Dec 24, 2010)

The last time I purchased a boat in Florida, and brought it home to Maryland, there was a reciprocal agreement between the two states that allowed for crediting what I paid in Florida to be deducted from Maryland's insane rate of licensing taxation for boats. If I recall, it was a tossup at the time.

Now, I resided aboard my boat for just over 4 months in Florida a few years ago, had a Maryland registration, and no one mentioned anything about it, including the guy from the boating commission that I got to know very well. Did I miss something?

There was another boater that lived aboard for the entire winter, kept his boat on the hard in Florida during the summer months, and he had a CT registration on the boat. I asked about that and he said because his primary residence was in CT, that the boat did not need to be registered in FL. I'm not sure about any of this, though - I'll have to call a friend in Stuart to find out.

Gary


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

It would depend on what the laws were at the specific time. And, whether anyone local to the boat really gave a damn, or was keeping track.

IIRC a couple of years ago there was a discussion about DC? or NC? marinas, and a poster mentioned that the local tax men required all marinas to submit copies of all annual slip contracts, so if a boat was going to be there year round (rather than transient) they'd damn well have the records to prove it and go after the boater for registration fees.

Same way, a lot of snowbirds go to Florida for more than 90 days in the winter, and never re-register and re-title their cars. The cops don't have time to dot all the i's and cross all the t's, if no one files a complaint, no one pays attention.

Like jaywalking, it may or may not be legal, and you may even do it in front of a cop, but most of us never have been ticketed for that.


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