The Best Yacht Charter Management Programs

I was asked what the best yacht charter management programs are for income safety and helping to pay for the yacht...Here is the answer:

There are a number of different programs out there and I have done them all so I know the good and bad of each...By far the best is the "Guaranteed Income Program" OR a "55% Down Program" because you know exactly what you are getting with no "surprises" and if there is an economic downturn or terrorist attack that kills air travel for a while then you don't suffer. In both programs the charter company covers all expenses (dockage, insurance, all maintenance, etc) and you get between 6-12 weeks/year owner use. You can often also get "reciprocal owner use" which means you can use your owner time on other boats (like if yours is not available) and in other locations all around the world. 

GUARANTEED INCOME: The charter companies will only do the guaranteed income program with certain models that are in high-demand. The Lagoon 52 is usually one of those. They will pay you 8-9%/year guaranteed (payable monthly so you can use the payment to cover a loan payment) for between 60 and 66 months. The 8% is based upon whatever you spend on the yacht including cost to deliver it to the base. so, for example, let's say you spend $1,000,000 your guaranteed annual payments will total $80,000 for at least 5  or 5.5 years. The yacht will probably have to be kept in a high demand charter destination such as the BVI or St Martin.

55% DOWN PROGRAM:

In this program they cover all expenses and you put down 55% of the cost of a new boat. They use the charter income to service a loan they get from a French bank or leasing company. Then in "month 66" you pay $1 and they transfer title to you. 

This is just an overview and I can talk for hours about these programs so give me a call with questions...Different charter companies allow varying amounts of options but they prefer that you keep it the same as all their other boats in the fleet because some options require extra maintenance and since they pay for all that they want to limit high-maintenance options.