04/15/2015

The Darkness Before the Dawn: Transactions

By Dirk Schwenk, Baylaw, LLC

The end of the year always brings a rush to close major transactions.  This past year I had the opportunity to work with a great team on finalizing the details of a major marina purchase, and a challenging opportunity to close a boat purchase with overseas sellers and major importation problems.  No matter how well things go however, the final days before closing often look bleak.  

No matter how well things go, closing a deal always seems to have dark moments before settlement.  On the marina purchase, my role was primarily to assess whether a recent redevelopment of the property, including piers, buildings and reforestation had been properly authorized and approved.  Marina purchases have a lot of moving parts (See Maryland Marina Purchase) and there are a lot of facts that need to be assessed before the lender is satisfied with the security.

For this property, it turned out that there were open enforcement issues pertaining to the piers and critical areas, as well as some questions about the permitting for the buildings.  The seller resolved some, others had to be addressed by contract, but with a professional team willing to put in the work, the issues were not insurmountable.  The final days before New Years were interesting nevertheless.  

For the Yacht Purchase, the major factors included: 1) the primary seller was a London barrister who seemed not to believe that anyone else involved had valid concerns; 2) the boat had been in the US for approximately 18 months, but had never been properly imported for sale, and was therefore at risk of seizure by US Customs; 3) a previous purchase had fallen apart amidst disputes between a US broker and the UK sellers.  Eventually a deal was reached and money changed hands, but it was a struggle every step of the way.  

LIEN SALE SPRING CLEANING
If you have boats, trailers or vehicles and their owners have not paid their bills, we are making a special offer of $500 plus costs to give notice and conduct a lien sale.  The lien sale legal environment has changed significantly (Lien Sales).  They can still be conducted, but the shop or yard must be much more careful than before about its statements and bills.  We can help with that process in a way that will protect your interests and maximize your recovery.

J. Dirk Schwenk

Managing Member
Baylaw, LLC
Email: dschwenk@baylawllc.com
Direct: (410) 775 6805
Fax: (410) 280 0948
30C West Street, Annapolis, MD 21401