Ready to set sail on a new adventure? Let LendingTree help. Get boat loan offers from multiple lenders by filling out one online form. You may receive up to five offers, depending on your creditworthiness, for new or used boats, yachts or personal watercraft.
If you have an existing loan, we may be able to help you refinance your boat to get a lower monthly payment or a better rate.
Similar to applying for an auto loan, you’ll need to have proof of income and your credit will need to be pulled when financing a boat. While the minimum credit score will vary by lender, the higher your score, the better interest rate you’ll receive.
If you’re not sure what your credit score is, you can get your free credit score here and then move forward with applying for your loan. If your credit isn’t where you want it to be, don’t worry — we have lenders that can help if you have less than perfect credit.
You want to spend your money on your boat, not your boat loan. LendingTree will help match you to lenders that will meet your needs.
Here are some of the most commonly asked questions about boat loans.
To get a boat loan, you should check your credit and shop around for a boat and boat loan that will fit within your budget. Lenders consider boats to be luxuries, not necessities, so unless your credit score is relatively high and your debt-to-income ratio relatively low, you may find loan approval difficult or face high rates. Here’s more on how to buy a boat.
After looking at thousands of boat loan applications, we ranked our top three national boat loan lenders. However, the best boat loan is the one that’s most affordable to you — that means finding the lowest APR possible for the amount of time you want to make payments. A good place to start a search is your own bank, credit union or online lender.
Rates can range from 3.99% to 20.50%, depending on your credit, the type of boat you’re financing, and your loan amount and term. Here’s our guide on how to find the best boat loan rates.
Used boats could offer huge savings over new ones. Still, prices can vary considerably, even for similar boat types, model years and history. Use an industry guide like Kelley Blue Book or NADAguides to check a boat’s value against the sales price to be sure you’re getting a good deal. This is our guide on how to get a used boat loan.
You could lease a boat, but beware that boat leasing may be more expensive than boat purchasing. Renting a boat for a shorter period of time may be more cost-effective. Here’s more on boat leasing and alternatives.
You may be able to get a mortgage on a boat if it qualifies as your main home or second home. The IRS defines a home as a property with sleeping, cooking and toilet facilities. Here’s more on how to finance a houseboat and how to live on a boat.
Yes, you could qualify for a boat loan with a 600 FICO Score. As we mentioned earlier, there are bad credit boat loans available, but it may pay off to improve your credit first. To get your best boat loan rates, you usually need a credit score of 720 or above.
Boat loan terms can stretch for as long as 20 years, due to loan amounts that can reach into the millions. But just because you can finance a boat for that long doesn’t mean you should. It’s possible to finance even large amounts for relatively short terms — that said, it might be difficult to find terms for less than two years, even for inexpensive boats. Here’s more on how long you can finance a boat.
Yacht financing is available. However, like any type of financing, borrowers have to qualify for the loan based on their ability to repay it. The average cost of a 100-foot yacht is around $1 million. Here’s more on how much a yacht really costs.
Use a boat payment calculator to see what your monthly payments might look like and make sure you’re aiming for a payment that is comfortable for you. Keep in mind that the payments are only part of the ownership costs: You may need to pay for docking, storage, maintenance, fuel, licensing, boating lessons, a towing vehicle, a towing trailer and safety equipment.
