Back in 1997, I lived aboard a boat, but I was not the registered
owner. Several years later I pulled my credit report to find that the
San Mateo County assesor has put a lien on my credit report for two
years.

I've called several times, trying to explain that I wasn't the owner of
the boat, finally it came down to because I was "in possession" of the
boat, I am still liable.

This just doesn't sound right to me, can anyone help out? Unfortunatly,
I can't afford an attorney to help me fight this, and the lien is
impacting my credit, and making it impossible to get credit until I pay
the lien.

thanks

sb

barrage the credit reporting co w/protest letters,
request the prove the debit over and over again, they
will have to (by law) supply you the proof, or remove
the negetive mark on your credit report...do this w/all
3 agencies.....imho.....

wrote:
Back in 1997, I lived aboard a boat, but I was not the registered
owner. Several years later I pulled my credit report to find that the
San Mateo County assesor has put a lien on my credit report for two
years.

So who was the registered owner? That would be an important detail to
include when you are asking for advice. Note that you're asking for
legal advice... and this may not be the best place for that.

I've called several times, trying to explain that I wasn't the owner of
the boat, finally it came down to because I was "in possession" of the
boat, I am still liable.

How does the assessor know that you were in "possession" of the boat?
I would guess it came from information provided by a marina. Yes - tax
assessors require marinas in CA to report information on all
non-transient boats. This is how they find out about many USCG
documented boats that have avoided tax roles as the Coast Guard is not
very reliable about getting owner and location information to
assessors.

If you entered into a slip rental agreement with marina and said it was
your boat, the assessor may say "it's your boat."

This just doesn't sound right to me, can anyone help out? Unfortunately,
I can't afford an attorney to help me fight this, and the lien is
impacting my credit, and making it impossible to get credit until I pay
the lien.

You need to cough up the owner - that is - the person that owned the
boat at the time. Who is the registered owner now?

For property tax purposes, boat are unsecured personal property. If
there is tax lien, it is against all personal and real assets of a
person, it is not a lein against just the boat. It makes it hard to
get credit because it is lein on just about everything you own,
including bank accounts, should they decide to go after you.

If you really need this taken care of, you can't afford not to get an
attorney. You should be able to get a free or low cost consultation to
find out if you have a way out. The actual work may not take that many
billable hours. I would suggest you be prepared to answer the
attorney's questions if you want him to help you. If you know who the
owner is/was, tell the attorney if he asks. You should have told the
assessor if you knew.

wrote:
Back in 1997, I lived aboard a boat, but I was not the registered
owner. Several years later I pulled my credit report to find that the
San Mateo County assesor has put a lien on my credit report for two
years.

I've called several times, trying to explain that I wasn't the owner of
the boat, finally it came down to because I was "in possession" of the
boat, I am still liable.

This just doesn't sound right to me, can anyone help out? Unfortunatly,
I can't afford an attorney to help me fight this, and the lien is
impacting my credit, and making it impossible to get credit until I pay
the lien.

Is the bill for Prop. Tax on the boat?

California does something rather odd. If you rent a slip from a
gov-owned (e.g. city owned) marina they charge you property tax on
water under the slip. It doesn't matter who owned the boat...the renter
of the slip pays this tax. I've had boats in several privately owned
marinas, and have never paid property taxes there... but at city owned
marinas it is common.

On 27 Sep 2005 01:40:38 -0700, wrote:

Back in 1997, I lived aboard a boat, but I was not the registered
owner. Several years later I pulled my credit report to find that the
San Mateo County assesor has put a lien on my credit report for two
years.

I've called several times, trying to explain that I wasn't the owner of
the boat, finally it came down to because I was "in possession" of the
boat, I am still liable.

This just doesn't sound right to me, can anyone help out? Unfortunatly,
I can't afford an attorney to help me fight this, and the lien is
impacting my credit, and making it impossible to get credit until I pay
the lien.

thanks

sb

California WILL get their tax money. Either from you or the boat's
owner, but they WILL get their tax money.
California never gives up untill they get paid.
Sorry,
Mark E. Williams