Dreaming of owning your own plane or boat? Your dream may be easier to achieve than you think.
A co-ownership agreement allows a group of like-minded people to share costs and come together to purchase as a group, rather than individually.
Whether you and your friends wish to purchase a boat and agree upon the times when you can use it, or you want your own aircraft and wish to spread out the expenses of operation, suitable agreements can be reached to make this possible.
This well drafted legal agreement will allow everyone to enjoy their new purchase. However, any poorly drafted document, or even worse, no agreement at all, may and probably will lead to future problems.
If co-ownership of a boat or aircraft is something you wish to pursue, you’ll first have to draft the appropriate document.
Here is what you need to know:-
It is a legal document which sets out the terms under which your boat or aircraft will be purchased and owned.
It states what each parties ownership percentage is, the costs that each party is responsible for, other responsibilities of the parties with regards to maintenance and what the privileges of the various co-owners will be.
Whether it’s a time-share type agreement for a boat or a list of times when a group of co-owners have the right to use a crop-dusting aircraft, they are written so each co-owner will be clear about what they can and cannot do.
As many as you agree can take part and can include multiple parties. It’s quite common for groups of families or small business to agree to share rights to these assets, and apportion the share of costs or expenses appropriately.
Of course, there will be practical limitations to any use, but as long as everyone agrees to the terms, it can include as many people as you wish.
The co-owners can decide who is responsible for repairs and maintenance. You may agree for one person to supervise all required maintenance and submit a bill to the rest, or for each co-owner to take turns – however the parties wish to allocate responsibility for maintenance of the ownership details is up to them.
Most often an agreement will include conditions that cover all contingencies. It will set out the initial funding, cost allocation, future transfer of ownership interests and terms of use – These all are needed to make the agreement complete.
It should be clear and concise, yet expansive enough to include all information required to make it clear to the parties what their responsibilities and privileges are.
The most important function of these documents is to make it clear to each owner or potential co-owner what they can and cannot do with their share of the property. A well drafted agreement will allow for everyone to enjoy their new purchase, while a poorly drafted document, or even worse, no agreement at all, may lead to problems.
To download your own Co-Ownership Agreement KitIf you need a real estate co-ownership agreement, view the Tenant’s In Common Agreement here.
