I found an abandoned boat in a parking lot here in Houston, TX. It will be towed by the city very soon. I checked with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and they have no record of the boat ever being registered in Texas. I'd like to keep the boat and rebuild it (it's a real junker now). I found the 'owner' but he wants nothing to do with the boat. He bought it cheap with the intent to rebuild it but lost interest. Unfortunately, the person he bought it from wasn't the owner either. In Texas this is called a skip transfer, and although it's common enough to have its own name, there doesn't seem to be any way to resolve the fact that an ownership trail does not exist. The boat is now in limbo. The boat can't be bought or sold because it doesn't have a title.
Does anyone have any advice on how to legally take posession of the boat? I read the Transportation Code on abandoned vehicles, and there appears to be no way to swing this. The only one who can move the vessel is the City of Houston, and then it will be sold at public auction. The storage and processing fee charged by the city will be more than the vessel is worth. I could tell a few lies, falsify some documents, etc. but I'm not willing to do that. I'm looking for a legal way to demonstrate that the boat is abandoned and to take posession of it. Finders Keepers...
Does anyone have any advice on how to legally take posession of the boat? I read the Transportation Code on abandoned vehicles, and there appears to be no way to swing this. The only one who can move the vessel is the City of Houston, and then it will be sold at public auction. The storage and processing fee charged by the city will be more than the vessel is worth. I could tell a few lies, falsify some documents, etc. but I'm not willing to do that. I'm looking for a legal way to demonstrate that the boat is abandoned and to take posession of it. Finders Keepers...